Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James

"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"
Swedish picture sleeve
Single by Manfred Mann
B-side	"Morning After The Party"
Released	21 October 1966
Recorded	22 August 1966
Studio	Philips, Marble Arch, London
Genre	Pop rock
Length	2:38
Label	Fontana
Songwriter(s)	Geoff Stephens John Carter
Producer(s)	Shel Talmy
Manfred Mann singles chronology
"Just Like A Woman" (1966) "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" (1966) "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" (1967)
Audio
"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" on YouTube

"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"^{[nb 1]} is a song written by songwriters Geoff Stephens and John Carter, recorded by English pop group Manfred Mann in 1966. Previous to this, it was recorded by the band Herbie's People who were signed to CBS and had recorded other John Carter songs. The original title was ....Mr Jones and was recorded that way by Herbie's People. Their version was pulled by CBS when Manfred Mann said they'd record it. It was subsequently issued but only in the USA on the Okeh label. Stephens and Carter, who were writers for a publishing company on Denmark Street, London, wrote the song in a style different from their usual compositions, as love was not the prevalent theme. Introduced to the song by producer Shel Talmy, Manfred Mann recorded it at Philips Studio in August 1966. Released by Fontana Records on 21 October 1966, the song was backed by drummer Mike Hugg's composition "Morning After The Party" as the group's second single on the label. Keyboardist Manfred Mann plays the Mellotron on the recording; it was one of the earliest recordings featuring the instrument. Following a trend set by Bob Dylan, the song tackles the subject of life in British middle class suburbia from the perspective of a narrator, who laments the loss of a lover after her marriage to another man.

Upon release, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" received warm reviews in the British music press, but also received backlash from fans for its pop style. The song became a large success across Europe, reaching number two on the Record Retailer chart in the United Kingdom while peaking within the top 10 across the continent, Africa and Oceania. The song was not released as an A-side single in the United States because a competing group released their version there; instead it was relegated to the B-side of Hugg's song "Each And Every Day". Despite being released on the same day as their third studio album As Is, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" was excluded from it. Retrospectively, the early use of the Mellotron and the production of Talmy have been praised.

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