Jim Diamond

Jim Diamond was born in Bridgeton in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland September 23rd 1953. He heard Otis Redding's version of 'My Girl' and decided he wanted to embark on a singing career. At the tender age of 15 he joined his first band 'The Jade' and gigged around Scotland. Following this he joined forces with Blues virtuoso Alexis Korner "The Godfather of British Blues". His vocals were in some of Korner's albums - including "The Lost Album" 1976. Jim decided it was time for pastures new and formed his own band 'Bandit' with whom he was lead singer and wrote all of the songs such as "Ohio", "Love and Understanding" and "Dance When You Boogie". They were signed to Arista's label and failed to hit the big time. In the late 70s Jim formed the group 'Ph.D' (Polyphemus, Hymas, Diamond) with classically trained pianist/keyboard player Tony Hymas and drummer Simon Philips. They hit the big time with the classic million selling 'I Won't Let You Down'. This really put Jim's name on the map. He decided in the early 80s to go solo and was signed by A&M Records in 1984 and penned the song 'I Should Have Known Better' with 'Gallagher & Lyle' star Graham Lyle. The song was an instant hit and reached Number 1 in December of '84. In 1985 Jim was asked to write and record the theme song for Central TV's (UK) 'Boon' starring Michael Elphick and David Daker. The outcome was Pop/Reggae song 'Hi Ho Silver'. It reached Number 5 in 1986. Jim is now half of 'The Blue Shoes' a blues and soul band. They are touring the country with Jim's classics and new songs.