I�m stretching the guidelines a bit here, this song hasn�t changed my life and has no real special meaning � it hasn�t been the soundtrack to a meaningful event in my past, etc. There�s too many candidates for that � from being thirteen when Nirvana broke, then catching the Oasis wave, etc, being a young miserable bastard listening, predictably, to the Smiths.

Anyway, I digress. Jamie T is twenty or thereabouts, he�s from London, and he�s released an EP and a few singles. I caught him one some late-night channel 4 thing about a month or two ago, doing a song called �Back in the game� solo, with only an acoustic bass he hardly touched for backing. It didn�t hit me right away, but I was intrigued enough to do some searches.

It led me to this, �Sheila�, recorded live on a usually-pretty-shite Channel 4 programme, Transmission. Unlike �back in the game� this got me right away. I loved it from the first listen and now, after the umpteenth time, I still love it. No doubt I�ll get sick of it after a while, but right now, our relationship is still strong.

Why? Well, the tune, for a start, is always important to me. It�s melodies that matter first, rhythm next, and the lyrics are the icing on the top � and that�s what makes Jamie T different. He has the perceptive lyrics of Mike Skinner (better, in my opinion) but he actually bothers to write a tune to go along with it; the instrumentation brings to mind punk, reggae, a tiny bit of hip-hop. As for the voice, think a less irritating Billy Bragg, a touch of Alex Turner..

But as for that icing - I honestly think he�s the best lyricist I�ve heard for years. That might be hyperbole but fuck it �when you read reviews that harp on about how someone new is nowhere near as good as someone from the past, it�s worth knowing that a lot of the old classics are hyped to death as well. So, I�ll stick my neck out and say that Jamie T is better than Billy Bragg, mainly because Billy Bragg�s only got one decent song (the milkman one). Anyway, a few of the lines in �Sheila� are classic, from the humorous:

Well done Jack glug down that cider,
You�re right she�s a slut and you never fuckin liked her

She�ll probably fall back
Tears streamin down her face she�ll scream away:
�When I fall, no one catch me
Alone lonely I�ll overdose slowly
Get scared, I�ll scream and shout�
But you know it won�t matter she�ll be passin out

The song is a kitchen-sink drama in 3 parts, with a chorus that deserves a mass singalong. This should have been huge � I can�t help feeling that all it needed was an advert, a performance on Parkinson. It�s accessible, catchy, poppy. We have a bunch of American Goths able to get to number one with a Bohemian Rhapsody wannabe, minus the tune, but Sheila hardly made a dent in the charts � why God?

Meanwhile, months later, Jamie T still languishes in semi-obscurity, only Sheila is popping up as backing for holiday programmes, children�s telly, etc. Maybe a re-release is needed.

But, first things first, you can help by watching this, and then exploring his other stuff (The Sheila video is also up, but I prefer the live versions, they sound more vital and full-of-life). Hopefully, with your curiosity piqued, you�ll have enough cash to buy his album as soon as it appears, because it would be a shame if someone this talented had to sit in the shadows while the Shayne Wards of this world hog the limelight.

© 2006 Laura Hird All rights reserved.