With a voice that could snarl or seduce and a presence that defined late-'80s rebellion, Wendy James burst onto the scene as the electrifying frontwoman of Transvision Vamp. Known for hits like “Baby I Don’t Care” and “I Want Your Love,” she became a pop-punk icon whose fearless image and outspoken attitude made her a tabloid fixture and a fashion muse. But James is far more than a flash of peroxide and provocation—her solo career has seen collaborations with legends like Elvis Costello, James Williamson of The Stooges, and Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group, proving her staying power as a fiercely independent artist with a razor-sharp creative edge. Wendy’s latest solo album, The Shape Of History, is a bold, eclectic, and emotionally resonant work that showcases her enduring artistic edge and fearless attitude. And the great news for fans is that she is heading out on a 21 date UK tour this October. We catch up with Wendy in the south of France to dive deep into the music and to soak up the forthcoming tour’s excitement. It’s a blistering hot day yet Wendy looks fresh and cool, and as you would expect we are greeted with a huge smile and the warmest of welcomes. We make ourselves comfortable and our conversation begins...

Well I’d like to start with what’s most important: the music. And can I say how much I absolutely adore your latest album The Shape Of History. Just focusing on the opening track Sweet Like Love, I love the gorgeous piano intro and the staccato time changes – it just instantly grabbed me. But what really struck me about this song – and we see this throughout the album -is the gorgeous vocal harmonies and backing vocals, and I just wanted to ask where does your inspiration and love for harmonies and exciting backing vocals come from?

Motown and Bacharach and David. And a great study of Motown backing vocals. We all know all of those Motown songs, they’ve been in our lives since we were born but we sing the lead vocal when we are singing along. But with say Gladys Knight and The Pips I will just go to The Pips because Motown backing vocals are different to rock bands who tend to do more of the harmonies. So they will be singing the same line but will be harmonising it which is great. And I think Keith Richards is the best harmoniser - he does this strange bluesy harmony to Mick Jagger that isn’t the normal increment of chords or notes above the lead. But that’s rock ‘n’ roll, bluesy type harmonising. What Motown do is without logic, they pick out the sentence like ‘I’ll be home at six’, and they will do (sings) ‘…home… at six..’ or they will do ‘ I’ll be back at six’. It’s just so fascinating! So I get great pleasure from backing vocals. I have a little set up at home where I’ve got an 8-track digital porta-studio so once I’ve developed the whole song and I’ve signed off on my lead vocal, I will transplant that back into my digital porta-studio and I’ll be in my sitting room pondering the backing vocal. I just have a skill for hooks and I can just start singing along and it works itself out. My engineer will tell you that when we get to the backing vocal stage of the whole recording session, the backing vocals give me such pleasure because you can really imagine that you’re the Arquette’s or The Pips or the Temptations. And also Bacharach and David,

The next track I’d like to talk about is May I Kiss You Just Enough To Get In Trouble. On the face of it, it’s about the start of a relationship, but what it made me think about is how there are so any times in life where we just don’t take a chance and therefore we may miss out on opportunities or on something that could be amazing. To what extent is this the essence of the song?

Yes, that is very much the essence of this song! Your understanding is bang on! But it also draws on when you fancy someone and you’re flirting with them and you kind of know you’re going to end up having sex but you kind of pass it off as ‘let’s just have a kiss and it won’t go any further because this is about our first date’, but of course, both of you are wanting it to develop as quickly as possible. So it’s that literal first date temptation. And then, as you say, the bigger picture of taking a chance when you should rather than letting it go by.

Let’s talk about the song A Big Vicious Rumble. On reading the title I was expecting a power track, so I was very surprised to then be met with the most emotive acoustic guitar and the softest of vocals. It’s a song about heartbreak but I don’t see it as a sad song because it’s about emerging from heartbreak. And it’s the lyrics I would like to focus on because with words such as ‘but darling would you like to try again?’ and ‘hold on tight to me, I’m not going to forget you’ I think so many people will find a lot of strength in this song and I think it’s ‘delicately massively empowering’. And this just made me wonder, how important is it to you that your fans might feel empowered by your music?

Very much! That’s always one of the most gratifying and pleasing things and it makes me very happy when I hear that. Because of course the lyrics, as in anything, are in the eye of the beholder or the ear of the listener. So you take from it what you relate to. So I like your interpretation right there, you’re correct. It is about strength, it is about love and it is about achieving security. But I actually wrote that song when I first started seeing, like the whole world, Russia illegally invade Ukraine, a sovereign country. We all saw the horrendously upsetting scenes at the train stations where all the dads had to be conscripted right there and then, whether they were science teachers, roadbuilders or weekend army people – everyone was pulled in. All the men had to go and learn immediately how to handle a gun and be shipped off to the front lines. We all saw those scenes on the news where the dads were just clinging on for one last hug of their children and their partners. And I just imagined at the very same time that the dad or the person going away is still trying to instill and bolster security for the child, like ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, we’ll see each other soon’. It doesn’t have to be war that does that to a family situation but at the same time, as an individual, they were feeling such heartbreak themselves because everything is unknown. And in the lyrics it says that the world can change in a second. So let’s say the week before the war started in Ukraine, or the invasion started because Ukraine didn’t go to war with Russia, all these kids are at school, playing with her friends and they haven’t had to contemplate anything serious about life and death and the meaning of it all and to struggle to get through anything. They’re simply playing with their friends in the playground. And then the next Tuesday, their dad’s gone, they’ve been told to pack their little rucksack and they’re going to Poland to seek refuge, with nothing but maybe a teddy bear and a favourite book, and their mum is crying. So just in an instant whether it’s the adults of the children – and it doesn’t have to be war and it doesn’t have to be Ukraine – this can happen to all of us in different ways, everything you thought you knew gets changed. But war is particularly devastating because you don’t know where you’re going, what you’re stepping into and you don’t know where you can come back to. So that’s actually why I wrote this song and I got very sad and emotional about it, but also I am an adopted person and I was adopted as a baby. At some point my birth mother had to give me up and I just imagined her wishing me, the baby, luck in life and that everything is going to be okay. I think we’ve all had moments where you just don’t know and where you feel lost, and we all need security at different points in our lives. So it’s me extending a big hug. So yes, it’s what you said and these are just my personal additions.

In terms of the music, the last track I want to ask you about is the title track The Shape Of History which is just such a wonderfully upbeat and catchy song and it appears to be perhaps the most autobiographical on the album. It’s a wonderful trip down memory lane to those early years, and I love the lines ‘life’s a gas, with a camera flash’, the way you powerfully sing ‘Pow!’, ‘Flash!’ also the lines ’33 1/3, 45s’ and ‘we saw you on TV last night’. One of the reasons I particularly love this song is because your memories are also my memories. I love your references to vinyl records, I was the person seeing the press choas that followed Transvision Vamp, and I know what it meant to have Top Of The Pops to look forward to every Thursday and what a hugely important thing that was not just for music but for a family coming together. It really just made me reflect on how much has changed, and I wanted to ask as someone who has been in this business for so long as you have and who will have seen so many changes, what changes have impacted you most and is there anything you perhaps miss?

Well the internet is the biggest change, isn’t it? Because I’ve been able to communicate with all my fans and draw a fan base and release records from wherever I am. I haven’t had to walk into a record label in Soho in London and negotiate every single decision. It allows me to talk to you as we are today and where every fan that wants to is able to leave a comment or a suggestion or a memory on any of the social media. So the internet is the biggest change that’s democratised and opened up the world for everyone. And then moving forward with the internet, it is also empowered the poison that the tabloids can kind of spread – that’s just like on fucking steroids now with the internet, where all these people leave the most vicious words. I’m not talking about me but I see it for other people. The most vicious hate! I know that a large proportion of it is trolls and now AI trolls. I just question why someone would bother to just go onto a newspaper’s website, into the readers comments, and leave vial hate? I can’t imagine being that person. What has happened in your life that you feel that hate towards somebody that you’ve never met and about whom you have no accurate information? Your information is given to you by people in tabloids that are lying in the first place for the money agenda. I’m not a part of that – I’m not really tabloid adjacent any longer. When I was, it was just the papers. So you’d get a vicious column from Piers Morgan or something but it would be outdone by Top Of The Pops, as you say, the following Thursday. In terms of what I miss, I don’t necessarily miss it but what was wonderful about it was the fact that if you’re in the right time at the right place, which Transvision Vamp certainly were, then you had a Radio One which was enormous and also Top Of The Pops which was enormous – not just for the UK but for spreading out across the world. That’s really how America got to find out about us. They love indie British bands, flavour-of-the-month type of thing, or the favourite band of the year. And all of Europe were kind of doing sub-Top Of The Pops kind of shows. But Top Of The Pops was the crown jewel for nailing some hits for some bands. So it was pretty focused to get your music out there. You didn’t have to do social media across everything – it just had to be Top Of The Pops and Radio One. But then in the decades before me, you had the debauch of The Rolling Stones going on tour in the 70s! (Laughs!) There’s something in every area era to be celebrated, and there’s plenty to be celebrated by the internet because it’s created this whole world where we can discover each other that’s really healthy, but it’s the Yin and the Yang, right?

Something that’s causing a huge amount of excitement amongst our readers is your forthcoming solo tour. And this is a mammoth tour where are you going to be playing 21 dates with only the occasional day off. How do you prepare for and survive a tour of this magnitude?

Oh my God, by crossing my fingers and hoping for the best! (Laughs!) I mean, we will be very well rehearsed so the music will not be a thing but the endurance is a thing because I’m quite mad: I book 5 days on and 2 days off, so we rest every Sunday and Monday because they’re not the best gigging days in the UK, but that’s 5 gigs a week for a whole month… plus 1. So 21 shows! It’s also far longer like the hour and a half kind of set that we will actually do on stage because I do VIPs beforehand at the sound check and so on, and then after the gig I go out to the merch stand and do a general meet and greet. So by the time I’m in my hotel room, it’s midnight easily, and you just have to shut the door and get as much sleep as you can, or put on an old TV show or something and crash out until it’s time to check out and go to the next place. You just know that you will be underwater for a month and you’ll come up for air on the 31st of October which is when I head back to the airport. So I’ve just got to make it to the 31st! (laughs!)

That’s amazing, and when I reflect on how many dates you’re doing, that they are in wonderfully special and intimate venues, the VIP opportunities you provide, the fact that you meet with fans after the show and also how you connect with fans online, it just seems like your fans are at the centre of ‘Wendy James the artist’. Do you think that’s a fair thing to say?

Definitely! I’m so thrilled that they take my music into their hearts and their lives. But they also feed me too because when I meet them – just like when you say Big Vicious Rumble touched you so much – that’s the energy that then propels me forward. So as long as there’s the time, I will listen to everyone’s story and I will connect to them on that story, and it just makes my life more full. These gigs are participant sports, right? Because we can win, we will come and we will deliver a great show. You can take that as guaranteed. But it will be an incredible show every time the audience is really there with us so that’s what really elevates a show experience for all of us – when the audience is giving me their energy and in return I’m giving them my energy.

Something else that makes this an incredible tour is the fact that you have an incredible band. Sharing the stage with you, we have Dave Parsons (bass) from Transvision Vamp, Jim Scavunos from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (drums) and Alex Ward from Thurston Moore Group (Guitar). The heritage of these fine musicians is outstanding. But as well as being great musicians they are perhaps people who truly know you and your journey. What does it mean to be touring with these guys?

Trust and reliability. If I make a state mistake on stage, I don’t even blink – they’ve got me. It’s the same I guess as being in any team, in a sports team perhaps. We elevate each other, their playing is exceptional so therefore I perform very well, and if somebody misses a note or I get a word wrong – I’m not talking about big mistakes, it’s stuff that the audience won’t even particularly notice – we’ve got each other. With all done this for a while and I never ever work with people with tricky personalities. They are people where once our hotel doors are closed we all need a little space and that’s what keeps us functioning as a unit – for each of us to have space. We all know the art of diplomacy, like no one freaks out in the van, no one’s the attention grabber and we all know how to handle ourselves in a close-knit environment. So all of that is what makes it work and it’s a trust and a bond and a friendship that just goes and goes.

Sticking with the subject of touring, we have to talk about the fantastic recent announcement that after nearly 30 years Transvision Vamp will be performing live again, with an Australian tour in February 2026. This is amazing news, not just because Transvision Vamp will be back on stage but because, for me, the songs and the messages they bring are as relevant today as they were back in the 80s and 90s. But you’ve always said, even in a recent interview, that a reunion isn’t something you would be interested in. How did the decision to come back together come about and why do you believe now is the right time?

It happened so organically because this UK tour was booked as The Wendy James Band and then I thought well, I’ve got to get to back to Australia because I haven’t been there since Transvision Vamp and it was always very good to us. So I reached out to some venues that I knew were good venues in Melbourne, Adelaide and the main cities and they recommended I speak with a particular promoter and a promoter just jumped at it but said ‘You know, I think it should be called Transvision Vamp’. This was prompted by the fact that Dave Parsons has now joined my lineup. So it wasn’t like a big momentous decision that I’m reforming the band because I have put in the time with all of my 10 albums, 7 of them solo, 3 of them with Transvision Vamp. So it’s just an evolution that felt seamless and it wasn’t like a big pivot. It was just the roll-on from this October tour into Australia and the branding of it as Transvision Vamp and me reflecting on the Transvision Vamp songs because we already play quite a handsome selection of them in the shows . So I’ve added more now but they are played more as they are now in 2025, still authentic to the songs but with a bit more oomph maybe. So it was just a natural transition… or a natural Transvision! (Laughs!) So here we are – and it bodes very well for next year as well.

Finally, just coming back to your solo October tour, what can fans expect from a Wendy James shows in 2025?

Well we’ve rehearsed a 2 1/2 hours set that’s a hell of a lot of songs that we will have slick and ready and punched up. So for each show, obviously we’re not paying 2 1/2 hours sets, but my band just knows so many songs from Transvision Vamp right through to The Shape Of History that we can pick and choose from to deliver a very tasty serving of different songs every night that keeps us on our toes and services all the fans. Baby I Don’t Care, I Want Your Love and all my favourites from my solo albums, they’re in there every night but then on the periphery I’ve got 2 1/2 hours to squeeze in to 1 1/2 hours. So I’m bringing great music, great attitude, great energy, great vibes and the best show of the year!