One of the least likely musical touring partnerships was when I saw James back in 1991. They appeared at the Portsmouth Guildhall and were supported by a band called Eat.
Eat were a London band led by the charismatic singer Ange Dolittle, who would really get into the character of the stories in the songs. Other notable members were, brothers Paul and Max Nobel and Pete Howard, he played drums for the Clash during their fated Cut the Crap era.
Their musical style was a mixture of many many styles, their influences were as varied as Creedance Clearwater Revival, Doors, Gang of Four and Big Audio Dynamite. It was the bluesy sound of the deep south that Eat will be remembered for. The spaghetti western blues of Tombstone and Walking Man, the swampy sound of Stories and Things I Need , which have a blues funk tone. Red Moon tells a story of scratching expensive cars at Kings Cross.
Eat never sat well in the genres a bit too strange for Wonderstuff fans, too danceable for Echo and the Bunnymen Fans.
Tombstone
Electric City
Fatman
Stories
Walking Man
Skin
Red Moon
Insect Head
Body Bag
Things I Need
Judgement Train
Gyrate
Summer In The City
Mr & Mrs Smack
I was a Teenage Shoegazer 
We were probably at the same gig! I got his autograph when I nipped out for a pint at some point and I still have it (along with the plastic James beer cup). He said “You turned my face into a car park”…..something that I’ve pondered about over the years…………. Anyway, much prefer the later Epicure. x
I make that 4 gigs we were at together.
Great blog!! Any chance of having “Epicure”?? Thx