The Jam Extras Scrapbook

An array of badges courtesy

of John Burton

Welcome to my fourth scrapbook about The Jam. It's been a while but I am back with yet more memorabilia, rare finds and fascinating stories. 

I hope you will jump on the nostalgia train with  me and enjoy the ride. A massive thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Let's get the party started with a subject that is very close to my heart. 

Last year I was fortunate to make a connection on Twitter with  Sheffield author, independent publisher and former fanzine creator Tony Beesley. 

After exploring Tony's website I immediately added a couple of his books to my Christmas wish list and was delighted when 'Out of Control' appeared under the tree on Christmas Day.

The book tells the story of two relatively unknown South Yorkshire venues of the late 70s - The Outlook in Doncaster and The Windmill in Rotherham. It is packed full of rare photos, memorabilia and stories from the people who were there at the time.

Being from a similar neck of the woods to Tony I can relate to much of the content. It is a fascinating and enjoyable read. 

All of the key players to emerge from the punk rock explosion graced the stages of The Outlook and The Windmill during the heady days of 1976/77 with the exception of The Clash.

Tony has very kindly given me permission to reproduce one section of the book, relating to a gig The Jam played at The Outlook in June 1977. The band's performance received a mixed reception from the audience but the part I would like to share is the review below which featured in Sheffield based Gun Rubber fanzine. It was written by Nigel Lockwood.

There's an interesting piece about Gun Rubber on the Sheffield Vision website if you would like to find out more.

I also spotted the photo below in Tony's book taken by established Yorkshire photographer David Muscroft from when Paul Weller paid a visit to the Revolution Record store in Sheffield in 1977. In the photo (from left) is Michael Denton and store owners Pete and Mark.

Other books written by Tony featuring The Jam are as follows:

• Sawdust Caesars Original Mod Voices - Paul Weller enjoyed this book so much he sent Tony a postcard thanking him.
• Mojo Talkin' - in particular the 'Speeding Punks' chapter, where Tony draws some parallels with the mod and early UK punk scenes. 

If you would like to view the entire catalogue of books and discs for sale on Tony Beesley's website, you can check it out here.

I never cease to be amazed by the record collections owned by some of the people I follow on Twitter, but this array of bootleg recordings courtesy of @fireandskill is in a class of its own! He tells me that all of the discs were first recorded on to cassette tapes then transferred to vinyl. They were purchased via record fairs in Newcastle.

The first disc was recorded at the Sun Plaza Hall in Tokyo on 16th May 1981. The title is pretty apt, as The Jam had a strong and dedicated follower base in Japan.

 

The second disc was recorded at the Rainbow in London in 1982.

The third disc set featured a recording of a gig at the Hammersmith Odeon dated 27th February 1982. More details about the content can be found on Kevin Lock's excellent The Jam Information Pages.

And finally, the final show in Brighton.

Somebody who was in the audience at the final concert in Brighton was Bill Parsons. And thanks to Bill there was one more person in the audience than there otherwise would have been, if it hadn't been for a chance meeting outside the venue.

I will let Bill take over and tell his rather heartwarming story, which became something of a family affair.

It started with me reading that The Jam were splitting up in the gossip colum of either Sounds or the NME. 

At this point they had just announced the Solid Bond tour dates, which did not include any London shows. I purchased a couple of tickets to see them in Brighton on 22nd September 1982, thinking this could be the last tour.

My girlfriend and I travelled down on my GP 2000 to what I must say was a brilliant gig.

Fast forward to later in the autumn of 1982 and the dates for what we now knew for certain was the final tour were announced. Two nights at Wembley increased to five. I purchased tickets for the first, second and fifth nights.

If my memory serves me correctly, The Jam were due to play their last gig at Bingley Hall on 8th December, but they added a final date at Guilford Civic Hall the following day. I was convinced this would not be the final date and they would play another date somewhere else.

Whilst I was at work my sister decided to ring Polydor records. She asked if it was true that The Jam's last gig was to be in Guildford. The lady from Polydor asked my sister if she was from the music press. My sister lied and said yes, she was. (Well done little sister!) 

The lady then explained the band were going to announce one last date in Brighton on 11th December. Tickets were to go on sale that coming Friday morning from the box office at the back of the Brighton Centre. 

When I arrived home from work that evening and my sister told me of the conversation she'd had with Polydor, I could not believe our luck!

I decided I would drive down to Brighton on the Friday morning on my trusty Lambretta and buy us four tickets as soon as they went on sale. Happy days!

This was when my Dad, who never took time off work, stepped in and said he was prepared to take a day off to take me down to Brighton to purchase tickets. Wow! I was stunned!

On the Friday my Dad and I travelled down to Brighton early in the morning to be there for when the box office opened. We stood together in the queue and when it was our turn I bought the maximum four tickets allowed. As my Dad had queued with me, he said he might as well buy an extra ticket so I could give it to my mate, who also loved The Jam, or so I thought.

When we arrived home I couldn't believe it when he said he didn't fancy going! I bet he regrets it now!

So on 11th December, my sister and her boyfriend, and my girlfriend and I set off for Brighton on the train from Victoria. We arrived early in the afternoon. We had a walk around and some lunch to kill time.

Then the evening finally arrived. The place was buzzing with excitement outside the venue and I had a spare ticket in my pocket. I wanted someone who needed a ticket to have it. We spotted a young couple trying to purchase tickets from a tout. Once they walked away, I approached them for a chat. They had managed to buy one ticket from the tout but didn't have enough for two. My good deed for the day was to let them have my spare ticket for £10. They were so pleased!

The gig itself was rather disappointing. I guess I expected a special night, but alas it was not meant to be. I returned home with the usual tee shirt and ticket stub on a packed train to Victoria. 

Over the years I have managed to lose the ticket stub and the tee shirt is long gone, but it is still one of the happiest memories I have from that time.

The next piece of fascinating "farewell" memorabilia shared by John Burton was an offshoot of Flexipop. 

For those not familiar, Flexipop was a magazine that ran between 1981 and 1983. It was the creation of ex Record Mirror journalists Barry Cain and Tim Lott. I found a really interesting article about the magazine written by Tim, who states Flexipop was  designed to provide a fun alternative to music papers such as the NME, who had a habit of taking themselves rather too seriously. The nearest rival was Smash Hits, but what set Flexipop apart from all the rest was the fact that each issue came with a free flexi disc.

Issue two featured The Jam on the front cover and a giveaway disc of Pop Art Poems/Boy About Town. There is more information about this in scrapbook number three.

Issue 17 featured Paul Weller on the front cover and a photo history of The Jam inside.

The farewell magazine John has in his box of memorabilia was a one off production, celebrating the career of The Jam. 20 lucky readers were given the chance to win an autographed copy of Beat Surrender. 

Here are a several more pages from the publication plus the 'Jam Farewell Poster". I wonder if it was staged for Paul to look so happy, whilst Bruce and Rick sat there with long faces.

Something I have said repeatedly through my blog posts and on Twitter is how it never ceases to amaze me what an emotional attachment fans of The Jam have to the band. Their career was relatively short-lived yet here we are, almost 40 years after they split sharing all of these wonderful stories and memorabilia. For me it was because through their music and in particular Paul's lyrics, the band spoke to us in a way very few others did. 

When Steve Hinders and I wrote our first blog post we both agreed the impact Paul Weller had on us was life changing. Somebody else who stands under the same umbrella is professional musician Otis, the creator of the Percy Hepworth Music Channel.

Otis started his journey when he bought The Style Council single, ‘A Solid Bond In Your Heart’. He went on to discover The Jam retrospectively after a friend introduced him to ‘Dig The New Breed’ in 1983. The first album he personally bought was ‘This Is The Modern World’. From here he worked his way backwards and forwards through The Jam’s recordings until he had the full collection of albums and singles in his possession. 

Like me, Otis was so inspired by Paul's gift as a songwriter he went on to seek out more information about the people who lit the creative fuse in Paul himself.

He read books by George Orwell, poetry by Byron and went on to write songs himself. In addition to this, he read all the books he could lay his hands on about The Jam.

Once he started on this path, his mum told him of her experiences as a mod back in the 60s. She introduced him to her vinyl collection. ‘Sunny Afternoon’ by The Kinks, Arthur Conley’s ‘Sweet Soul Music’ and numerous singles by The Beatles were included among others. This opened the door even further. 

Fast forward to 2020. During the lockdown, Otis found himself in the position of having to work from home for the first time, as was the case for so many other people. Looking at ways he could continue to do his job effectively, he started experimenting by making You Tube videos.

At the end of the year, purely for fun he decided to use his new found skills to create a video quiz about The Jam for a friend of his.

Shortly after making the video Otis’s PC had to be sent away for repairs. When it was returned to him three months later, he was amazed to see his video quiz had been viewed 500 times.

Encouraged by his success, he decided to start creating more videos based around Paul Weller and The Jam. People started posting comments and sharing their knowledge and experiences. In fact in many cases the comments told a story all of of their own. Percy Hepworth Music Channel was born! 

The channel now has over 100 videos with much more to come. Otis hopes to continue opening up discussion not just about The Jam's music, but about Paul Weller's life, career and influences. Dedicated videos focussing on The Kinks and The Who have been added. To use Otis's own expression the channel is “musical archaeology”.

If you are already reading this post, then I know you will find the Percy Hepworth Music channel a fascinating goldmine of information. Here is a link so you can join in the discussion.

The Jam appeared in Glaswegian punk fanzine 'Trash 77' issue two from May 1977.

One of my favourite pieces in the last scrapbook was the tale of how Bruno Gallone from Burton on Trent talked his way into getting his band REACTION a support slot with The Jam at the Hammersmith Palais in December 1981. If you haven't already read his story, you can check it out here.

A year or so later, Bruno's musician friend Pete Dolman asked him for help in promoting the tape he had recorded with help from a female singer. Bruno thought he had created "a nice funky soul sound"  and was keen to assist. Using the contacts he had made when he was playing in REACTION, Bruno made him some appointments with various A&R people at Virgin, Rough Trade and Polydor. 

As they walked out of the Polydor offices they were rather taken aback when they noticed Paul Weller sat with Mick Talbot in a nearby cafe. Bruno and Pete decided to go into the cafe. They walked across to Paul and Mick's table. Pete was completely blown away when Paul immediately recognised Bruno, outstretched his hand and said "Bruno from REACTION..." 

They chatted a little then Bruno asked Paul if he would listen to Pete's tape and give him some feedback. He also gave him another record by Burton band Daryl and the Chaperones. 

Several days later the letter below from Paul dropped on Bruno's mat.

Bruno wrote back with more questions, not expecting a reply, but Paul took the time to reply again.

I wonder if Paul ever did listen to the single by Daryl and the Chaperones. The band later went on to become Whizz For Atoms and were signed to Graduate Records - the same label as UB40.

Bruno finishes his story saying "I was in awe of the man before, but to have taken the time out to not only listen to the tape but to write back twice with comments and feedback says a lot about him."

I think that sums up the way a lot of us feel. 

Over 40 years after supporting The Jam REACTION have released an album called ‘This Is Now That Was Then’. It is available to buy on vinyl or CD through Heavy Soul records or you can check it out on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/album/71FyllgAUYI0MFfGKu6AQV

Sketch of Paul Weller from 1980
by Tony Beesley

I don't often come across someone who is an even bigger fan of The Jam than I am, but my Twitter friend Paul falls into that category! I thoroughly enjoy looking at the array of Jam related artwork and memorabilia he shares on a daily basis. You can join Paul on Twitter here.

Here is the US release of The Butterfly Collector/Strange Town Paul has in his wide record collection. Interestingly, in scrapbook number two Steve Hinders shared his promotional copy of the same disc. They were given away at a gig in Ohio, Cleveland in 1979 by Cleveland based radio station - WMMS. The station was started in the late 1940s and is still going strong today. An interesting little nugget is that in the late 80s personnel from WMMS were instrumental in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.

The 4 Side Effects EP pictured was released in Australia in 1981. This was a country where The Jam never toured. It would be great to hear from someone who can shed some more light on what sort of a fan base they had there. If the four tracks on this EP didn't whet people's appetite I don't know what could!

Paul has also been kind enough to share the incredible artwork below, all  creations of Mark Cromack.

I remember when I was writing my fanzine being incredibly grateful if a friend who was in possession of a pocket camera accompanied me to a gig and offered to take photos. Unlike nowadays when everybody is snapping with their phones left right and centre and sharing their life stories via social media, back then it was a different story . 

I could generally find the information I needed about the bands I interviewed via the press, other fanzines and snippets on TV, but half decent photos taken in real time were like gold dust!  Whenever I see snaps people share on Twitter of gigs from the early 80s I always view them as something rather special.

When one such photo, taken by Steve Wynn caught my eye a little while ago, I was keen to make contact and ask him for more information. 

The photo was taken in June 1979 when The Jam played a one-off gig as part of the Saddleworth Arts Festival. It was a four day event held in a marquee. They were in good company too, as Dr Feelgood played at the same festival. 

I will hand over to Steve to take up the story from here.

43 years have passed so memories are a little sketchy, but here goes...

It was 9th June 1979. As part of the Saddleworth Arts Festival it was announced The Jam would be headlining in a large marquee. I purchased tickets on the day of release.

The date of the gig finally rolled around. Me and my girlfriend  (who I married two years later and we are still together) caught the bus to Saddleworth with a pocket camera.

Walking from the bus stop with dozens of other fans, we turned a corner and caught sight of a huge white marquee. It was like a circus big top. A couple of trestle tables were set up outside with recording equipment, so the bootlegs must be out there somewhere. As we walked in our ears were bombarded with Skinhead Moonstomp blasting from the PA.

Support band The Records were very good. I bought their album the following day.

After half an hour of setting up that all too familiar announcement was made for us to welcome "The best fucking band in the world... The Jam!"

They ran through a blistering, albeit short set of around a dozen tracks. It was a mini greatest hits setlist. Strange Town, Tube Station, A Bomb, Modern World, David Watts... Plus Away from The Numbers and The Butterfly Collector were a joy! 

I was transfixed with all the leaps and bounds by Bruce whilst never missing a note. The thunderous bass runs... They really were such a tight combo.

The marquee was by no means full so I was able to go from side to side to take a few photos. The pyrotechnics had to be placed outside for the A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E climax, and to allow for that they increased the number and strength of them. The booming explosions were so loud that many local residents complained to the police. 

It was my first time seeing The Jam, but not my last. My love affair with the band is just as strong now as it was back then.

As those who follow me closely on Twitter will know, I do like to run the odd poll here and there, especially when it comes to finding out what people's favourite album tracks by The Jam are. Believe me this has resulted in some nail biting moments!

The most recent poll I ran coincided with the 45th anniversary of the release of the band's blistering debut album 'In The City'. The results were interesting, although on a personal note I have to say I was bitterly disappointed that one of my favourites - Sounds From The Street - did not fair so well.

This was how things panned out in the finish:

1 - In The City

2 - Away From The Numbers

3 - I Got By In Time

4 - Bricks and Mortar

5 - Non Stop Dancing

6 - I've Changed My Address

7 - Takin' My Love

8 - Art School

9 - Time For Truth

10 - Slow Down

11 - Sounds From The Street

12 - Batman Theme

Someone else who marked the same anniversary was gifted artist Baba Youngblood (Dave).

Combining his favourite artists and favourite films Dave has produced some stunning images. I was first introduced to his artwork around the time of 'On Sunset' being released. Via a series of 'Modfather' images Dave perfectly captured the changing faces of The Changingman through the decades.   

I was so impressed I messaged him for more information and he gave me a little background about how he first started with his art.

When he joined Twitter in 2015 he followed singer Denise Johnson, best known for providing vocals on Primal Scream's 'Screamadelica' album, and her long association with A Certain Ratio. 

As a result of seeing one of Denise's posts on Twitter, Dave went on to produce some artwork for her, which she was delighted with. Eventually the two became friends.

It was making a connection with Denise that lit the creative fuse in Dave. After her death, he wrote a very moving article for the website of Manchester based charity, Mustard Tree who Denise was a supporter of. In it he explained what an inspiration she was and still is to him. You can read it here. 

The idea for the 'In The City' based creation below started germinating in 2021. It is based on Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927). Dave specifically designed it to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the album's release. I think it is a most fitting tribute.

If you would like to see more of the artwork of Baba Youngblood, here is a link to his Etsy shop.

Carolyn Perry shared this clip taken from the NME.
Who remembers seeing it? (I've got my hand up!)

The above advert appeared in the Solid Bond tour programme. The video was filmed at a 1982 gig at Bingley Hall in Birmingham. Looking back over the last 40 years this was the beginning of live music becoming more accessible. Up to the birth of VHS tapes and music channels we were dependant on waiting for bands to tour, or catching the occasional snippet on TV shows. If you lived in an area off the beaten gig circuit as I did, it often meant travelling miles to watch a band play.

A year or so before the Trans Global Express video was recorded, The Jam played another gig at Bingley Hall. One fan who ended up in the envious position of getting to sit by the mixing desk to watch was Johno. The reason for this was because he arrived on crutches having broken his ankle. When the staff and crew saw him queuing they made sure he was escorted to a safe place so he could watch without sustaining any more injuries!

I found a review of the gig on the Express and Star's website.

Here is Johno's ticket. 

Keyboard player Jimmy Telford from Everest the Hard Way went on to be invited to play on stage with The Jam on the Solid Bond tour. He replaced the two horn players who had played with them previously.

Fire and Skill came across this scrapbook he kept as a teenager whilst having a clear out. I particularly love picture number three.

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, all fanzine creators knew the true meaning of the expression "cut and paste". I remember spending many hours cutting pieces out of magazines and newspapers then gluing them on to a piece of A4 paper to fit around the content I had typed on my trusty portable typewriter.

Issue four of Kindred Spirit featured a review of  Everything But The Girl's debut album - Eden. It was written by my late Dad, who contributed several written pieces to my fanzines. I remember asking him to review Eden because I felt to do it justice, the album needed the ear of someone who not only appreciated music but could play music themselves. My Dad ticked the boxes on both fronts.

When I read back over my his favourable review not long ago, it instantly brought to mind how Paul Weller was a fan of EBTG's music at the start of their career. Because the duo met when they were both students at Hull University, Paul's involvement was common knowledge among music lovers in the city at the time. 

Paul first approached Ben and Tracey in the weeks after The Jam split. This resulted in him appearing on stage with them at the ICA in London in January 1983. 

He later invited them to contribute to the Style Council's debut album. Both featured on 'Paris Match'. Tracey’s velvet-soft vocals are perfect for the song.

Here is the review of Eden that appeared in issue four of my fanzine and an example of one of my own attempts at cut and paste.

My amateurish offerings gave me an instant appreciation of the work of London artist Mal-One. The first of his masterpieces I saw was a collage dedicated to The Clash. I was keen to know more. It came as no surprise to learn he has exhibited alongside of such artists as Banksy, Goldie and Peter Blake. His work is quite simply amazing.

As Mal-One was growing up in London, the emerging punk scene was all around him. Steve Jones and Paul Cook lived in the same neighbourhood. (Steve Cook stole his bike when he was aged seven!) He was living and breathing it, and this comes through in his work.

Through attending gigs, buying and collecting, he has created works which reflect the time and the bands that defined an era in British culture.

Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Stranglers and X-Ray Spex are just some of the bands he has based his work around. The three pieces below feature The Jam. Mal-One has kindly provided a little background information about each one. 

The Class of 76 Yellow Background

The Class of 76 was neither a class or a group of 76 members, it was in fact a reference to a group of like minded youths that, in the mid 1970's were bored and looking for inspiration.

It was found at the wrong end of the King's Road, Chelsea. In a little bolthole at number 430 King's Road, a new scene was happening.......

The Class of 76 was released in 2016 to commemorate 40 years of #PUNK!!

The Jam

The young men from Woking I have always included in the Punk explosion.

An early influence on Paul Weller was when he came up to the big smoke and saw the Sex Pistols at the Lyceum ballroom on 9th July 1976.

He saw kids his own age getting up and playing with an energy his own band, The Jam, would infuse into their own live gigs........

A worthy third in "The Class of '76"

The Jam - In The City

"In the city there's a thousand things I wanna say to you". A great opening line full of angry, young man intent.

Notice the 3 promo badges in the dècollage. The Jam at Red Cow, Nashville and Hope (and Anchor).

The typed text came from the inner sleeve of the American release of the debut album ' In The City' (should have been in UK edition, would've looked great!)

Number 7 of Never Mind the Punk 45.....The Jam ' In The City' 

You can find out more about Mal-One here, where his work is available to buy. If you would like to follow him on Twitter or Instagram, search for @mal_onelondon

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And that my friends is where I draw things to a close. I hope you have enjoyed my latest walk down memory lane. It's always a joy to share. My thanks go to everyone who has contributed across all four of the scrapbooks. I couldn't have done it without you! 

If you would like to join me on Twitter for more of the same, here are the links.

Kindred Spirit Fanzine    Jill Webb Words

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