Meeting kindred spirit James Macdonald at music college inspired Jamie’s first foray into recording an album. The two wrote under the name of When I Was a Little Girl and released the well-received 2004 albums Good Morning Sunshine and Goodnight with Him. Very sadly, a year later Jamie was involved in a car crash that claimed the life of his best friend and co-writer.
Following this tragedy, Jamie began recording with another music college friend Luke Hayden as The Last Dinosaur, with influences including R.E.M. to Talk Talk. Their debut album Hooray! For Happiness attempted to come to terms with the divorce of his parents and a break-up with his girlfriend, while avoiding the real elephant in the room.
“I was doing everything to avoid confronting this really big thing that happened at an age when you don’t generally experience death and loss,” Jamie says.