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James’ Tim Booth is the ‘only person in Britain insured to crowd surf’ – here’s the story behind it

He does spend an awful lot of time in amongst it, to be fair.

Danny Jones - 12th June 2025

Legendary Greater Mancunians James are currently back out on the road and delighting fans as per, especially with their ever-energetic lead singer, Tim Booth, doing his thing both up on stage and out in the audience too.

But did you know that Bradford-born Booth claims to be the only person who is actually insured to crowd surf in the entire UK?

Well, neither did we until this week.

Playing another pair of massive shows at Halifax’s unbelievable amphitheatre, The Piece Hall, following their two sell-out shows at the amphitheatre back in 2023, the Yorkshireman spoke to Chris Hawkins about how the whole thing came about – and how he earned himself this unique title.

You heard it here 👀

@wearejames 's Tim Booth is the only person in Britain insured to crowd surf 🏄‍♂️⚡

Watch the full interview with @chris_hawkins and James on our YouTube channel! pic.twitter.com/7nQggEuQNG
— The Piece Hall (@ThePieceHall) June 8, 2025

Joined by bandmate and founding member Jim Glennie for a lengthy interview, Booth was asked just how “high-risk” his infamous crowdsurfing is these days, explaining that although he does “choose [his] moments, there’s little more thinking that goes into it than making sure they don’t have their phones up.

Not because of filming concerns or anything like that, mind you, simply because catching him one-handed wouldn’t be safe enough.

The BBC Radio 6 DJ and presenter then asked if being “insured to crowd surf” is a possibility, at which point he singer-songwriter and actor revealed, “I’m the only person in Britain insured to crowd surf.”

While we’re sure some international acts take out some kind of policy to protect themselves when interacting with the crowd, the liability usually falls on the venue – unless you’re Tim Booth, apparently.

Hence why he can do stuff like without almost any hesitation:

@sunflowerof21 About last night: Tim Booth crowd-surfed to join us for a dance at @The Piece Hall . We were in that very spot 2 years ago watching James in a storm. Didn’t think they could top that night. But they did! AMAZING. #jameslive2025 #wearejames #jamesband #shotononeplus @OnePlus @OnePlus Europe ♬ original sound – Elaine

Legend.

As you can see, the frenetic frontman is still jumping up and down as he always has; even at 65 years old, he’s not afraid to get amongst it and bring their party vibes to their gigs.

He goes on to add that despite a company threatening to remove that particular clause around five years ago, he said that after seeing some of his performance in person, they joked that it was more like the crowd was merely ‘passing him around.’

When we spoke to bassist Jim ourselves earlier this year, he said of his long-time friend: “He’s not as young as he used to be, none of us are, but it’s what he does and he loves it – we’re still amazed by his energy to this day.”

You only have to look at his antics over the years for it to click that interacting with the crowd in this way is something he’s always done, and given his special and seemingly unprecedented protection, we imagine he won’t stop until his body physically won’t let him.

Tim Booth crowd surfing at Athen’s Ejekt Festival back in 2016.

In terms of all-out performers who leave everything up there on the stage, Booth may just be up there with one of the most underrated this country has ever produced.

And we’re not just saying that because he’s a Northerner and Manc adoptee, though the group’s much-loved local status does grant them bonus points.

We certainly enjoyed seeing them at Neighbourhood Weekender this year and, much like Tim himself, we have no intention of sitting down to see a James gig.