James Robert Morrison, known as Jim Bob, is a British musician and author. He was the singer of indie punk band Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine.
Biography.
Jim Bob played in various bands during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Jamie Wednesday, who were performing between 1984 and 1987. In 1987 Jamie Wednesday split up just before a gig at the London Astoria. Morrison and Les "Fruitbat" Carter filled in, playing along to a backing tape, and Carter USM was born. Jim Bob and Les Carter had known each other since the late 1970s, when their bands The Ballpoints (featuring Jim on vocals) and Dead Clergy (Les on bass and vocals) used to rehearse at the same studio behind Streatham station. When The Ballpoints' bassist quit at the end of 1980, Carter joined the band, who than went on to play several gigs under the name Peter Pan's Playground.
He was a member of Carter USM. The band split up in 1997. Since Carter USM, Jim Bob has released two albums and three singles with his disco-pop-punk group Jim's Super Stereoworld, seven solo albums as Jim Bob or James Robert Morrison, and played various live shows both with his band and solo. In 2001, he joined his old Carter bandmate Fruitbat on stage once again, as part of the group Who's The Daddy Now?.
In 2005, Cherry Red released a DVD of a live solo acoustic performance, titled "Live From London", featuring songs from his solo career as well as many Carter USM tracks. This was followed by a concept album, "School", released in March 2006.
A best-of album was released in the autumn of 2006, accompanied by a UK tour. This was originally intended as a download-only release, but a physical CD was produced. The album was accompanied by a free CD of Jim Bob and Jim's Super Stereoworld rarities. The cover design was re-worked by Jim Bob from an image by Jim Connolly.
The album "A Humpty Dumpty Thing" was released in November 2007 by Cherry Red Records. The album came with a Jim Bob-penned-mini novel, "Word Count". A single from the album, "Battling The Bottle", was released with Jim Bob's re-working of the children's song "The Wheels on the Bus" on the B-side.
Jim Bob's next solo record, "Goffam", was a semi-concept album about a city in the grip of crime, deserted by its superheroes. He toured the UK in April and September 2009 promoting the album.
In December 2009 Jim Bob performed his 2004 song "Angelstrike!" as part of the shows "The Return of 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People" for two nights at the Bloomsbury Theatre and at Hammersmith Apollo. This was broadcast on BBC4 television under the title 'Nerdstack'.
His debut novel "Storage Stories" was released on the day of a UK general election, 6 May 2010, by Ten Forty Books. This was followed by three novels with major publishers: "Driving Jarvis Ham", "The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81" and "Frank Derrick's Holiday of a Lifetime".
Jim Bob's autobiography, "Goodnight Jim Bob – On The Road With Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine", was published by Cherry Red Books in 2004. The sequel, "Jim Bob from Carter", was published by Cherry Red Books on 23 March 2019. The double novel "A Godawful Small Affair" and "Harvey King Unboxes His Family", written under the name J.B. Morrison, was published by Cherry Red Books in March 2020.
The 26-second song "2020 WTF!" was released in March 2020 on Cherry Red Records. It was the first single from Jim Bob's August 2020 album, "Pop Up Jim Bob". The second single, "Jo's Got Papercuts", followed in June, and a third, "If it Ain't Broke", was released in July.
The album "Pop Up Jim Bob" was released on Cherry Red Records on 14 August 2020. Entering the official UK album chart at number 26, it was Jim Bob's first top-30 LP since Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine.
Jim Bob's 13th solo album, "Who Do We Hate Today", was released on Cherry Red Records on 20 August 2021 and reached 34 in the UK album charts, his second top-40 solo LP.
His 14th solo album, 'Thanks For Reaching Out' was released on Cherry Red Records on 30 June 2023.
Jim Bob's 9th book ‘Where Songs Come From – The Lyrics and Origin Stories of 150 Solo and Carter USM Songs’, in which Jim Bob attempts to explain where his lyrics come from, how they got here, and maybe even why, is published by Cherry Red Books in October 2024.
Solo discography.
All releases credited as Jim Bob unless otherwise stated. See Carter USM and Jamie Wednesday for those bands' discographies.
Other releases.
A Free CD recorded by Morrison at home and given away to the first 10 people to visit the T-shirt stall and ask for Marc or Neil on the October 2003 tour
25 readers of Morrison's book won a copy of the CD 'Stolen From Westlife' – 8 cover versions recorded by Morrison – after answering some questions posed by the author on page 95.
A free CD recorded by Morrison and containing six acoustic covers, the CD is currently being issued only to members of Morrison's "street team". The CD includes a cover of a track originally written and recorded by his former Carter bandmate Les Carter.
DVDs.
A DVD featuring a live acoustic performance of Jim Bob songs and Carter USM songs. Bonus features include an interview with Morrison, Morrison reading excerpts from his autobiography and the video for the Jim's Super Stereoworld song "Bubblegum".
Bibliography.
Non-fiction
Fiction
References.
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