James Walbourne

James Walbourne (born 2 February 1980) is a British singer, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the current lead guitarist in The Pretenders as well as one-half of The Rails. When he was young he wanted to play in clubs around America. To fulfill his dream, he left school to go on a US tour with Peter Bruntnell and there he became a member of the bands Pernice Brothers and Son Volt. He became a member of The Kinks’ front-man Ray Davies’s solo band and of The Pogues. In 2008, he was recruited to The Pretenders by Martin Chambers just before the Break Up the Concrete tour.In 2005 he formed a band, Royal Gun, with his brother Rob Walbourne but that disbanded after a short tour of England and the US. In 2010, he started working on his first solo album The Hill, and it was released in 2011 by Heavenly Records.