James Walsh
Octagon Music’s newest signing is James Walsh, a singer songwriter who previously was the front man and principle songwriter of a band called Starsailor (www.starsailor.net).
Hailing from Wigan, Starsailor have sold over three million albums globally and are one of the few British bands to have made it to the fourth album of their deal. Indeed, the second of those - 2004's 'Silence Is Easy' - saw them become the last band to record with production genius and careless gun user Phil Spector.
The early history of Starsailor is one of breakneck success . The band received their first review the second time they performed in London back in the summer of 2000. It ended by declaring that Starsailor were the "New Coldplay,” and that “Record companies should start queuing here." Within 18 months, Starsailor - on the back of intense critical acclaim - found that they were one of the biggest new groups in the country - selling well over one million copies of their debut album.
Starsailor have also been a hugely successful touring band across Europe. They have headlined festivals, played with many of their peers, had their own sold out tours and even now, continue to do so, with the band currently fulfilling their touring obligations in Asia and Europe.
James Walsh has felt for some time that he wanted to put the Starsailor project on hold and concentrate on a solo career so approached Octagon for management of this. With ideas of collaborations with other creative artists (such as Ryan Adams, Noel Gallagher, Damien Rice, The Black Keys, Van Morrisson), and starting the co-writing of the solo album next week, we feel that James has a bright and successful career ahead of him as a solo artist and are excited to be working with him.
James Walsh also has other projects outside of his record deal. He is currently writing the soundtrack for a British independent film called “Powder” that is due for release next year. Powder is based on a book about the struggles of a new band in Liverpool and references many UK music industry figures so there will be a lot of attention here surrounding the film.
www.starsailor.net
For enquiries contact Octagon