IT must have been an awkward interaction between From The Jam frontman Russell Hastings and Paul Weller when they worked together on Bruce Foxton’s Smash The Clock album.
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Hastings, after all, plies his trade as a Weller impersonator. And man, is he good. To the uneducated, Hastings could almost pass as “The Modfather” himself. Voice, mannerisms, haircut, everything.
I must admit walking into the refurbished Cambridge Hotel last week with reservations. Foxton is the sole remaining member of the legendary English punk mod-rockers The Jam and bass guitarists are hardly the star of bands unless you’re Paul McCartney, Sting or Flea.
But from the minute the iconic bass riff of A Town Called Malice opened proceedings, it was apparent this was no pure cash grab. From The Jam are a red hot band. For the next 19 songs they ripped through The Jam’s extensive back catalogue to the delight of the mostly middle-aged male audience.
The crowd might have been small, but it was enthusiastic and appreciative. One bespectacled gentleman was so excited he literally pogoed with a fist raised for the entire set.
What is easily forgotten is how incredibly potent Weller’s songwriting with The Jam was. The three-piece don’t receive the acclaim of their punk contemporaries The Sex Pistols and The Clash, but tracks like Down In The Tube Station At Midnight and In The City perfectly encapsulated the discontent of English ‘70s youth. More than 35 years later the angst and power of those songs was articulated by From The Jam.
Hastings also handed the mellow moments on The Butterfly Collector and That’s Entertainment with aplomb.
The 60-year-old Foxton is a rock’n’roll professional and he knows how to build a set towards a crescendo. A rollicking version of The Eton Rifles was shouted back with glee from the audience before the band left the stage. Then in the encore they ripped through In The City, Saturday’s Kids and a blistering Going Underground.
Are From The Jam as good as The Jam? Definitely not. But they still rock harder than most bands half their age.
