FROM THE JAM + THE SELECTER – BRIGHTON DOME 13.12.21
At the age of 57, the beginning of yet another working week hardly fills me with excitement, but when the opportunity arose to review this evolution of my all-time favourite band, I have to confess that I had been dreaming of this Monday when I could see ‘From The Jam’ again, for quite some time.
Tonight’s venue is the very nice Grade I listed Brighton Dome. With members of the public having to wear masks on entry, the staff there dealt with the situation well and were very accommodating. Once inside the auditorium a lot of masks were discarded, though I must say that is the most I have seen being worn since the music scene got up and running again. The atmosphere felt good for what promised to be a good night.
Almost 39 years ago to the day my music world came tumbling down as The Jam played their last concert at the Brighton Centre but more about that gig later. Paul Weller had decided to disband the group at their peak, which in hindsight wasn’t a bad shout as their music still resonates with me now and I never tire of listening to their songs. They didn’t get the chance to fall away and it was a chance for the band members, Weller in particular, to try something completely different.
I desperately missed seeing them play live and my thirst wasn’t quenched until ‘All Mod Cons’ from Boston, USA, of all places came over to the UK to tour in the early nineties. I caught them at various locations including The Marquee where they set an attendance record, finally seeing their second last show on these shores in Hastings in October 2019 before they called it a day early last year.
Then there was ‘The Gift’ formed by the drummer from ‘The Jam’ Rick Buckler. I caught them at The Crypt in Hastings and this was the first time I came across a certain vocalist and guitarist named Russell Hastings. The band played a set of songs exclusively by The Jam and with Rick on drums there felt some sort of authenticity. Russell though was a breath of fresh air and his Welleresqueness (a new one for the Oxford dictionary) did not go unnoticed.
A further two years down the line and Bruce Foxton was reunited with Buckler and along with Hastings they formed ‘From The Jam’. I was lucky enough to catch one of their first gigs when they played High Rocks near Tunbridge Wells on May 24th, 2007. A great night in bizarre settings for a gig and far more suited to a wedding reception, but coincidentally it was then that I fell in love with ‘From The Jam’. I have seen a few tribute acts of The Jam along the way but no others have really cut it for me.
Tonight the support act was another quality band from the late 70s, early 80s in The Selecter led by the ever youthful, ever smiling, effervescent, Pauline Black. I never saw them at their peak as they were only around for just over two years back then, but I have seen them twice at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill since 2017. Read our 2019 gig review HERE.
The Selecter just make you want to come back for more. Ably backed up by Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson on vocals, these two leading lights can give any band frontperson a run for their money. With the auditorium filling up nicely, the band got off to a flying start hitting us second song in with one of their hits and probably my favourite ‘Three Minute Hero’, which peaked at number 16 in the Top 40. ‘Out On The Streets’ gives an early opportunity for a bass guitar solo from Andrew Pearson, highlighted by Pauline holding the tambourine above his head, shortly followed by a lead guitar solo from John Robertson in the same song, highlighting not only the professionalism of this band, but their fun nature.
Lee Horsley was not to be outshone as he precariously balanced his keyboards on two legs during the set. With former ‘Spear of Destiny’ saxophonist Neil Pyzer-Skeete on his usual good form. There were no weaknesses to be found. One of the biggest cheers went up for the original drummer, Charlie ‘H’ Bembridge, who was making a welcome return to the set-up.
The music kept on coming and the audience had their dancing shoes on to this wonderful fusion of ska, reggae and a touch of punk. ‘Time Hard (Everyday)’ was a reminder that we might not be allowed out for long if another lockdown was to be forced upon us. ‘Missing Words’ went out to the unrequited lovers of whatever persuasion. ‘Street Feeling’ was for the woman wearing the traditional red Harrington; Pauline was having none of these sage green Harringtons. Pauline joked along with those “in the cheap seats” and soon had them singing along to a song which they have been playing for 42 years and have almost perfected it, their Top 10 hit ‘On My Radio’. There can’t be many better endings to a set than ‘Too Much Pressure’ the title track of their first album, mixed in with Toots and the Maytals ‘Pressure Drop’. A great dance and singalong was had by all. Alas there was no photoshoot with Pauline nor a signed setlist tonight, but once again plenty of memories of another pretty much perfect set.
The Selecter setlist:
‘The Avengers Theme’ (Laurie Johnson Orchestra cover)
‘Three Minute Hero’
‘Out On The Streets’
‘Time Hard (Everyday)’ (George Dekker cover)
‘Frontline’
‘Murder’
‘Missing Words’
‘Danger’
‘Street Feeling’
‘Train To Skaville’ (The Ethiopians cover)
‘James Bond Theme’ (Monty Norman cover)
‘Carry Go Bring Come’ (Justin Hinds & The Dominoes cover)
(encore)
‘On My Radio’
‘Too Much Pressure’ / ‘Pressure Drop’ (Toots and the Maytals cover)
Find out more at theselecter.net
I suddenly felt myself being transported back to 1982 at the excitement of seeing ‘From The Jam’. Now obviously I can’t make any comparisons to ‘The Jam’ as that would be grossly unfair to all concerned, but for those of us who are not averse to a bit of nostalgia, this was the moment we had all been waiting for. Yes I am fully aware that a lot of original fans vowed to never see a band try to recreate the original sound and power of ‘The Jam’, but the market is out there and sadly a lot of the politicised lyrics are still relevant today, maybe with some slight tweaks. Now could be the time to bite the bullet and give ‘From The Jam’ a chance as they pack a real punch. Okay so you won’t see 66 year old Bruce Foxton jumping in the air with bass guitar in hand but the music does the talking as always.
This was supposed to be the 40th Anniversary Tour of the album ‘Sound Affects’, which it is said Paul Weller claimed was their best, but with the inconvenience of a pandemic it has now become the 41st anniversary. ‘Music For The Last Couple’ (from ‘Sound Affects’) blasts from the PA in anticipation of the band’s appearance on stage. To start off tonight’s set there is no better way than the punchy bass of Bruce Foxton for the intro to ‘Pretty Green’ and we are up and running.
It doesn’t take long for the crowd to get involved as they singalong to ‘That’s Entertainment’. Russell is also warmed up and takes his jacket off after a mere three songs. ‘But I’m Different Now’ has me dancing though it is noticeable that some people nearby are not so familiar with this brilliant track from tonight’s chosen album for the tour. My lasting memory is of this being played at Wembley Arena on night three of five and my clambering over chairs to get down the front only to slip and rip my jeans cutting my leg in the process. What a great tune. Followed by the familiar ‘Start’ the crowd soon get back into the swing of things.
‘Set The House Ablaze’ is viciously fast and the ageing crowd, apart from myself, struggle to keep up though some of the youngsters lead the way including my 18 year old nephew, who is tonight getting the best musical education so far of his tender years. Russell introduces ‘A Town Called Malice’ as a song “for those of you waiting to hear a song you know” and the crowd respond positively to what is probably the highlight for most. As for me, I have sung along to every song with only a few minor blips, which I blame on age. Next up he asks the audience for a song suggestion and luckily someone in a Fred Perry polo shirt comes up with the right answer as ‘To Be Someone (Didn’t We Have a Nice Time)’ is on the setlist.
Russell Hastings engages well with the crowd throughout and still has the tone of an angry young man. ‘Monday’ starts him off as he noticed earlier in the year that Brighton was missing from the tour and on his demand a date and venue was found within 45 minutes. He wanted it to be a Saturday, but as it wasn’t this song was dedicated to tonight though we were instructed to party like it’s a Saturday night. He is visibly disappointed that some people have missed out on a great evening due to the threat of Covid and have not turned up as there are some empty sets which had been sold.
‘The Jam’ made some great cover versions of songs performed by other artists and tonight we are treated to two of the best in ‘David Watts’ and ‘(Love Is Like A) Heatwave’. Follow that with ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’ and you have an exhausted crowd. The extended break before the encore, because apparently it takes some band members a little longer to recover than others, came as a relief to some of the crowd.
Eventually they returned for a three song encore. A frenetic ‘In The City’ is where it all started. Russell talks about all the people they have met that have claimed to have been at the Brighton Centre finale and he was one of them in what he reckons must have been 175,000 strong! A lot more people claim to have been there from tonight’s audience and I am jealous. I should have been at The Brighton Centre if it hadn’t been for my car breaking down within a few miles of my then West London home. So instead of going to see The Jam’s final ever concert I ended up watching E.T at the local ABC. I had only just seen them play for five nights in a row at Wembley Arena, but I was still bitterly disappointed at missing out on attending their last ever gig. Now that really was a bitter pill to swallow. Slowing the tempo down for ‘Ghosts’, they finish off with a lung busting ‘Going Underground’ and finally we are all content.
‘From The Jam’ have to be one of the hardest working bands on the circuit with what seems like their endless touring. I had never heard of drummer Mike Randon prior to tonight but he certainly showcased his skills tonight and I won’t be forgetting him in a hurry.
There is definitely a connection with the local crowd given the whole Mod scene and the band tell us they will be back next year to honour the 40th anniversary of the final ever gig of The Jam at The Brighton Centre. Watch this space. Maybe we will see an exact recreation of that final set. For now the legacy of ‘The Jam’ lives on and is safe in the hands of Messrs Foxton, Hastings and co. Long may they reap the rewards of a great back catalogue. Not even a two hour drive home due to a road closure and Google Maps sending me through some strange town could ruin my night. Roll on April 21st, 2022, when ‘From The Jam’ hit The White Rock Theatre in Hastings.
From The Jam setlist: (all Jam covers unless where indicated)
‘Pretty Green’
‘That’s Entertainment’
‘Boy About Town’
‘But I’m Different Now’
‘Start!’
‘Set The House Ablaze’
‘Monday’
‘Dream Time’
‘Man In The Corner Shop’
‘Town Called Malice’
‘To Be Someone (Didn’t We Have A Nice Time)’
‘The Butterfly Collector’
‘David Watts’ (The Kinks cover)
‘Saturday’s Kids’
‘(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave’ (Martha Reeves And The Vandellas cover)
‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’
‘Strange Town’
‘The Eton Rifles’
(encore)
‘In The City’
‘Ghosts’
‘Going Underground’
More info on the band can be located HERE.
