"Hello Everybody,

Well it's here at last, the James box set. Our very first.

It has taken a long time getting together and I hope you think it's been worth it.

It includes all our studio albums. Ten on a special 'James' USB stick in MP3 and FLAC formats. FLAC is high quality and much better than MP3 so you can enjoy all your faves with sooper dooper sound. As well as 'The Morning After' and 'The Night Before' on boring old CD.

The live rarities CD was compiled by ourselves and Julian Fernandez from the Universal Records back catalogue department. We trawled through endless live recordings to find our collective best live James tracks ever. I know everyone won't agree with our choices but it will give you all something to argue about.

There are lots of rarities and previously unreleased tracks including 'Willow', which is from our second ever demo and originally hand carved on a wax cylinder.

Well actually I made that last bit up but it was a very, very long time ago.

There is also a heavy duty vinyl of Gold Mum era demos. If you haven't got a turntable it doubles as a Frisbee for the dog. And, for the first time on DVD the iconic 'James at G Mex 90'. You remember; all the snow, the trains cancelled and you only just made it? See if you can spot yourself in the crowd.

The 'Scrapbook' and photos etc came from Larry's, Tim's and my personal archives, in other words bin bags in attics. Hopefully you'll find our choices interesting.

There are lots more goodies, so have fun discovering and rediscovering.

Many thanks to Julian for his patient scrutiny and as always thanks to you for allowing us to indulge our obsession for thirty years.

Jim."

The 12" x 12", beautifully boxed set The Gathering Sound opens to reveal:

• Unique J-shaped 8GB USB stick, containing all ten full length studio albums plus four non-album 'Best Of' tracks in both high fidelity 16-bit FLAC format and 320kbps MP3, plus 24 of the official promo videos in M4V format so you can watch them on your computer or move to your mobile devices for portable viewing
• Three CDs: one of live rarities from 1982 to the present, one of studio rarities including home-recorded demos from the early 80s, and a third CD combining 2010's superb mini-albums The Morning After and The Night Before on one disc
• DVD of the long-deleted Come Home Live video originally released in 1991, featuring 15 tracks from the legendary homecoming show at GMEX in 1990
• Heavyweight 180gsm vinyl 12" featuring four previously unreleased demos from the Gold Mother era, in a special gatefold sleeve that houses the four discs along with the record
• 16-page A5 booklet of sleeve notes written by the band, with contributions from fans, friends, peers and partners in crime
• 12x12 scrapbook filled with rare and unreleased photos, memorabilia, press cuttings, and many other items straight out of the band's personal archives, as well as a James timeline they have annotated
• Four art cards, four button badges, four sticky-backed satin replica backstage passes

Extra special limited edition fully signed for the first 500 ~ Pre-order from 4pm Tuesday

Our box set pre-order begins at 4pm British Summer Time (BST) on Tuesday 16th August, and will be hosted by the Universal Box Set Store who are handling the orders for the band's own stock.

The first 500 fans to place an advance order will receive something very special in their box set - a beautiful 12" square art card signed by the whole band. Each card has clocked up a considerable number of air miles as it whizzed back and forth across the Atlantic and the English Channel on its mission.

We've also arranged an exclusive offer that everyone who pre-orders from us directly will benefit from. You'll receive a complimentary instant download of three tracks selected by the band that you'll find nowhere else - unreleased demos of Make For This City, Dust Motes, and Lookaway.

The Gathering Sound goes on sale at 4pm sharp this Tuesday, and Universal have assured us that it will be clear when the strictly limited number of signed copies have sold out, so you won't have to wait until October to find out if you're one of the lucky ones. Good luck...

http://store.universal-music.co.uk/restofworld/boxset-james-the-gathering-sound-box-set-2011/invt/0602527531298/

Please note: Universal have confirmed that your card will not be charged until dispatch in October, so you can secure your copy now and still have plenty of time to budget for it. No need to panic about missing a shot at a signed one (or a box set full stop, as there will only be a limited number made). Shipping The Gathering Sound within the UK will be free of charge, and they ship worldwide too.

Treasure hunt on wearejames.com

Please do take the time to visit The Gathering Sound page on our site to view the contents in all its glory and explore the tracklisting of the discs and USB stick.

There are far too many highlights to mention here, but all told, we have a total of 33 never before released live recordings and demos from the early 80s right through to the present day, and are debuting 12 songs that have never been officially released in any way shape or form - including lost classic Gregory's Town, Scratchcard, Count Your Blessings, At The Seams, the thrillingly titled Jam 1 and Jam 2, and excerpts from the infamous (perhaps even scandalous) 'Whiplash Tapes'...

There are live rarities from the 1992 Alton Towers gig before a crowd of 30,000 ecstatic, if sodden, James fans, Glastonbury 1990, Moles Club in Bath, London T & C, and venues all over the country. You'll find the first CD pressing of Sire-era b-sides and the Weather Change flexidisc, exclusive release of BBC archive material, and so much more, so come and have a look for yourself on wearejames.com.

The band have devoted the better part of a year to this project and are so proud of it; we hope you enjoy it as much as they've enjoyed compiling it for you.

Fingers crossed we'll see you on the tour this autumn too - Orchestra of the Swan, the Manchester Consort choir, and the renowned Mancunian conductor & composer Joe Duddell will be joining us this time around - it'll be a good 'un.