ONE of Manchester music's greatest mysteries has been solved after almost two decades.

Ever since the band James was formed fans have been asking exactly who James is.

And now with the forthcoming release of a new album and the announcement of a winter tour - which includes a date at the Manchester Evening News Arena on December 7 - that question has been answered.

A picture has been released together with a little background on the mystery eighth member of the group.

He can play drums, bass, guitar, violin, cello, keyboards, accordion and vocals and is also a really great dancer.

But in reality he does not exist as an individual and is really an amalgam of the group.

His face is a computer-generated image from pictures of frontman Tim Booth and his fellow six band members.

They came up with the idea after getting fed up with people repeatedly asking which one of them was called James.

Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), the band's first single from their 11th album, Pleased To Meet You, was released this week and is expected to enter the top 20 on Sunday.

And the band is already looking forward to a six-date winter tour.

''We look forward to those concerts,'' said lead singer Tim Booth. ''We're continuously blown away by the communication, between us and our audience.''

Tickets, costing £19.50, go on sale today for their MEN Arena show and are available from the box office or on 0161 930 8000, 0161 832 1111 and 0115 912 9000.

Tweet