The Jam "About The Young Idea" & "Golden Faces 1977-80" Exhibitions plus Rick Buckler "That's Entertainment: My Life In The Jam" Autobiography

Recently, it’s been a good time to be a fan of The Jam, what with two major London exhibitions about the band and the publication of Rick Buckler’s "That's Entertainment: My Life In The Jam", surprisingly the very first official autobiography from any ex-member since "The Jam, Our Story" which was co-written by Rick, Bruce and Alex Ogg. The superb exhibition at Somerset House, "The Jam: About the Young Idea", curated by Tory Turk, Russell Reader, DJ and long-time fan Gary Crowley, music memorabilia collector Den Davis and Paul Weller’s sister Nicky (who used to run The Jam’s fan-club), has just had its stay extended to September 27th. I must say that this has to be the most impressive exhibition of any band’s memorabilia I have ever seen, and I doubt even the most difficult-to-please die-hard Jam fan will leave here disappointed. After all, it is the first time that such a comprehensive collection of personal items from all three members of the band, have been displayed together. The Jam are one of very few bands that, despite achieving huge commercial success, still managed to retain their artistic integrity and popularity amongst their impressively devoted hard-core fan base. Eighteen Top 40 Hits and four U.K. Number 1 Singles and yet they were, and are to this very day, still cool; how many bands can claim such a similar legacy?  

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In part this was probably down to Paul Weller's sudden and surprising decision to split the band at the height of their success. They have remained frozen in time at what might well have been their peak. We’ll never know if they could have gone on to scale even greater heights. The next album might have flopped; the band may have imploded or just slowly fizzled out in a disappointing run of lacklustre gigs and releases. Either way Paul Weller wasn’t willing to risk tarnishing the legacy of this great band and in calling it a day in a rather abrupt, and some might say callous way, he did at least ensure that their awesome reputation remained intact. To be honest, I was hoping to discover more about Weller’s sudden and unexpected decision and its effect on his loyal and long-serving band-mates in Rick Buckler's new Omnibus Press autobiography "That's Entertainment".

Unfortunately, anyone expecting an answer is going to be disappointed. It's well documented that the decision probably came as much as a shock to Bruce and Rick as it did to the band's fans. Rick cannot shed much light on Paul's real motives apart from those already published at the time. OK he might have wanted a clean slate, to get away from the confines of a band but to end it with such finality; to cut out Rick and Bruce from his life personally, as well as musically, still seems harsh and unnecessary. After all, in The Jam, Weller was respected and acknowledged as the main song-writer, often lauded as one of England’s finest, and Rick and Bruce were, on the surface at least, the perfect band-mates. They were musically competent loyal and long-time school friends with their own individual styles and input that enabled the band to grow and progress yet never threatened to encroach on or restrict Weller’s role as the main man. I am a big believer in chemistry amongst bands and it's always a shame when court cases about song-writing and publishing raise their ugly heads. I mean Rick and Bruce were without a doubt integral to The Jam's sound, who's to say they would have made it without them? Adrian Thrills wrote in the sleeve notes to "The Jam at The BBC" about this when he visited the band in the studio while they were recording "Going Underground", that the "process was very much a group effort with Rick and Bruce shaping the song's texture as much as Paul". Plus with Paul taking a more rhythmic approach to guitar, rather like one of his influences Wilko Johnson, The Jam's sound was often built around Bruce's excellent bass lines and Rick's economical but effective military style quick-fire drumming. 

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Are you trying to tell me Rick and Bruce’s contributions to "Funeral Pyre" weren’t a worthy input into the song's success? Bruce's melodic backing vocals and stage presence were also a vital ingredient - so it is always a pity to have things split down to whose contribution was more important. At no point in the book does Rick let on that there were any serious personal issues between the three of them. In fact the lingering feeling after finishing the book is that Rick seems to be hedging his bets. It’s almost as though deep down he is hoping for that reunion, if not a full-on Jam one then at the very least a personal acknowledgement from his old school friend. The book is at it’s best when Rick drops his guard, particularly in a somewhat moving section where he explains the aftermath of the band’s split, the shock of suddenly being unemployed and the sad and hurtful snubs he received from Weller. At one point during a gig on their farewell tour he finds himself looking at his set-list and realising that it will be the last time he will play these great songs. 

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However, there's no mention at all of the court case to recoup unpaid royalties nor is there any criticism of John Weller for his handling of the band’s business accounts, something that was cited in the court case. There’s also nothing about the rumours that he left From The Jam because Bruce and Paul made up and he was still left in the cold. He doesn’t want to dish any dirt, an admirable trait I suppose. It could be construed as refreshing that he wants to keep his counsel but I guess deep down we all like the odd bit of salacious Rock 'n' Roll gossip and back-biting now and then, but you won't get that here. You kind of want Rick to be spitting in anger at Weller’s treatment of him, at the fact that despite those four Number 1 singles he ends up working as a drum roadie and restoring furniture to make a living but Rick has apparently drawn a line under it all. Rick comes over as I had always imagined him, a decent down to earth bloke who you could have a pint with, someone who has a real love and pride of the Jam's legacy and the importance it had on the band's fans. “That’s Entertainment” might not offer much in the way of on-the-road excess but it is certainly a must-read for any Jam fan, particularly for the insight on the band’s early years. It has been co-written by Ian Snowball who was also involved in the Medway Punk book "The Kids Are All Square" and both him and Rick have been touring the U.K. giving talks and Q&A sessions at various venues so please check out their Facebook page for news on future appearances near you.

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Anyway, back to the Somerset House exhibition and on arrival, you are greeted by large colourful screen-prints featuring some well known slogans from lyrics such as "And What You Give Is What You Get!" and "To Be Someone Must Be a Wonderful Thing" and then there is a wall covered in gig fly-posters. You then enter a dark room which has a full stage set up as if ready for a performance, with Rick’s white Premier drum-kit with his large custom tom-toms, full back-line with a bass and guitar resting on stands. In fact there is a way the exhibition could have been better - Paul, Rick and Bruce could be there on the stage to greet you with a song or two! No such luck, instead there is a large video wall on a backdrop behind the drums showing a live performance of the band in their prime. Then you move into the main exhibition and you are confronted by a bewildering display of material donated from the band and their families very own personal archives spread over 6 or 7 different rooms each concentrating on a particular period in the band’s history.

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So we get some very personal displays from the early and mid 70’s such as the ten year old Paul Weller's school reports, where he only manages to score a C in Music, exercise books covered with slogans, logos, doodles of bands and cartoons of "Paul the Mod". Then the early years of the band forming at Sheerwater County Secondary School in Woking including amusing pics of the four piece Jam with guitarist Steve Brookes, their long centre-parted hair, flares and kipper ties and set lists of the time showing a huge catalogue of popular cover versions such as "Proud Mary", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Be Bob A Lula" and "Long Tall Sally". There’s a nice section dedicated to Paul’s late father John who managed the band right to the time they disbanded and a family Dansette with a selection of 7” vinyl singles from their record collection. The exhibition then moves on to the period where Paul gets influenced by the burgeoning London Punk scene and they ditch the flares and tighten up, throwing out many cover versions and introducing original Weller songs into the set.

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Deciding on a smart black and white look at odds with the rest of the Punk fashion they streamline everything – from the drainpipe trousers to slimming down to a three-piece line-up. So we have a tiled wall spray-painted with the logo, actual “Burtons” suits and bowling shoes and outtake photos of the debut album cover. There are early press cuttings including a yellowed and frayed NME interview from 1977 where a contrary Paul claims they are going to vote Conservative in the next election. Paul's Rickenbacker with a sticker of The Boys, Bruce's black Fender Precision and Rickenbacker basses. The Roy Lichtenstein "Whaam!" Rickenbacker guitar and one with the Punkishly nihilistic "I Am Nobody" crudely scratched into the sunburst body. There are stage outfits, jumpers with Mod targets and boating blazers all familiar from various promo videos and TV appearances.

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One piece that stood out was a copy of The Eton College Chronicle magazine where Paul is interviewed by a well informed Eton pupil about the lyrics of "Eton Rifles" and Paul appears worried in case they are all angry about the song at the College. "No”, says the interviewer “they are buying the single in droves!" and he goes on to praise Paul’s lyrics, despite the singer admitting he’d never even visited Eton, apparently he did capture the daily routine of the college pretty well as the interviewer admitted that "Beer, Tea, Slough, Rugby and rain stopping play are all part of life at Eton College". There are album and single sleeves displayed in chronological order as well as a selection of backstage tour laminates and button badges. All around the exhibition rooms, every spare bit of space is covered in gig posters and photographs, there really isn't anything you can think of that isn't included. As I mentioned at the start, the exhibition has been extended to September 27th due to public demand, and I would certainly recommend making the effort to go along.

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I also popped along to the always excellent Snap Gallery in the rather posh and ornate surroundings of Piccadilly Arcade as they were hosting "Golden Faces: Photographs of The Jam 1977-80" by Martyn Goddard, alongside "The Kinks, Photographs and Artefacts" exhibition at the same time. Unfortunately this exhibition has now ended but a selection of Goddard's photographs also appear in the Somerset House summer 2015 exhibition "The Jam: About The Young Idea", and in his new book "Growing Up…With The Jam" which you can buy at Somerset House.

Some of Martyn Goddard's prints at Snap Gallery

Here's a bit of blurb: Martyn Goddard’s images played a key part in defining The Jam’s image on record sleeves. He shot the cover for their first album, "In the City", and continued to work with them creating images that would appear on the sleeves of many of their singles: "All Around The World", "The Modern World", "News of the World", "David Watts", "Down In The Tube At Midnight", and "Strange Town". His final project with the band was to shoot the images that would appear on the cover of their fifth studio album, "Sound Affects", in 1980. In addition to his sleeve assignments, Goddard photographed the band in the studio for press and promotion purposes.

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For tickets and information on the exhibition visit the Somerset House web-site here. To buy copies of Rick's autobiography and other merchandise please check out Strangetown.net. For more photographs of both exhibitions please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hit "Like", if you are not already following, for access to the exclusive photo albums.