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Song · James

“Laid” by James

“Laid” by James appears on 72 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1993 and 2026. Its best result is #1 on the CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #47 alternative song of 1994, #166 alternative song of all time and #200 of the '90s.

72countdowns
29stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1993–2026years charted

Watch

James - JAMES - Laid (Official Music Video - Version 2) [HD]

Video from YouTube (JamesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Laid", the title track of James's fifth studio album, came out in 1993 with Brian Eno producing, and it caught the Manchester band in a frisky, restless mood. It is a little rude, too: rude enough that the American edit of the video swapped one naughty line for something tamer, even though Tim Booth can plainly be seen mouthing the original, with a subtitle reading "hums" to cover the gap.

American college radio grabbed it fast, and its cult standing on campus helped carry it to number three on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and number 61 on the Hot 100. To this day it is the song most Americans know James by. At home in Britain it reached number 25, their ninth top-40 hit, and it charted in Australia as well.

It has since found a second life on screen, where it has become known as something of a theme for the American Pie films.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1993 16 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 31 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105
1994 45 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 38 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 24 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994 101
1994 12 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100
2005 49 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2005 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 31 CRNC 90.1 CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of the '90s 91
1994 311 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 23 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 377 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 230 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 239 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 53 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 112 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 491 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 279 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 19 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 276 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 123 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 161 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 130 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 96 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 113 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 14 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 115 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 13 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 296 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 107 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 11 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 196 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 98 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 8 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 288 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 7 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 61 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 76 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 133 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 408 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 251 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 271 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 83 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 183 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 190 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 177 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 426 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 138 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 137 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 421 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 126 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 118 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 114 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 103 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 93 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2019 760 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 760 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 365 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 266 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 1403 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 149 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2022 76 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 391 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 167 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 620 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 93 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2024 417 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 14 Absolute Radio Absolute Radio 100 Ultimate Britpop Anthems 100
2025 481 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 437 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917
2026 469 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5Come Out and PlayThe Offspring
  6. 6Basket CaseGreen Day

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