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Northern English expats of a certain age would hardly have been able to contain themselves when veteran indie band James announced a first-ever visit to these shores next month. Formed as far back as 1982, they rode the early-90s Madchester wave with the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, James endured longer than most – bar a six-year hiatus while frontman Tim Booth went off to teach meditation – and are still banging out critically-rated albums. A huge back catalogue will be on offer, but many will be there for the hits that will remind them of pound-a-pint nights in student discos: She’s A Star, Laid, and the infamous Sit Down. We’ll have an interview with the enigmatic Booth in next week’s section in which he explains why the band’s clean-living image was undeserved. – Steve Kilgallon

James: Auckland November 9, Wellington November 10.