James Kennedy (musician)

James Kennedy (born 15 March 1980) is a Welsh rock solo artist, author and podcaster.[1] He was formerly the singer & guitarist in the Alternative Rock band Kyshera[2] until they disbanded in 2018[3] and now fronts the band James Kennedy & The Underdogs.[4] Kennedy has released eight albums since 2010, including three with Kyshera and five solo releases[5] with his latest being 'Make Anger Great Again', released in 2020 by Konic Records.[6] Also in 2020, Kennedy's autobiography 'Noise Damage' was published by Eye Lightning Books[7] which peaked at Number One on Amazon.[8]

James Kennedy
Background information
Born (1980-03-15) 15 March 1980
Cardiff, Wales
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • musician
  • author
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • production
Years active2002–present
LabelsKonic Records
Websitejameskennedystuff.com

In 2022, Kennedy began hosting The James Kennedy Podcast, a weekly podcast where he interviews musicians, activists, politicians and authors.[9] Previous guests include Stella Assange, Frank Turner, James Watt of Brewdog, Bob Roth, Rou Reynolds, Greg Palast, Nadia Whittome and Lee Camp among others.

At the age of ten, Kennedy was diagnosed with advanced bilateral cholesteatoma, a destructive expanding growth in both of his middle ears which required 3 major ear operations. As a result of the surgery, Kennedy lost 40% of his hearing in both ears and developed constant white noise Tinnitus in his left ear.[10] Kennedy was included in a poll of the Top 50 Sexiest Men in Wales along with Tom Ellis, Kelly Jones and Jamie Roberts.[11] In 2013 he won a court case against the record label 'Rising Records' over the release of the Kyshera album 'Made in China'.[12] He frequently receives online trolling from people mistaking him for James Kennedy from the US reality show Vanderpump Rules.[13] He was one of several artists who gave evidence at a 2022 hearing at the House of Lords about the difficulties for UK artists to tour in Europe post-Brexit.[14] and in November 2022, he alleges that he was physically assaulted by three plain-clothed police officers whilst sitting in his car, resulting in an ongoing investigation which the South Wales Police have said they are taking "extremely seriously".[15]

Discography
With Kyshera
  • Paradigm (2010)
  • Made in China (2012)
  • Circle (2015)
As James Kennedy
  • 9.i.P (2012)
  • The National Health Service (2013)
  • Cover Songs Vol 1 (2016)
  • Home (2017)
  • Make Anger Great Again (2020)

Bibliography
  • Noise Damage : My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog (2020)

References
  1. Trendell, Andrew (September 23, 2022). "Brexit: UK government warned musicians and crew "could find themselves unemployed en masse"". NME.
  2. Team, Flavourmag (June 22, 2010). "Kyshera – Paradigm review".
  3. Roberts, Samuel (February 5, 2021). "James Kennedy on his love/hate relationship with life as an unsigned musician".
  4. "Touring and loneliness: Musicians discuss the impacts of a life on the road". www.prsformusic.com.
  5. "Konic Records". Discogs.
  6. "James Kennedy / 'Make Anger Great Again' is pretty relevant for right now | MetalTalk". September 23, 2020.
  7. "Noise Damage by James Kennedy | Eye Books". www.eye-books.com.
  8. "JAMES KENNEDY's "Noise Damage: My Life As A Rock 'N' Roll Underdog" Book Now Available In North America". bravewords.com.
  9. "#1 - James Kennedy by The James Kennedy Podcast". Anchor.
  10. "It's totally not cool - Plugem". plugem.co.uk.
  11. "Wales' sexiest men". Western Mail. 4 December 2010.
  12. "The Unbelievable Story Of Threatin: Heavy Metal's Fyre Festival Moment". Kerrang!. 29 October 2019.
  13. "UK Singer James Kennedy Hilariously Begs 'Vanderpump Rules' Fans to Realize He's Not DJ James Kennedy, Doesn't Want His 'Hate Mail'". US Weekly. 12 December 2018.
  14. "Brexit: UK government warned musicians and crew "could find themselves unemployed en masse"". NME. 23 September 2022.
  15. "Singer claims police got into his car in Cardiff and punched him". Wales Online. December 2022.
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