James Ellis Ford was born on 11 December 1978 in
Staffordshire. Ford went to
Manchester University, along with other members of
Simian. Ford was a founding member of the group Simian and later a member the spin-off duo
Simian Mobile Disco. He produced the
Klaxons album
Myths of the Near Future in 2007 which won the
Mercury Prize. Also that year, he produced the Arctic Monkeys second album. He has done at least part of the production on each of the band's subsequent albums. In 2008, he formed
the Last Shadow Puppets with
Miles Kane and
Alex Turner, as both drummer and producer. Their debut album,
The Age of the Understatement, earned the group a Mercury Prize nomination and also charted at No. 1 in the UK. Their second album, ''
Everything You've Come to Expect'', was released in 2016. Ford once again produced, also playing drums, percussion and keys. The record earned the group their second UK No. 1. Ford produced and played keys and tambourine on Arctic Monkeys' fifth album,
AM, released in 2013. Ford has produced
Depeche Mode's 14th studio album
Spirit released on 17 March 2017 as well as their 15th studio album
Memento Mori, which was released on 24 March 2023. He also produced the fourth studio album of the UK band
Everything Everything under the title
A Fever Dream, released on 18 August 2017. In 2018, Ford co-produced the Arctic Monkeys' sixth studio album
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, as well as
Gorillaz' sixth studio album
The Now Now. On 14 March 2023, it was announced he would be producing Pet Shop Boys' new album. He also produced
the Last Dinner Party's first single "Nothing Matters", which was released in April 2023. He also co-produced
Fat Dog’s debut single “King of the Slugs” with the band’s lead singer Joe Love, which was released on 21 August 2023. James Ford also produced
Blur's ninth studio album,
The Ballad of Darren, released in July 2023. In 2024 Ford produced The Last Dinner Party's debut album
Prelude to Ecstasy and
Fontaines D.C.'s fourth studio album
Romance. In 2025 Ford produced
Black Country, New Road’s third studio album
Forever Howlong. == Discography ==