When did JDB.....

[Blank Page Refugee]

When did he start smoking? A completely useless and pointless question but i was wondering. I mean he says he started smoking because it was the most 'rock n roll thing to do' so did he start when they formed the band or when he was younger?

[Mr Richey]

A more interesting question is how the fuck has smoking not affected his pipes? Even Freddie Mercury's voice was starting to go thin towards the end of his life and this was apparantly not to do with the HIV but to do with his smoking. And I've noticed my own voice getting gruffer with each album as I've been smoking 8 years now. How does JDB manage to keep his voice so swell?

[Littlesue]

Originally Posted by Richey83

A more interesting question is how the fuck has smoking not affected his pipes? Even Freddie Mercury's voice was starting to go thin towards the end of his life and this was apparantly not to do with the HIV but to do with his smoking. And I've noticed my own voice getting gruffer with each album as I've been smoking 8 years now. How does JDB manage to keep his voice so swell?

Personally I think his voice is pretty poor now live, also he always gets 'the cold' on a long tour, I would say its more the smoking than the cold which is the problem.

[Bryter Layter]

No idea when he started smoking but my guess is, he started quite young and it probably had nothing to do with being in a rock and roll band. Saying something like that just made for a good sound bite.

As for his voice not being affected by smoking, I'm not sure either how it's managed to hold up, but I would disagree that his voice hasn't changed over the years. He still has an incredible voice but I'm not sure he can hit the same screeching to notes he could hit in his 20s. Mind you, that probably has more to do with getting older than it does smoking, but you never know.
Anyway, even though he's still a smoker, I don't think he smokes as much as he did years ago. I might be wrong about that, but I suspect that's the case these days.

[deadmartyr]

Originally Posted by TheGreatPretender

Anyway, even though he's still a smoker, I don't think he smokes as much as he did years ago. I might be wrong about that, but I suspect that's the case these days.

That's what I thought, perhaps to the point that I was surprised when I saw him with a cig in his hand after hearing/reading about him cutting it out/down.

[bruisepristine]

Originally Posted by TheGreatPretender

As for his voice not being affected by smoking, I'm not sure either how it's managed to hold up, but I would disagree that his voice hasn't changed over the years.

I agree - his voice is VERY different to the older stuff, especially live stuff from back in the early 90's (pre-THB), his voice was much higher pitched, much lighter, not just singing but his speaking voice. Like the interview bit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjMIaCeYOlc. Now it is not necessarily any deeper pitch, but definitely more gravely, typical of a long-time smoker. And though his voice is absolutely killer now, and very very strong still, he really showcases it better acoustically because he isn't jumping around and doing big screams, getting more winded. For instance, during 'Your Love Alone' on the album he sings the "eno-ou-ough", "woooorld" etc. parts straight through whereas live he has to break the words up with a little "yah" in the middle, if that makes any sense. I'd bet partly from years of smoking, partly from jumping around on stage...

They say smoking makes a singer's voice "better", puts that coating of crap on their throats and somehow makes their voices better/stronger, but the drawback is that it takes your lung power down incredibly, so over time while the voice is less "pitchy", you can't hold the note as long, if any of that makes sense.

James' voice is amazing, hopefully he will cut back/quit smoking and hang onto it.

[deadmartyr]

Would've thought it - the benefits of smoking, hey?

[rabbit]

He must have been smoking for at least twenty years now probably...
You would have thought that watching his mother die of cancer would have turned him off cigarettes but apparently not

[Dean V]

I think the bigger question is what exactly did James smoke...

Just throwing that out there.

[Tetsuo]

Started when he was in his teens as did all decent rock star guitarists.

Between 2002 and 2006 he got back into shape by running (he used to be the quintessential long distance runner/loner) - this man can run, sing like a fucking angel and dance around on stage like a one man band, smoking does not seem to impede his activities! Not sure how it's affected his voice negatively but the man sings like a church choir of vestel virgins.

He may or may not have smoked some blow.

[Mr Inconspicuous]

Originally Posted by Dean V

I think the bigger question is what exactly did James smoke...

Just throwing that out there.

Don't go there!

Now that the subject has been brought up, I was wondering when Richey started on the ciggies, In his biography, Rob Jovanovic suggests it was only in 1993, which I was a bit surprised at. I had always assumed he had started as a teen, I suppose mainly because of the line in Spectators of Suicide and because he always seems to have been so physically slight...

[Bryter Layter]

Originally Posted by Littlesue

Personally I think his voice is pretty poor now live, also he always gets 'the cold' on a long tour, I would say its more the smoking than the cold which is the problem.

I don't know. I think as long time fans we notice these things more because my brother, who isn't familiar with the Manics, was absolutely in awe of James' voice when we saw them live a few weeks back and my bro is a musician. He liked the music, but he couldn't stop talking about how amazing James' vocals were.

Originally Posted by Mr Inconspicuous

Now that the subject has been brought up, I was wondering when Richey started on the ciggies, In his biography, Rob Jovanovic suggests it was only in 1993, which I was a bit surprised at. I had always assumed he had started as a teen, I suppose mainly because of the line in Spectators of Suicide and because he always seems to have been so physically slight...

Good point, but who can say why he did what he did? I'm not sure even the band understood half the things he tried. Maybe it had a lot to do with boredom. That's the only thing I can think of.
He was smoking a cig in the 1990 Heavenly promo film, but it looked more like a prop in that one so...

[Mr Richey]

Originally Posted by Mr Inconspicuous

Now that the subject has been brought up, I was wondering when Richey started on the ciggies, In his biography, Rob Jovanovic suggests it was only in 1993, which I was a bit surprised at. I had always assumed he had started as a teen, I suppose mainly because of the line in Spectators of Suicide and because he always seems to have been so physically slight...

Simon Price indicated in Everything that Richey started smoking when he was a patient at The Priory. This is supported by Nicky's comment that he came out of The Priory with a 60 a day habit.

[Bryter Layter]

Originally Posted by Richey83

Simon Price indicated in Everything that Richey started smoking when he was a patient at The Priory. This is supported by Nicky's comment that he came out of The Priory with a 60 a day habit.

I haven't read 'Everything' in ages so I can't speak to what Price mentions regarding the timeline of when Richey picked up that habit, however, if he does state that in the book, it's another factual error on his part. Richey in fact picked up the habit in late summer 1993. There's not only photographic evidence showing him smoking cigarettes during this time, there's also a Japanese interview with both he and Nicky in the fall of '93 where he's literally chain smoking throughout.
Best not to believe everything you read in Everything. Its the best bio on the band, but it's full of inaccuracies.

[Mr.Selfdestruct]

Originally Posted by Richey83

Simon Price indicated in Everything that Richey started smoking when he was a patient at The Priory. This is supported by Nicky's comment that he came out of The Priory with a 60 a day habit.

As he eat less and less I guess he just smoked more. It's ten years since I read that book. I will have to buy it and read it again.

James is looking better these days. Although looking at the pics from America, he seems to have put on weight since the last time I saw him, in April. He still looks a lot better than he did in the late 90's/early naughties. And his voice is a lot better too. Did he used to drink a lot of spirits? If he can't stop smoking, he is better off sticking to the pints than the whiskey.