# London-Liverpool Lovechild JAMES CLARKE FIVE Presents ‘Gadfly Groove’ Single Ahead Of March 15th Album

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/london-liverpool-lovechild-james-clarke-five-presents-gadfly-groove-single-ahead-of-march-15th-album/
- Published: 2024-02-02T15:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **London-Liverpool lovechild James Clarke Five presents ‘Gadfly Groove’ single ahead of new album**

_“With fantastic diversity, wrapped in a tight layer of suave musical mastery, James
Clarke Five’s brand of music melds the best of rock and Brit pop, imbued with spirits
past and present” _~ **Amplify Music Mag **

_“The sound of the 60’s if 80’s sophisti-pop had been invented, all smooth rounded
notes, beautiful production and huge globules of earnest maturity.”_ ~ **Jangle 
Pop Hub ** 

_“A pleasure to listen to… a sort of Ben Folds does Sunshine Pop”_ ~ **I Don’t Hear
a Single **

_“Lie down by a river and drift away to these tunes. You won’t even need the sunshine;
there is enough in this record to last the whole year”_ ~ **Isolation Records **

_“One of the best slices of gentle indie pop I’ve heard for some time… with teeth
wrapped in velvet, just as the lounge style was for The Specials”_ ~ **Pop in the
Real World **

_“Some kinda locked-in-his-bedroom genius… very listenable pop” _~ **Dagger Zine**

UK indie rock artist [**James Clarke Five**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/)
presents the new single [**‘Gadfly Groove’**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/track/gadfly-groove),
previewing the album [**‘Zoom and The Gadflies’**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/album/zoom-and-the-gadflies)(
out March 15 via [**Favourite Recordings**](https://www.facebook.com/FavoriteRecordings/)).
Celebrating the personal transformation of a quiet, tentative introvert to an outgoing,
gadfly-like persona, the song presents uplifting crunchy guitars and a blistering
sax solo. Ultimately a butterfly emerges!

[⌊James Clarke Five⌉⌊James Clarke Five⌉[

Much like Cocteau Twins was not actually a duo, James Clarke Five is the solo project
of **James Hughes**. He is perhaps best known as keyboardist and vocalist for Liverpool
80’s new wave band [**The Cherry Boys**](https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Cherry_Boys),
contemporaries of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, whose members also
played with **The LA’s**, **Cast**, **The Icicle Works **and** Lightning Seeds**.
With a slight resemblance to The Fall’s Mark E. Smith, Hughes now lives in London.

“I was almost ‘channeling’ the sound of T Rex / glam-era Bowie with this song, and
I gave it a carefree, slightly camp lyric to compliment the sound.  I think the 
raunchy sax solo tops it off nicely!” says **James Clarke**.

With sometimes story-driven or politically-edged lyrics, James Clarke Five mixes
classic baroque pop with strong melodies and distinctive chord changes, but with
a more raw, guitar driven sound with overtones of glam rock and psychedelia. The
new album also includes some clear nods to XTC, Adam and the Ants and Joe Meek.

‘Gadfly Groove’ comes hot on the heels of [**‘(Who’s Been On The) Big Rock Candy**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/track/whos-been-on-the-big-rock-candy)**‘,**
which tells the story of a couple who pursue increasingly daring deeds from roller
coaster rides and cliff edges to runaway trains, all to a pounding, feedback-driven
backdrop.

Gadfly Groove

[⌊Gadfly Groove⌉⌊Gadfly Groove⌉
Watch this video on YouTube

At the age of 12, James Hughes picked up a guitar, which he has scarcely put down
since. Following The Cherry Boys, Hughes was a founder member of [**Exhibit B**](https://www.last.fm/music/Exhibit+B),
who released the cult classic album **‘Playing Dead’ **and several singles.  

[⌊James Clarke Five⌉⌊James Clarke Five⌉[

Upon moving to London in the early 2000s, Hughes launched James Clarke Five with
the barnstorming single [**‘Get Out Of Bed’**](https://open.spotify.com/track/6c390meAAxMolqjU0vQbBV?si=34a297d16c744d88)
and later found success with his song [**‘Sexbombe Uber Alles’**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/track/sexbombe-ber-alles)**,**
the main theme of the film [**‘Last Shop Standing’**](https://youtu.be/qBTMe8p_Pxw?feature=shared)**.**
Their most recent albums [**‘Underneath The Lemon Tree’**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/album/underneath-the-lemon-tree)(
2021) and [**‘ParlourSounds’**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/album/parloursounds)(
2018), released by iconic Canadian label [**The Beautiful Music**](http://thebeautifulmusic.com/),
garnered rave reviews. His music has also appeared in the film [**‘Soundtrack to Sixteen’**](https://youtu.be/eyfrTnxav3w?feature=shared)
and has amassed over 1.25 million Spotify streams to date.

Recorded in James’s home studio in London, James produced and mastered this album.
He performed all instruments and vocals with the exception of **Mack The Sax**, 
who plays saxophone on ‘Gadfly Groove’ and **Karen Bates**, who provides backing
vocals on ‘It’s Been So Long’.

As of February 2, [**‘Gadfly Groove’**](https://youtu.be/oa1gTxb8Tng) will be available
from [**fine digital platforms**](https://found.ee/GadflyGroove), including **[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/1VRyxQ7tms6Grakd3So0qO),
[Apple](https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/james-clarke-five/338084841)** and [**Bandcamp**](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/)**.**
The full [**‘Zoom and The Gadflies’ **](https://found.ee/ZATG-1)album will be released
on March 15 via Favourite Recordings.

[⌊James Clarke Five album cover⌉⌊James Clarke Five album cover⌉[

**TRACK LIST**
1. (Who’s Been On The) Big Rock Candy2. D’You Not Think?3. Gadfly
Groove4. Ghost5. Pineapple Rock6. Manhattan Pigeon7. Hot Chicory Bop8. It’s Been
So Long9. Zoomdust10. Buddy and Joe11. Goodbye Patience

**CREDITS**
All songs written by James Clarke (AKA James Hughes), except ‘It’s Been
So Long’ by Donaldson / AdamsonKaren Bates – backing vocals on track 8Mac The Sax–
saxophone on track 3All other instruments and vocals by James ClarkeProduced by 
James ClarkeCover artwork by James Clarke

**FOR FANS OF: **
XTC, The Stone Roses, T-Rex, Adam and The Ants, The Kinks, Paul
McCartney, The Left Banke, John Barry, Madness, Ian Brown

**Keep up with James Clarke Five**
[Bandcamp](https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com/)
| [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/JamesClarkeFive) | [Twitter](http://twitter.com/jamesclarkefive)
| [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/jamesclarkefive/) | [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@Bumbajam)
| [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/1VRyxQ7tms6Grakd3So0qO) | [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/james-clarke-five/338084841)

[⌊Shameless Promotion⌉⌊Shameless Promotion⌉[

**[Website](http://www.shamelesspromotionpr.com/) | [Facebook ](http://www.facebook.com/shamelesspromotionpr)
| [Twitter ](http://twitter.com/shamelesspr_)| [Instagram](http://www.instagram.com/shamelesspromotionpr)
| [Soundcloud](http://www.soundcloud.com/shameless-promotionpr) | [LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/company/shamelesspromotionpr)**

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