Pleased to Meet You

Pleased to Meet You is the ninth studio album by English rock band James. Less than a year after the release of Millionaires (1999), the band were playing new material live. Recording was split between Ridge Farm, Whitfield St., House in the Woods studios; producer credit was split between Brian Eno, guitarist/violinist Saul Davies, KK and the band. "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" was released as a single in late June, followed a week later by Pleased to Meet You on 2 July through Mercury Records. The front cover features a composite image of all the band members' faces. Pleased to Meet You reached number 11 on the UK album chart, and was certified silver by the BPI. Lead single "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" reached number 22 on the UK singles chart. The record received a mainly favourable response from music critics. It was promoted with an appearance on Top of the Pops and various festivals across three months in the UK, Spain and Portugal. Vocalist Tim Booth left the band after their December UK tour; the final show of which was released as the Getting Away with It...Live live/video album in early 2002. Background and production James released their eighth album Millionaires in October 1999. In March 2000, the band revealed they had been writing new material and planned to record later in the year, with the aim of releasing an album in January 2001. During their performance at the V Festival in August, the band played three new songs. The following month, the band revealed they were in the process of recording with Brian Eno, doing pre-production. In October and November, the band embarked on a UK club tour. They used the stint to test how the new songs would sound live before they planned to record them. They had written over 30 tracks for inclusion on their next record; on the opening night, the band played seven of these new songs. Though the band had planned to use a different producer for the main sessions, Eno and guitarist/violinist Saul Davies were enlisted to produce most of the recordings. Inspired by playing the new songs live, the band decided to gather in a circle and record live-in-the-studio at Ridge Farm Studios in Capel, Surrey with engineer Gary Langan. Eno likened the process to when artists make their debut record: "they're full of enthusiasm and excitement and they know what they're doing and it's a pleasure." Additional production was done by KK, at the suggestion of Eno, and drummer David Baynton-Power.