Steven Alexander James is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Blur. He has also played with the bands Fat Les, Me Me Me, WigWam, and Bad Lieutenant.
Steven Alexander James was born in Boscombe, Bournemouth, and attended the state grammar school Bournemouth School, where he started playing in bands.
James credits the Beatles with inspiring him to pursue music: "I was off school with chickenpox when John Lennon was shot in 1980. I spent the week watching a VHS recording of the Beatles film Help!, which was broadcast on TV the day he died. I still watch it once a year. Then I bought a Beatles songbook and a guitar, figured out the chord shapes and started strumming and singing along. I never looked back."
In 1988, James met future bandmate Graham Coxon at Goldsmiths College, where James studied French. Introductions with Coxon's old school friend Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree soon took place; at the time Albarn and Rowntree were part of a band called Circus.
In 1989, James joined Coxon, Albarn and Rowntree's new band, Seymour, which would later be renamed Blur. He has been in the band ever since, although in 2008 he described the days of being a constant band member as "a past-life".
Soon after, Blur connected with returning bandmate Graham Coxon to perform at Glastonbury Festival, Hyde Park, Oxegen and T in the Park during the summer of 2009. They also played shows at Goldsmiths College, Essex Museum, and other venues around the UK and mainland Europe . Blur headlined a show at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. In 2013, the band performed at the Rock Werchter in Belgium, the Spanish and Portuguese dates of the Primavera Sound festival, and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States.
In 2026, James announced Alex James Britpop Classical, a collective of session singers and a 50-piece classical orchestra who perform songs from iconic Britpop bands such as Blur, Joy Division, Radiohead, and Oasis. James plays bass for Britpop Classical. The group toured the UK in 2026, performing their opening night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 1998, James formed Fat Les with actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst, releasing the unofficial theme song (excluding three others) "Vindaloo" for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. He also worked on side project Me Me Me with Stephen Duffy, co-wrote songs for Marianne Faithfull (appearing in drag playing a double bass in the music video for her single "Sex With Strangers") and Jane McDonald, and worked with Florence and the Machine and Gene Loves Jezebel.
James worked with Sophie Ellis-Bextor on her solo debut Read My Lips, co-writing and co-producing "Move This Mountain", and co-producing "I Believe" with Ellis-Bextor and producer Ben Hillier. He also played bass on both tracks. Ellis-Bextor's 2003 album, Shoot from the Hip also featured James as bass player and co-writer on the track "Love Is It Love". He also joined his friend and singer-songwriter Betty Boo in a band called WigWam in 2005.
In 2009, James appeared as bass player on debut Bad Lieutenant record Never Cry Another Tear. The band consists of New Order lead singer Bernard Sumner and guitarist Phil Cunningham, along with Jake Evans of Rambo And Leroy. In 2013, James co-wrote the song "Did I Lose You?", performed by Giorgia and Olly Murs.
James has made a variety of television appearances. In 2001 he featured in Channel 4's documentary Gouge about the Pixies. He represented The Idler on University Challenge: The Professionals in 2005, and in 2007 served as a judge on Channel 4's Orange unsignedAct. He has also appeared as a guest on Have I Got News for You, The F Word, and BBC Two's Maestro. In 2008 he presented the documentary Cocaine Diaries: Alex James in Colombia on BBC America.
He has since appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Popstar to Operastar, Top Gear, The Chase, The Bank Job, Through the Keyhole, and in August 2015, he won the Channel 4 programme,Celebrity Fifteen to One.
In 2016 James presented the documentary Alex James: Slowing Down Fast Fashion, exploring the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry.
James has written about food, farming, and lifestyle for publications including The Sun, The Spectator, and The Observer.
His autobiography, Bit of a Blur, was published in 2007, and was followed by All Cheeses Great and Small: A Life Less Blurry in 2011, focusing on his transition to cheesemaking.
In 2007 James presented the BBC Radio 4 programme On Your Farm.
He currently hosts Alex James’s Date Night on Classic FM every Saturday evening.
He previously presented The A-Z of Classic FM Music, which began in 2008 and won a Silver Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Music Programme.