James Warren

James Warren is a musician who has enjoyed pop success. But the guitarist/bassist and vocalist is a steadfast citizen of the progressive world.

In the early 70s he was a member of Stackridge, the West Country band who had a quirky blend of folk, psychedelia and jazz. While they never achieved major status, nonetheless their first three albums – 1971’s self-titled debut, Friendliness from the following year and ’74’s The Man In The Bowler Hat – showcased musicianship of great depth and melodic purpose. The last named was produced by George Martin and is now regarded as a classic of the era.

In 1973, Warren left the band and five years later teamed up with Andrew Cresswell-Davis, another one-time member of Stackridge, to form The Korgis. Often regarded as a new wave pop band, although there was still a strong prog element running through the music, they had two big hit singles in the UK. If I Had You reached No.13 in 1979, while the Warren-penned Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime did even better the following year, peaking at No.5.

The Korgis split up at the start of the 80s, since which time Warren has worked as a solo artist, as well as being involved in various reunions of both Stackridge and The Korgis. The former recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with the new collection Stackridge ‘50’ Recordings 1971-2021, and the latter have released their first new album since 1992’s The World’s For Everyone. Titled Kartoon World, this is a concept album about the power of love with a storyline spanning half a century from 1980 to 2030.

Warren puts his own half-century career split between Stackridge and The Korgis into perspective for Prog.

So how did Stackridge