In 1975, James Rhodes was born in London. He was awarded a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama when he was eighteen, but instead chose Edinburgh University. After a year, James stopped playing the piano completely and dropped out. He spent five years working in the City of London. He returned to the piano after a severe mental collapse that landed him in a mental facility.

He is now a well-known and well-received concert pianist, writer, and TV and radio host. Instrumental, his memoir, received widespread acclaim and became an international bestseller. James Rhodes can be found at jamesrhodes.tv.