Why does James smack himself when singing the verses?

[Tetsuo]

Ever notice when James ain't playing guitar he tends to smack himself about the head...

Is this some kind of tribute to Richey or something? Restless hands syndrome?

[LoveMeToDeath]

I have no idea why he does this and wish he wouldn't. He hit himself in the face at Carlisle and I think he might have hurt himself a wee bit cos he was rubbing his jaw a couple of times after it

[Mr Richey]

Dude, what the fuck are you on about? I have never seen James smack himself about on stage

[everlasting]

Yeah I've sometimes wondered this. Just think maybe he's annoyed at something / himself or he's just weird haha! Amusing nonetheless.

[riot_star]

He always seems to do it during Motorcycle Emptiness!

[Son of Stopped]

I can't remember seeing him smack himself, but maybe it's to stop him becoming emotional about the gig? Paul McCartney is famous for bursting into tears and going all wonky voice when he performs certain songs live.
Has James only started doing this, or has it been going on for a while?

[LoveMeToDeath]

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

I can't remember seeing him smack himself, but maybe it's to stop him becoming emotional about the gig? Paul McCartney is famous for bursting into tears and going all wonky voice when he performs certain songs live.
Has James only started doing this, or has it been going on for a while?

i seemed to have only recently noticed it since last year, JPFL tour onwards, i'm sure there is evidence of it on TITP footage

[Dext37 Fielding]

ALL WE WANT FROM YOU ARE THE KICKS YOU *SMACK*

IT *NECK* WAS *NECK* NO *NECK* SURFACE BUT ALL FEELING

Just some examples i remember!

[StrummerMan]

It may well be to remind himself of the lyrics as we all know he quite often gets them the wrong way round! When Ernie Wise use to smack Eric Morecambe`s cheeks he once said in an interview that he did it to give himself a couple of seconds to remember what his next lines were!! I`m going to ask him in Birmingham if I get chance then we`ll all know.

[MDWill]

Ooooh, this can be a part of the manics live gig drinking game.

Drink when:
James says "EH," or "Like," or "Y'know" or an old man phrase (i.e. "Jesus Holy Maroni")
James smacks self around
James forgets a lyric
Drunk fan shouts incorrect song title
Nicky proclaims James to be his "guitar hero"

[Marwood]

He's been doing this for years now (I think the first time I really noticed it was Glastonbury '99) and it is one of my favourite things about James

Quite why he does it I've no idea - sometimes I think its just a funky Ian Curtis dance sort of thing, sometimes I wonder if its some sort of aid-to-memory, and often I've wondered if it is part of his whole "method actor" approach to music (and given that it tends to be the angrier songs where he does it, maybe I'm on to something there).

Regards,
Marwood.

[mafiamonroe]

It's probably just a mixture of adrenalin and excitement with a bit of nerves. He's a nervy sort of bloke as he's admitted and even when sitting for an interview he always twitches.

[darkanddivine]

It seems to me to be mostly since he stopped playing guitar in certain verses. He seems to do it more when he's not playing guitar, which would make sense as if you ask most guitarists to sing without a guitar and they feel a bit silly. So he does other stuff now, including beating himself about the face!

[MSPlover]

This theard made me laugh so much.

My sister and I saw a gig from this year and he's smuck his face so many times it become amusing and I really hope he doens't hurt himself badly

[A Design For Manic]

because he'll do anything for more screen time than Nicky?