James Edward Young (born 17 September 1952) is a British musician and writer. Young grew up in Oldham, Lancashire and began learning piano at the age of 7. He studied Art History briefly at the University of East Anglia before moving to Oxford to study at the polytechnic and in 1982 was accepted as an M.Phil. student at Oxford University. This period coincided with his meeting Nico (Velvet Underground) and Young took the decision to work with her instead of continuing with academic life. Young toured and recorded as keyboard player and arranger with the group The Faction until Nico's death in 1988. Since then, Young has written books, recorded solo albums, created BBC radio features, written on Outsider Art and curated exhibitions.