Stutter is the debut studio album by English rock band James. Blanco y Negro and Sire Records released it on 28 July 1986. After going through multiple vocalists and guitarists, the band caught the attention of Factory Records. James released two EPs with the label; between them Larry Gott replaced guitarist Paul Gilbertson. The band supported the Smiths twice, before eventually signing with Sire. Between January and March 1986, the band recorded Stutter with Patti Smith live guitarist Lenny Kaye and engineer Gil Norton. Described as a folk rock album, the songs on Stutter tackle the topics of insects, reincarnation and being a tortured artist. Stutter received generally positive reviews from music critics, some of whom commented on James' musicianship. It peaked at number 68 in the United Kingdom, to the annoyance of Sire. The album appeared on several publications' best-of-the-year album lists including The Face, NME, and Spex. "So Many Ways" was released as the lead single in June 1986 followed by an appearance at the WOMAD Festival. The band embarked on a brief tour of the UK and Europe. Stutter was reissued on CD twice, in 1991 and 2017; its tracks "So Many Ways" and "Johnny Yen" were included on the band's compilation album Fresh as a Daisy – The Singles (2007). Background In 1980, guitarist Paul Gilbertson started a band when he convinced Jim Glennie to buy a bass. Vocalist Peter Carney left after they played their first show; a fortnight later drummer Gavan Whelan joined. The trio went through several vocalists and guitarists before the addition of frontwoman Jenny Ingham. They went through several name changes as well: Venereal and the Diseases, Volume Distortion, and Model Team International, before simplifying it to Model Team. In 1982, the band met Tim Booth while attending the University of Manchester. Booth joined initially as their dancer and then backing vocalist, before replacing Ingham outright. They used the name Tribal Outlook briefly before to settling on the moniker James. At Gilbertson's insistence, he and Glennie received lessons from Larry Gott. James were making frequent appearances on the local club scene and supported New Order at The Haçienda club. James caught the attention of Tony Wilson of Factory Records who owned the venue; the band signed with the label. Feeling they were not ready to make an album, the band opted to record an EP instead. Factory released the resulting effort,