From The Jam announce their Final Tour of Australia dedicated to all the Australian fans of The Jam. For this finale they will perform a special set of The Jam’s Greatest Hits from their complete back-catalogue including – Town Called Malice, Going Underground, That’s Entertainment, In the City, Start!, The Eton Rifles, English Rose, David Watts, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight plus More

“From The Jam, best night out I have had in years. All The Jam hits and more done to perfection what’s not to love!?”  (Alan McGee, Creation Records)

From The Jam features Bruce Foxton, legendary bass player from the original line-up of The Jam. On vocals is Russell Hastings who understands The Jam’s history and admirably fills Paul Weller’s shoes. “Russell Hastings is a good choice for vocals. Slightly Weller, but not tribute band Weller. He respected the songs. But he wasn’t copying the songs, he was playing them”

From The Jam have played over 1,000 live shows and gained a reputation for capturing the energy and excitement of live performances that sealed the reputation of The Jam back in the day.

Bio

From The Jam are an English band formed in 2006. Initially known as The Gift, the band was founded by Rick Buckler, former drummer of The Jam, alongside musicians Russell Hastings and David Moore. The band was formed to pay tribute to the music of The Jam and they took their name from The Jam’s final studio album. In late 2006 former Jam member Bruce Foxton joined The Gift on stage, eventually becoming their permanent bassist – at this point they changed their name to From The Jam.

From The Jam‘s rise to popular live act was swift, highlighted by a sold-out UK tour in 2007. The tour sold out all shows in just 10 days and culminated in a memorable concert at Brighton Centre on 21 December 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of The Jam’s final show. International success followed with tours in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, showcasing the Jam’s enduring appeal across continents.

The Jam emerged from the explosive British punk rock scene in 1977 earning them their place alongside iconic bands like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks. In the realm of pop music, The Jam exerted a profound influence, particularly in their homeland, where they ascended to genuine superstardom with a remarkable string of Top Ten singles during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Unapologetically British, The Jam‘s impact on American soil remained limited, a testament to their steadfast dedication to their roots.

Led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Paul Weller alongside Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton, the Jam was founded in 1975. The Jam‘s early days saw guitarist Steve Brookes briefly joining before their triumphant evolution into a trio. The band performed gigs around London cultivating a loyal local fanbase. In February of 1977 the band signed with Polydor Records and released their debut single, “In the City” two months later. “In the City” was a hit as it reached the U.K. Top 40. The band immediately followed this up with their debut album, also called In the City. The Jam recorded the album in just 11 days, In the City featured reworkings of R&B covers alongside Weller penned originals. The album received positive reviews. Phil McNeil from NME remarked at the time that Paul Weller’s songwriting “captures that entire teen frustration vibe with the melodic grace and dynamic aplomb of early Kinks and Who”. In a review by Allmusic.com, Chris Woodstra wrote “In an era that preached attitude over musicianship, the Jam bettered the competition with good pop sense, strong melodies, and plenty of hooks that compromised none of punk’s ideals or energy…”

The Jam’s second single, “All Around the World” almost cracked the British Top Ten and the group had its first national tour of Britain that saw the band perform to packed venues country wide. During mid 1977, the band recorded their second album, This is the Modern World, which was released in November ‘77. The album solidified the Jam’s unique sound comprising a faster punk update of British Invasion and Mod styles. The first single from the album “The Modern World” made it to the British Top 40, peaking at 36. The band embarked on their first US tour in November 1977. While the Jam were immensely popular in the U.K. the same could not be said for America. The tour was brief and not successful. The band would never quite crack the American market, which was put down to their uniquely British sound, style and sensibilities.

Despite their lacklustre American tour, The Jam returned to England for a headlining tour of the U.K. The tour fell apart when the band got into a brawl with a group of rugby players in a Leeds hotel. Weller emerged with several broken bones and was charged with assault. Weller was eventually acquitted of the misdemeanour. After they had recovered, The Jam tried their hand at another American tour in 1978 opening for Blue Öyster Cult. The tour was again disappointing for the band who were becoming even more popular back home in England.

The Jam were becoming so popular in the U.K. that many copycat bands were springing up stealing the Jam’s Mod throwback sound and style. This inspired the title of the Jam’s third album, All Mod Cons, a play on the term “all modern conveniences” while jabbing at their imitators. All Mod Cons marked a shift in Paul Weller’s song writing. Allmusic.com notes “For the first time, Paul Weller built, rather than fell back, upon his influences, carving a distinct voice all his own; he employed a story-style narrative with invented characters and vivid British imagery à la Ray Davies to make incisive social commentary — all in a musically irresistible package.” The Ray Davies / Kinks comparisons are not unwarranted as the band covered The Kinks’ “David Watts” with Bruce Foxton on lead vocals. Sounds critic Garry Bushell described All Mod Cons as the Jam‘s “statement of artistic triumph, musical maturation and compositional strength”. All Mod Cons was not only a major critical success but also thrived commercially, peaking at number six on the U.K. charts. The single “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2000, Q ranked All Mod Cons at number 50 on a list of the “100 Greatest British Albums Ever”. In 2013, NME ranked the album 219 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

The Jam followed All Mod Cons with Setting Sons in November 1979. The album reached number four in the U.K. and 137 in the U.S. The album’s lone single, “Eton Rifles” became the Jam’s first Top Ten hit. One of the most striking songs on the album is Bruce Foxton’s “Smithers-Jones”. The song was originally released as the B-side for the non album single, “When You’re Young”. It was re-recorded for Setting Sons with a strings arrangement provided by ex-Procol Harum and Whitesnake organist, Peter Solley.

The non-LP single “Going Underground”, contrary to the title, entered the charts at number one and spent three weeks at the top. It was the 15th best selling single in the UK for 1980. It was the first of four number one singles the band would release. The band’s next single “Start!” also reached number one on the British charts. It debuted at number three and climbed to number one. “Start!” was the first single from the band’s upcoming album Sound Affects. Many have noted the similarities of “Start!” to the Beatles’ “Taxman”, commenting on this, Bruce Foxton admitted “We were listening a lot to The Beatles’ Revolver album. It wasn’t intentional, but ‘Taxman’ subconsciously went in and when we came up with the idea for “Start!” that’s what went in. It isn’t exactly the same thankfully, otherwise I’m sure Paul McCartney would have thought about suing us!” Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered the song in 1987 under the name “What You Give Is What You Get (Start)” and The Beastie Boys covered “Start!” in 1999.

Sound Affects was released in November of 1980 and reached number two on the British charts. It also was the band’s highest charting album in the U.S. where it spent 11 weeks on the Billboard 200 peaking at 72 in February 1981. Sound Affects showed a notable influence from contemporary post-punk bands such as Wire, Gang of Four and Joy Division. In 2006, Q ranked Sound Affects as the 15th best album of the 1980s on their “40 Best Albums of the ‘80s” list. In a BBC Radio 6 Music documentary on the Jam, Paul Weller cited Sound Affects as his favourite Jam album.

In May 1981 the Jam released the non-album single “Funeral Pyre” with a cover of the Who’s “Disguises” as the b-side. “Funeral Pyre” reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and is notable for being the only single co-written by the band. In February of 1982 the band released the double A side “Town Called Malice” / “Precious” from their forthcoming album, The Gift. This was the band’s third number one single and the band became the first group since the Beatles to perform two songs on BBC’s Top of the Pops. The Gift was released the following month and showed Paul Weller’s increasing infatuation with American soul and R&B. It became the band’s first album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. While the band was at the height of their popularity, Foxton and Buckler wanted to return to the band’s older rock / mod revival sound, while Weller wanted to explore other ideas. Weller made the decision to disband the group after the release of the band’s hit single “The Bitterest Pill”. The band performed a farewell tour of the UK before releasing their final single “Beat Surrender” in November 1982. “Beat Surrender” reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. Bruce Foxton would later look back on the single saying “That was our fourth Number One. It was very emotional for myself and I can’t talk for Rick but I’d imagine… he didn’t want the band to split up. We were thinking ‘Why are we going to split up?’ We were Number One in the single and album chart at the time. I’ve only just got over it!”

After the Jam’s break up, Bruce Foxton pursued a solo career. He released the solo album, Touch Sensitive, in 1984. The album spawned a hit in “Freak” which reached the Top 20 in the U.K. In 1990, Foxton joined Stiff Little Fingers and stayed with the band for 15 years during which time they recorded five albums, Flags and Emblems, Get a Life, Tinderbox, Hope Street and Guitar and Drum. In the ‘90s, while a member of Stiff Little Fingers, Foxton wrote a joint autobiography with Rick Buckler called The Jam: Our Story detailing their time with Paul Weller. The blurb on the back of the book explains “Told without any razzmatazz or myth making, they are our thoughts and memories of how it was for us. The good, the bad and even some of the ugly are contained within these pages. They capture a time in our lives when we had the time of our lives.”

Bruce Foxton was recently voted by readers of NME as the 7th Most Influential Bass Player. In 2006, Foxton toured with Bruce Watson, Mark Brzezicki (Big Country) and Simon Townshend (The Who) as the Casbah Club. It was backstage at a show supporting the Who that Foxton bumped into Paul Weller for the first time in nearly 25 years. They began to mend their friendship and in 2009, Weller asked Bruce to perform on his Wake Up The Nation solo album, leading to Bruce joining Weller at the Royal Albert Hall on 25th May 2010 for three songs, “Fast Car/Slow Traffic”, “The Eton Rifles” and “The Butterfly Collector”. “No one could quite believe what they were seeing, it was history in the making and grown men had tears in their eyes” said one fan. Foxton’s lead vocals on The Jam’s cover of “David Watts” and writing the Jam classic “News Of The World” which is to this day the theme for the BBC’s Mock the Week show how crucial Foxton was to the enduring popularity of the Jam.

In 2012, Bruce Foxton recorded a new solo album, Back in the Room. The album was recorded in Paul Weller’s Black Barn studios, with Weller appearing on several tracks, including the lead single “Number Six”. Other special guests on the album include Steve Cropper of Booker T and the M.G.’s and Steve Norman from Spandau Ballet. The album featured the core band of Mark Brzezicki on drums alongside Foxton’s From the Jam bandmate, Russell Hastings on guitar and vocals. Russell Hastings has been the frontman for From the Jam since 2007. He has played a pivotal role in maintaining From the Jam‘s authenticity. As a genuine Jam fan, his passion and understanding of the band’s history resonate with audiences worldwide. Bruce Foxton followed up Back in the Room with Smash the Clock in 2016 and another album, The Butterfly Effect, in 2022. Both albums were released under Bruce Foxton & Russell Hastings and achieved much critical and fan acclaim. The website Get Ready to Rock, concluded their review of Smash the Clock with “Foxton and Hastings may not thank me for saying it, but this is probably the best album Paul Weller never made”.

In 2017, From The Jam released the live album From The Jam Live. In 2020 From the Jam planned a tour celebrating the Jam’s Setting Sons featuring the Vapors as the support act. The Vapors were the Jam’s support on the 1979 Setting Sons tour, the tour was postponed to 2021.

From The Jam‘s legacy extends beyond mere nostalgia, as they continue to tour globally, captivating audiences with their electrifying performances. They are the torchbearers of The Jam‘s timeless legacy. With a bustling touring schedule and upcoming projects, From The Jam remains a force in the music scene, bridging the past and present with the Jam’s iconic sound.