New singles "Sit Down" and "Come Home" became strong hits in the independent charts, and the latter featured on the compilation album "Happy Daze". The album "Gold Mother" was intended to be released on Rough Trade but the owner of the label, Geoff Travis, believed James could only reach an audience of 20,000 to 30,000. The band believed they had more potential than this and bought the rights to the album from Rough Trade. A successful winter tour in 1989 attracted a deal with Fontana Records, and the band ended a difficult decade on an optimistic note.