James Royal (born 14 July 1941)* is a British born soul singer who was known as the “King of British Blue Eyed Soul”. In a lot of ways the story of James Royal is mirrored that of many an artist in the UK during the 1960s. Getting his introduction to pop music via the skiffle scene, he went onto front his own Beat band, went solo in the middle of the decade and released many singles that got radio plays but never quite made the leap into the official charts.
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| James and the Hawks |
Born James Nairn in London, his early life is obscure but being a tad older than his contemporaries, Royal had a three year stint in the Royal Air Force which interrupted his early skiffle based dabblings. On departing the RAF he found a changed music scene, as the Teds and Rockers were slowly being usurped by a smarter, younger set. This new phenomenon dug Jazz, Blues and the new Soul music coming from America, which suited James’ impassioned vocal style down to the ground. James bumped into a certain Don Wilson who asked him to join his band the Skylarks. This band soon floundered but having this experience pushed Royal into starting his own combo the Hawks.
The highpoint of their career was getting to the final of the televised Ready Steady Win! competition in 1964 (won by the Bow Street Runners, with links to Fleetwood Mac, but that’s another story). Having found success in London pubs and clubs, Jim and the band met “aptly named” manager Mervyn Conn. It took years before the band learned their manager had his hand firmly in the cookie jar, effectively preventing them from reaching the pinnacle of rock stardom.
Jim recollects,” Even if I do say so myself, this was a very good tight little band. On bass was one of the best bass players I have had the pleasure of working with, one John Savage; on lead, the multi-talented Micky King, who joined me from Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers, then on drums, the one and only Terry Mabey. He was brilliant, a great time-keeper and a great pleasure to work with”.
After a period of uncertainty in 1966 Royal folded the Hawks and emerged as a solo artist in his own right (with a band called the Set backing him on live engagements). They continued touring with some of the world’s biggest musical acts, despite being sabotaged by management.
A regular gig in London saw them support musicians like Tina Turner, Tom Jones, the Moody Blues and Stevie Wonder. The band played both London's Marquee and Dunstable's California Ballroom during 1966. He recorded eleven singles and an album from 1967 to 1970 on the Decca, Parlophone, CBS, Carnaby, and Philips labels, all of which missed out on the charts.
Long nights on the road with The Who taught Jim about more than just music. “John Entwistle, Keithy Moon and I were a trio, not musically, just buddies,” he said. “ Legendary drummer Keith Moon introduced Jim to amphetamine-laced “purple hearts” after a gig. “They were slimming tablets, but in the wrong hands...” Jim said. He dropped the duo off in his Ford Zephyr and returned home with his head in the clouds. “When the down started... it made you feel depressed and degraded, like the lowest scum on earth,” he said. “That was a lesson well-learned. “Keithy, bless his soul, when he started coming down he’d just go back up again.”
Touring across Europe in 1968 with Johnny Cash was a tale in itself, but the star that had perhaps the biggest impact on Jim Nairn was “The Killer” Jerry Lee Lewis with whom he toured the UK in 1973. A decade of touring had Jim’s nerves worn thin when he met Australian wife-to-be Christine Dart at the Lyceum in London. Without realising, he was on the verge of a breakdown. Undiagnosed anxiety attacks had started to creep up on him. “I was drinking too much, smoking like a chimney and I’d had a marriage go wrong,” he said. “It happened to a lot of bands, but in the end I just had enough.” Jim and Christine married in England and emigrated to Australia in 1988, settling in Toowoomba.
Jim intended to continue chasing his musical dreams when he arrived in Australia. It soon became apparent he would have to start at the bottom — a slap in the face for a man who called rubbed shoulders with the biggest names in rock and roll. “I tried a few things that never worked out, but I’m very happy here in Australia,” he said. Earning a wage as a taxi driver, music fell by the wayside until 2010 when he joined The Jerry Hat Tricks, a Toowoomba band with sporadic pub gigs.
During July 2019 he made a visit to the UK to perform at the. Ealing Club basement bar which he frequented at the start of his career. His backing band for the one-off gig included two other 1960s Ealing Club veterans – amplification company co-founder Terry Marshall on sax, and Deep Purple founding member Nick Simper on bass.
(Edited from an article by Chris Calcino @ The Chronical.com.au., Ealing Club.com & Louder Than War) * (Other sources give birth year as 1939)