EXCLUSIVE: James stars Tim Booth and Jim Glennie have opened up on the meditation group, which they described as a 'cult', they became involved in in the 90s as they express how baring all in a new documentary was like 'therapy'

They're known for their deep connection with their fans during live gigs, but now the band members behind James are getting ready to show never-before-seen footage from life on the road - and spill on their "car crash" moments.

The band, fronted by singer Tim Booth and bassist Jim Glennie, are spilling their biggest secrets in front of the camera for the first time and Tim admits it has been a "traumatic experience".

The group filmed James: Getting Away With It over the course of three years and Tim describes it as being "like therapy on camera". He exclusively tells the Mirror: "We'd never thought of doing a documentary. We'd always kept our private lives secret to some degree. There were quite a few secrets in James.

"Most bands use their car crashes as part of their image, their rock and roll image, and we'd always circled the wagons and tried to not. We always wanted it to be the music that got us our attention, and we also wanted to protect people, so we hadn't really been public about what a car crash we became in the 90s."

He adds: "We hadn't really been public about how we meditated and had been in this kind of meditation cult; we'd always kept that secret as well. So there were a few things in the documentary that we've never revealed before, and you know, it's been hard to do. Actually, quite frankly, it was quite a traumatic experience. Like therapy on camera."

Tim spent three and a half years in his twenties involved in a meditation group. During this time, he lived like a monk and abstained from drugs and alcohol, while also practising strict celibacy.

While he threw himself into it, he had previously said he disbanded after finding the gurus doing everything he wasn’t allowed to do. But he says the meditation stayed.

Jim adds that creating the documentary has been a difficult process for him. He says watching it back brings on a number of different emotions. He tells us: "It's like I cry and laugh when I watch it.

"I never look forward to seeing it. I've seen it very many times, but I'm kind of like, 'oh God'. And then I'm always glad I've done it, but it's reliving some really painful things that were difficult and still are."

Speaking of what he thinks the audience will take from the production, Tim says there are a number of "laugh-out-loud moments" mixed into the harder-hitting scenes.

"We're a real mixture of organisation and chaos," he says. "We have great musicians in James who are very organised, and then we allow for chaos. Like, there's no set list, or there's a set list that'll last 20 minutes, and we'll see how it goes."

Director of the documentary, Chris Atkins, admits it was "exhausting" creating the final product. "They never plan anything and keep changing things all the time, which meant I never had a clue what was going on," he tells us.

But he admits it's this aura and personality that really helps their authenticity shine through. He continues: "Jim, Tim Larry [Gott] and Saul [Davies] were extremely frank and open, about the good times and bad.

"I never realised how much they struggled during the 80s in the face of so many knockbacks. I’d have quit after six months but they kept persevering for a decade before they exploded with Sit Down."

James: Getting Away With It will screen at cinemas nationwide on 17th August, followed by livestream of band interview and live performance. Tickets and full screening information is available at https://jamesgettingawaywithit.com/.

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