Jim Glennie and his wife Catherine live in the quiet calm of Ullapool, overlooking the Summer Isles and in the Highlands of Scotland, far away from the buzz of the music biz in London and even his home town of Manchester.

The bass player for James loves it: "We used to come here on holidays and hated it for the first three days, then fell in love with the place.

"We made a run for it and have been here nine years now.

"It is nice to get away from the nonsense and chaos of the business."

He's been involved in 'the business' since he formed James in 1982 and then recruited Tim Booth as frontman.

They signed for Factory records and supported The Smiths but had to wait until 1990 before they had their big breakthrough with the Gold Mother album.

He never expected it to last.

"Yeah, it has never felt like we are here for the long haul," he laughs.

"The job feels fairly precarious, but the record label has picked up the latest option, so we have another record to come out.

"It has always felt slightly in the lap of the Gods. I can't believe it when I look back on it."

This from a man and a band that have produced 15 studio albums over three decades and notched up worldwide sales of 25 million, including huge hits such as Sit Down, Come Home, She's A Star and Sound.

They have shape-shifted over the years, changing style and line-ups, breaking up in 2002 and reforming in 2007.

Glennie admits to causing problems for the band over the year, but has said: "Somehow I’ve managed to punch through, and that’s mainly because of my relationship with Tim.

"Tim and I have been together for a very long time, and the bottom line is we always forgive each other."

The band are currently in a happy and productive state.

Their latest album, Living In Extraordinary Times, was one of the easiest they have recorded, according to the bass player who says: "We do try hard, we always give 100%.

"We love what we do and we are very passionate about it. It can be all-consuming. The day we die is the day when we will stop."

The band come to Carlisle on March 20 on the Living In Extraordinary Times tour and promise two shows for one.

They will open with an acoustic set of reworked classics and forgotten favourites, before blasting into a full-on, full-blown performance.

"Yeah we're supporting ourselves, we get two riders and an extra £50!" he laughs.

"I don't know who suggested the idea, but it seems obvious to do.

"We have a huge pool of material we would not use in the live set without people wanting to head off to the bar because it is too quiet.

"We will start with half an hours worth of songs, but I have a sneaky feeling it will get longer on tour.

"I'd like to play Sky Is Falling which was a 'B' side, from the Eighties, but is very poignant for now because it is about messing the planet up."

While Glennie lives in the Highlands, most of the band are based in London and Booth has made his home in California.

Always topical, literary and usually campaigning, the band expected him to produce songs about President Trump for the new album and they weren't disappointed.

"He is living there and is thrust in the middle of it all, but we didn't want it all to be about Trump, so restricted it to two," explains Glennie.

The band has just started rehearsals for the tour which opens on Wednesday, so work has yet to start on the next album.

Glennie says they've no plans to write about Brexit, added: "Maybe there should be Brexit the musical....?"

James, The Sands Centre, Carlisle, March 20. For more information and tickets, go to www.thesandscentre.co.uk or call 01228 633766