Bassist James Stelfox and drummer Ben Byrne had been playing together in Warrington, Cheshire for a number of years, having met whilst studying on a music course at Wigan and Leigh College, and they formed a band together in 2000. When their regular singer fell ill, they recruited young Chorley singer and songwriter James Walsh from a school choir, being impressed by his Jeff Buckley-influenced singing style. The band, then named Waterface, had tried a number of guitarists before they asked long-time friend Barry Westhead to join on keyboards, with his arrival being heralded as the most significant event in the band's formation. Walsh also took up the guitar, following frustration over not finding a musician right for the group, and the band started to build up a reputation, changing their name to Starsailor, after the 1970 album by Tim Buckley. A journalist from NME saw a gig in 2000 and gave the band a glowing review, and their performance at the Glastonbury Festival added to the band's reputation, leading to a bidding war among UK record companies, and as a relative of one band member worked for EMI, the band signed to them in 2000. Their first single 'Fever' was released in early 2001, and the song plus its two b-sides 'Love Is Here' and 'Coming Down' were cut from a demo recording session in mid-2000, and all three tracks went on to feature on Starsailor's first album 'Love Is Here', albeit in re-recorded form. Their second single 'Good Souls' was released in April 2001 and featured a cover of Van Morrison's 'The Way Young Lovers Do' on the flip, and at the same time the band were recording their debut album in Rockfield Studios in Wales. The album came out in August 2001, and an extended version of 'Alcoholic' appeared as the third single to be taken from it, with its number ten chart position remaining the band's second highest placing to date. 'Love Is Here' reached number 2 in the UK album charts in October 2001, and the band ended the year by winning the "Brightest New Hope" award at the NME Awards.
For their second album 'Silence Is Easy' the band teamed up with Phil Spector ,in what ended up being his final production work before his conviction of murder in 2009 and his death in 2021. However, the collaboration was short-lived, with sessions at London's Abbey Road proving that Spector was just as difficult to work with he was reputed to be, and only the tracks 'Silence Is Easy' and 'White Dove' made it to the album. The band co-produced seven of the other tracks with Danton Supple, while former Radiohead and The Stone Roses producer John Leckie was brought in to oversee the recording of 'Shark Food'. The first single was 'Silence Is Easy', which achieved the band's highest UK chart position at number 9, and three more singles from the record followed, the second of which 'Born Again' had evolved from a b-side to 2002's 'Poor Misguided Fool'. The album charted well, but sales were sluggish in comparison to the band's first album. EMI allowed the band plenty of time to record their follow-up, having targeted producer Rob Schnapf to produce it, and the group relocated to Los Angeles to record. Six possible titles were mooted ('Faith, Hope, Love'/'Here I Go'/'Ashes' or 'In the Crossfire'/'I Do Not Know'/'Counterfeit Life'), but the band eventually settled for 'On The Outside', a statement of their feeling of their position in the music industry. The sound was different from the previous two releases, being far heavier than its predecessors, and the recording was all done to tape, with no use being made of editing software such as Pro Tools to perfect the recordings. The album was released in October 2005, and the first single taken from it was 'In the Crossfire', released by Artists Addiction Records in the USA on 22 August. Critics raved about the release, with many citing it as a return to form, but despite this the album only charted at number 13. Two more singles were taken from the album, with 'This Time' and 'Keep Us Together' following 'In The Crossfire', but sales were disappointing, and 'Keep Us Together' became their first single not to reach the UK Top 40.
The band played numerous festivals in the summer of 2006, including the V Festival, and they also supported the Rolling Stones on their 'Bigger Bang' Tour in 2006 and 2007. In the autumn of 2006 they toured North America, playing both headlining shows and supporting James Blunt, and in January 2007 they undertook their first trip to Russia, playing in the B2 Club of Moscow. Starsailor started to play various gigs during the months while they were recording their fourth album, appearing with The Killers in November 2007, and playing at the Isle of Wight Festival on the last day, with The Police headlining. On 16 October 2008 it was officially confirmed that the new album would be called 'All The Plans' and was to be released in March 2009, and in December the 'Boy In Waiting EP' was released as a free digital download for those who pre-ordered the deluxe edition of 'All the Plans', containing three tracks that didn't make the album. 'All The Plans' debuted at Number 26 in the UK Album Charts on 14 March 2009, while 'Tell Me It's Not Over' spent one week in the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 73. Towards the end of 2009 Walsh began to work on a solo project, and in November 2009 it was officially announced by The Lancashire Evening Post that Starsailor was on hold, and that Walsh was concentrating on his solo career. Starsailor did reform in 2014, playing support slots at the Summer In The City festival on 10 and 11 July at Castlefield Bowl, headlined by Pixies and James, and touring throughout 2015 and 2016, while in 2017 they released 'Listen To Your Heart', their first new music in almost two years. Their fifth album 'All This Life' was released in September 2017 through the band's new record label, Cooking Vinyl, and in December 2021 they announced that they were to release an expanded 20th anniversary edition of their album 'Love Is Here', as well as going out on tour to support it, so this is the perfect time to collect together all their non-album b-sides, including a Live Lounge cover of a Sugababes classic, and the 'Boy In Waiting' EP, to remind us of one of the best bands to appear on the indie scene in the early 2000's.
Track listing
01 The Way Young Lovers Do (b-side of 'Goodsouls' 2001)
02 From A Whisper To A Scream (b-side of 'Lullaby' 2001)
03 Let It Shine (b-side of 'Alcoholic' 2001)
04 Grandma's Hands (b-side of 'Alcoholic' 2001)
05 Hot Burrito #2 (b-side of 'Poor Misguided Fool' 2002)
06 At The End Of A Show (b-side of 'Born Again' 2003)
07 She Understands (b-side of 'Silence Is Easy' 2003)
08 Could You Be Mine (b-side of 'Silence Is Easy' 2003)
09 A Message (b-side of 'Four To The Floor' 2003)
10 Always (b-side of 'In The Crossfire' 2005)
11 Rise Up (b-side of 'Keep Us Together' 2006)
12 Believe Me (b-side of 'This Time' 2006)
13 Push The Button (Live Lounge version) (b-side of 'This Time' 2006)
14 In Their World (b-side of 'Tell Me It's Not Over' 2008)
15 Do You Believe In Love (from the 'Boy In Waiting' EP 2008)
16 Darling Be Home Soon (from the 'Boy In Waiting' EP 2008)
17 Black Limousine (from the 'Boy In Waiting' EP 2008)
