Being Jim E. Brown is a Fucking Nightmare

header image credit: Julien Gester

Chip butties. Battered sausages. Unrequited love and degenerative diseases. This is the world of the self-described obese alcoholic Mancunian, Jim E. Brown.

Brown is a chimera of all the least palatable parts of the Mancunian music canon: the miserable self-flagellation of Morrissey engulfed in the chaotic murk of Mark E. Smith – though in this interview he appears to not know the name of either. Truly, there is something deeply wrong in the soil of the North West; call it the quirk of urbanism or the two psychic ley lines that intersect here, but Jim E. Brown is just the latest schlub from the North West to have a pop at this music lark.

And so far, it’s going pretty well. His new album, Shame, is filled with corkers such as “I Found a Dead Fox Outside Sainsbury’s in Fallowfield” and “How Do I Stop Crying When I Masturbate?” In fact, if you’re curious enough to delve into Brown’s discography so far, you’ll find a rich tapestry of personal lore full of scorned lovers, estranged sons, and more. But as one listens to songs about black pudding and teary-eyed autoeroticism, one wonders who the man behind Jim E. Brown really is. Is he the Northerner he appears to be? Or is he actually the American that Redditors allege he is? We spoke with the 19-year-old superstar to find out.

Why don’t you tell me what makes Jim E Brown, Jim E Brown?

Well my name is Jim E. Brown. I’m 19 years old. I suffer from various degenerative conditions and alcoholism. I weigh 16 stone 11, therefore I am an obese alcoholic. Most of my songs deal with subject matters relating to this condition and the circumstances that this condition creates in my life.

What was the reason you started making music? Was it the alcoholism or the obesity?

I started making music because I found it was a way to express the way I was feeling about those that had caused harm in my life. Cruel people such as Nancy, Mildred, Mum, Dad, Rita, Linda.

Are you still in touch with any of those people?

No contact. No contact at all, which is why I abstain from visiting Manchester except when it’s absolutely needed. I also have a son, Tanner, who I’m not in contact with. He was taken from me by the courts. He’s four years old but he has narcissistic personality disorder so it’s better to love him from a distance, go no contact, as they say. He’s toxic. We don’t know who the mum is. I now have a second son, Tanner, and we know his mum is Britney.

What are your thoughts on Manchester and the North of England in general?

Well the cuisine is nice, but not much else. Well, there’s some nice people but a lot of shit people as well. There’s some nice people, especially in places like Sheffield and Wigan, places like that.

What’s your typical Spoons order?

I don’t order at Spoons. What I do now that I have all these Instagram followers is I just post my table number and people send me what they want so I don’t really have much of a say in what I consume there at this point, but it’s nice when someone sends me a Guinness. It’s nice when someone sends me the microwaved fish and chips, quite like that. It’s nice to receive just a bowl of peas or the little cup of ice cream. People just send whatever they want, you know through the Wetherspoons app, which I have on my phone directly next to Tinder.

Got a favourite Northern bit of slang or phrase?

I don’t know. I don’t really like words so it’s hard to find a favourite.

Do you have any least favourite words in the English language?

No, I just abhor all words. There’s no hierarchy really, they’re all just a bit shit. Words allow humans to communicate and communication leads to hurt and pain, because that is how people can say these painful things. So I don’t really care for words.

You cover pain a lot in your songs. Do you feel like you’ve been dealt a bad hand in life? 

Well yeah I’m a fat fuck, so that’s a bad hand to be dealt. And I could do something about it like not drinking excessively but the emotional pain that I feel prevents me from doing that… Are you laughing, mate?

No, sorry. I’m not. I’m not having a giggle, sorry.

Neither am I.

What’s the average day look like for Jim E. Brown?

My average day is: I wake up around 9:00 a.m., have a glass of my morning red wine and then like another wine or two, then I might have a coffee to wake up a bit after the wine. I’m only drinking the wine because I need to ward off the shakes. Then I’ll have a bit of coffee, then maybe I’ll have a chip butty or a battered sausage or a pie or several. And then I will go to the pub. If I’m in Didsbury, to Ye Olde Cock, have a few pints, maybe a dinner, tea, and then get really pissed at night and then off to bed and then repeat the cycle.

Where does music making fit into that?

When I release these albums we’ll have the studio time booked, right, so I give myself like two weeks before the date to write the album prior to the album’s recording. So in those days I modulate my schedule; I will still be getting pissed and eating, but for example I will use Uber Eats to get chicken delivered and I eat it at home as I write music as opposed to going out to a takeaway.

Do you have any musical inspirations?

You’ve not read Brown on Brown Vol. 1, it seems.

I haven’t, yeah. I came unprepared.

No, that’s all right. My three favourite musical artists are Coldplay, Kraftwerk the German band, and I quite like an American band called Phish. P-H-I-S-H. Phish. Spelled in a bit of a weird way,  they make nice music.

What I like about Coldplay is that it’s just nice. And what I like about Kraftwerk is that it’s very synthy and dut dut dut dut dut, and like you know, I can nick some of their riffs. What I like about Phish is that it’s a bit boring so I don’t have to really pay attention to it, and I lost my virginity while listening to Phish.

Any Manchester bands that you like?

People ask about this, they talk about the “Mark E. Mark” and the uh, what’s the— there’s a band and it’s like a guy he’s always complaining and it’s like soft music?

The Smiths?

Right, yeah. What’s that bloke’s name, Mordecai? I’ve not listened to much of this Mancunian music but people ask me about this a lot.

Do you have any thoughts on Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham?

There are political issues that concern me greatly. The chicken fillets in Marie Louise Gardens, the rats in Fog Lane Park. But I feel as though local government – the Mayor – never does much for these issues. But that was years ago now, so the rats in Fog Lane Park have gotten even worse; the Mayor does nothing.

How does one find love?

I’m not sure, really. You know, maybe Instagram. If you see a girl that you like on Instagram you can follow her and then send her a message like a kissy emoji or something like that. Does that work? I’ve never done that.

Some people have alleged that you’re not actually a 19-year-old obese alcoholic from Manchester, and some allege that you actually might be American.

I could say the same about you. I don’t think you’re a Mancunian either. You have presented no evidence to me to prove that. I wouldn’t really care one way or the other. Did someone say that to you about me?

I read it online.

Which website? Reddit.com?

Reddit.com

Which subreddit?

I’m not sure. Do you want the user’s name?

I’m just curious. I just didn’t know people were talking about me. People have leveled this accusation against me but I feel absolutely apathetic about it. I have no response.

What’s the biggest culture shock you’ve had being in the US?

That’s actually a rather easy question to answer because the venue at which I performed last night was in Berkeley which is part of this Bay Area here. It’s like a volunteer non-profit type space and not only is alcohol not sold there, no alcohol is allowed to be consumed there. So I had to do the show entirely sober. Someone did bring me a can of beer and I was drinking it outside and one of the employees of the venue told me I had to drink it across the road.

I did perform a show last year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that also barred alcohol and required masking. I quite like performing to people wearing masks because I abhor looking at people’s mouths. You can see inside of their body through the mouth, so it’s quite nice to perform to an audience that’s masked because I don’t have to see that grotesque hole in their face.

Would you like to see Manchester abolished?

I think that yeah it should be abolished but only if the other towns are abolished as well. It wouldn’t really be fair just to abolish that one but I say topple everything because I would like to rest and have peace and solitude. But no, we can’t abolish Manchester unless we first abolish London and Wigan, Leeds, York, etc.

Do you like Coronation Street?

No, not really. I like Sex and the City, that’s my favourite.

It’s not really a soap though, is it?

Somewhat. I mean each episode is self-contained, however there are plot lines and arcs with Mr Big and Aidan.

Is there anything you would like to bring up before we bring the interview to an end?

I really am keen on crack cocaine and when I were in Brighton this year there were some young men who I performed with who tried to acquire crack cocaine for me but they were unsuccessful. Hopefully next time I’m in Brighton I can smoke a bit of crack.

We can put some feelers out for you.

Yeah maybe through this publication we can just make sure that that happens. It just feels like a crack town to me – it feels wrong not to smoke crack there.

Any life advice?

No, not really. I’m sorry. I mean look at me, who am I to give advice?

You’re a teen superstar, Jim!

But I make a pittance and I’m in constant pain.

STAT is an anti-profit arts & culture zine made for the North West. Publishing print issues every quarter, STAT aims to redistribute cultural focus to smaller towns in the North West, showcasing radical culture outside of Manchester. For print issues and merch visit our SHOP.