Timothy John Booth (born 4 February 1960) is an English singer, dancer, and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James. Booth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and attended Shrewsbury School. Whilst a student at Manchester University studying drama, Booth encountered Jim Glennie, Paul Gilbertson and Gavan Whelan in 1981 in the cellar bar of the University's student union. Impressed by Booth's distinctive dancing style, Gilbertson invited Booth to join their band as a dancer. Booth accepted the offer, and was soon promoted to lead singer and lyricist of James. After a struggle for success and recognition throughout the 1980s, James finally achieved commercial success in the early 1990s with the rise of the Manchester music scene, and their single "Sit Down" reaching number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. During 1995, Booth took a break from James and recorded an album with film composer Angelo Badalamenti, entitled Booth and the Bad Angel. He then returned to James to complete the recording of the album Whiplash, and stayed with the band until 2001 when he announced his departure to concentrate on other projects. 2007 marked the return of James, with new tunes and extensive touring through 2008.