From The Jam Scarborough Spa October 2022

The last time I saw The Jam was at Bridlington Spa in December 1982. The band were only days away from playing their last ever gig in Brighton.

As I’m sure is the case with many others fans who witnessed the Beat Surrender tour, my memories of that night are bittersweet. On the one hand it was a celebration of how much The Jam had spoken to us through their music and touched our lives. On the other, it was as if we were saying goodbye to a close friend much sooner than we wanted to. The unmistakable air of sadness was as present in the air as the clouds of smoke on the stage.

Fast forward (almost) 40 years to October 30th 2022 at the Scarborough Spa. This was my first time of seeing From The Jam live. Believe it or not, the show was originally scheduled to take place in January 2020. Due to COVID restrictions, freak weather conditions and band members falling ill it had to be postponed multiple times.

It was worth the wait.

Support came in the form of Squire, who I have to be honest and admit I know very little about other than their name. They played a set of well received energy packed tunes. Their sound has a melodic 60s vibe combined with with more than a dash of power pop.

They formed at the very start of the Mod revival. They supported The Jam at Guildford Civic Hall in 1978. I’m not quite sure how I missed them first time around, but I shall definitely be finding out more about them now.

Then From The Jam took to the stage. The years melted away as soon as they broke into the opening chords of ‘Away From The Numbers’.

Nobody could ever replace Paul Weller but Russell Hastings’ passionate delivery generates the same kind of electricity. He chatted a little between tunes and suddenly it felt more like being at an informal gathering than a gig. He even managed to get the audience to improvise when a guitar string broke halfway through the set.

An evenly balanced mix of favourites followed. Pretty Green, Mr Clean, To Be Someone, In The City, That’s Entertainment, Strange Town, Town Called Malice… one classic after another delivered with all the fire and skill we know and love so well.

Sandwiched nicely in the middle of the wave of nostalgia we were treated to Russell and Bruce’s new single - Lula. It’s already riding high in the charts at the time of writing. With this track they have definitely moved away from any obvious comparisons to The Jam. Powerful, catchy and a little melancholy too. The audience gave it a solid thumbs up.

The crowd lapped it up when Bruce took over the vocals for David Watts. In fact there was so much love circulating in the room for Bruce Foxton you could feel the warmth. The man is a living legend after all!

A special mention must be given to keyboard player Andy Fairclough and drummer Mike Randon both of who did a sterling job. Mike’s drumming intro on It’s Too Bad triggered distant echoes of Rick Buckler’s epic intro on Dig The New Breed.

After a blistering set all four members of the band left the stage but they were saving the best until last. The audience were on the cusp of becoming impatient when they reappeared and delivered the goods in style.

The Eton Rifles was nothing short of an explosion both on stage and in the crowd. Arms were waving, guitars and drums were crashing. This song may have recently celebrated its 43rd birthday but it is still relevant. It will never lose its fire.

Bruce’s instantly identifiable bass sound heralded the haunting intro to a song which needs no introductions. Paul Weller may have only been 20 years old when he wrote Down In The Tube Station At Midnight but in my opinion it’s one of the finest songs he’s ever penned. There were points in the song when the audience took over with the singing. It was yet another foundation rattling rendition.

Going Underground was the grand finale. I think that’s when I realised that yes - I’d been singing at the top of my voice for the last hour and a half and yes - I’d finally lost my voice!

Paul Weller and The Jam were the inspiration behind me starting a fanzine in July 1983, as documented in this blog post from November 2020. However I always felt the one thing missing was not being able to include a review of The Jam in real time in the pages of Kindred Spirit. Thank you Bruce, Russell, Andy and Mike for a thoroughly enjoyable performance and for helping me to bridge that gap.