Starsailor are set to release the 25th anniversary edition of their debut album, Love Is Here, tomorrow (Friday 2 October), featuring the David Kosten mix of 'Fever'.
Recorded in the Spring of 2001 at Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Steve Osbourne and originally released in October 2001, it went on to sell over one million copies worldwide and to date has been streamed 56 million times on Spotify.
This new edition has been fully remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road. The vinyl edition features the album in its original form with gatefold sleeve and is available on coloured vinyl for the first time and the six-panel digi pack 2CD release includes an extra disc of alternative live & session versions of the album tracks taken from BBC recordings, a number of bonus tracks, recollections of the time from James Walsh and live imagery.
Listen to ‘Fever – David Kosten Mix’ on the Liverpool Official playlist.
Starsailor were formed in Wigan in 1996 by James Walsh (vocals, guitar), James Stelfox (bass) and Ben Byrne (drums). After spending four-and-a-half years building a following through small venues across the North West of England, the line-up was completed with the addition of keyboardist Barry Westhead in 2000.
The band’s breakthrough came after a pair of London shows in April 2000 earned them a glowing review in the NME and sparked a bidding war between record labels. Starsailor subsequently signed to Chrysalis Records in 2000 and began working on their debut album.
Their early momentum was rapid, following an opening slot on the 2001 NME Tour, they released ‘Fever’ in February 2001 and charted ‘Good Souls’ Top 10 in April, while appearing on Later… With Jools Holland, T4, The Late Late Show and Top of the Pops. They also embarked on headline tours across mainland Europe and the UK.
Their debut album established them as one of the leading British acts of the early 2000s, combining Walsh’s distinctive vocals and songwriting with the band’s atmospheric, emotionally charged sound, seeing the band crowned the Brightest New Hope at the NME Awards, the Best New Act at the Q Awards whilst also receiving a nomination for Best British Newcomer at the BRIT Awards in 2002.
They have since gone on to release five further studio albums – Silence Is Easy (2003), On The Outside (2005), All The Plans (2009), All This Life (2017) & Where The Wild Things Grow (2024) as well as their first live album Starsailor with Strings: Live from Liverpool (2025) featuring classic Starsailor hits and deeper cuts with a live string ensemble arranged and conducted by Joe Duddell. Following the Love Is Here live shows the band will be working on their seventh studio album.
