Justin Currie

, is one of only two members of the group to be present throughout its entire existence.

Professional career

Del Amitri

Justin Currie established the band while still at school in the early 1980s, after putting up a sign in a music shop asking for other people who could play instruments to get in contact with him. As well as being the lead singer and chief songwriter of the band, Currie also plays bass with them.

As a songwriter, he co-wrote many of the Del Amitri tracks with Harvie, but some of their most successful songs have been tracks penned solely by Currie. These include "Nothing Ever Happens", "Always the Last to Know" and "Roll to Me".

Although there have been no official reports of Del Amitri splitting up, the band were dropped by record company Mercury in 2002 after a perceived lack of success for their album of that year, "Can You Do Me Good?". Since then Currie has been working on several other critically acclaimed projects.

Other projects

In 2003 he fronted the soul and jazz covers band Button Up for a short tour of Scotland together with The Proclaimers guitarist Stuart Nisbet and drummer Ross McFarlane - who also played with chart-toppers Stiltskin - bassist Gary John Kane and keyboard player Andy May.

From 2004 - 2006 Currie has regularly joined singer songwriters Eddi Reader and Colin McIntyre (aka Mull Historical Society) and Scottish folk band Blazin' Fiddles to perform in Scotland as part of the project "With Strings Attached". In 2004 Currie also teamed up with Kevin and Jim McDermott (of Simple Minds) to record "A Terrible Beauty", a semi-comedy 60's pastiche rock album which they released anonymously under the name The Uncle Devil Show.

Currie has also recorded a full group format album along with Iain Harvie that he has been trying to obtain a release deal for.

olo career

Currie also continues to perform live as a solo artist in the UK. In 2006 he was a special guest on Tom McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour. In 2005 he wrote and recorded a new album "Rebound". Currie is known for his dry humour and self-deprecation and his MySpace page suggests: "Justin's solo record is called "Rebound" and features eleven thunderously dreary dirges many of which he is currently airing live to pained looking crowds of people in dingy Glasgow basements." [cite web|title=Justin Currie|publisher=MySpace|url=http://www.myspace.com/justincurrie|accessdate=2007-05-15] Several tracks from "Rebound" were previewed on both the Del Amitri Official Website and MySpace page. "Rebound" was subsequently re-titled "What Is Love For" and was released on Rykodisc on October 82007. A single/EP from the album, "No, Surrender", will be released on 24th March 2008.

Trivia

He is nicknamed 'Ruby', after 'Ruby Murray', the cockney rhyming slang for 'a curry'.

His cousin is Nick Currie, also known as "Momus".

Personal life

He is currently engaged to his long-term girlfriend Emma. The couple have not yet set a date for the wedding. [cite web
last = Lyons
first = Beverley
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Showbuzz
work =
publisher = Daily Record
date = 2007-06-27
url = http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/therazz/daily/tm_headline=showbuzz&method=full&objectid=19361562&siteid=66633-name_page.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-08-30 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.justincurrie.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.musicomh.com/albums2/uncle-devil-show.htm/ Album Review of "A Terrible Beauty"]
* [http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Default.aspx.LocID-hianewkss.RefLocID-hiacg5005001.Lang-EN.htm/ Review of first Button Up concert, 2003]
* [http://www.withstringsattached.co.uk/ With Strings Attached Official Site]