Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings of From The Jam talk to Peter Mann as they approach 40 years on tour

A LONG history with the North-East, and one of its flagship bands, The Longsands, brings Bruce Foxton and From the Jam back to Newcastle early next month.

Consisting of Bruce Foxton, Russell Hastings, Mike Randon and Andy Fairclough, the quartet have seen From the Jam go from strength-to-strength over the past decade, which has included hit albums Back in the Room and Smash the Clock, and head to the O2 Academy on their A & B Sides Tour.

Having been promoted by Steve Wraith in Newcastle for what is a fifth successive year – with The Longsands having been their chief support on their tour in 2009/10 – FTJ's ongoing success has often been accredited to an increasing fan-base.

“The success was made possible by you the public getting involved, for which we can’t thank you enough,” says Foxton. “Russell and I are incredibly proud to be in the charts. It is a great achievement all round. It’s just simply good music that is ageless and timeless.”

Tracks on the night are likely to include Just Who Is The 5 O’clock Hero, Carnation, Aunties and Uncles and Life from A Window.

“The band are also looking forward to playing The Dreams of Children, the B side to Going Underground that was originally intended to be an A side, were it not for a mix up at the pressing plant,” says Foxton.

The Newcastle’s O2 Academy visit on October 2, where they’ll be supported by The Longsands and Charlie Campbell, is part of a tour taking in Manchester and Edinburgh, Nottingham and Sheffield, Leeds, London and Southampton before finishing in Exeter in mid-December.

Guitarist/vocalist Russell Hastings describes touring as a surreal journey alongside Foxton, who is more like a twin brother than a colleague. The pair often finish each other’s sentences, knowing what the other is going to do next, even holidaying together... well except for next year. The band have recently returned from a tour down under, and even though jet lag is a factor they’ll go back next year, and are already looking at a return to Newcastle, particularly as it's The Jam’s 40th Anniversary.

“Yeah, we’ve been on tour in Australia for a couple weeks, we performed nine shows taking in places like the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth,” says Hastings. “The majority of the shows were sold out as well which was amazing and somewhere like Sydney, that’s just incredible really.”

Performing tracks of the past two albums, as well as the old favourites keeps the fans wanting more says Foxton.

Hastings adds: “The two albums have been really successful indeed. We’re fortunate that people are continually raving about the music and wanting to hear us play. When I began playing I was only about 12 and have been in bands since I was about 14, so I’ve always played, always known music. I’ve played with some great guys as well, Mark (Brzezicki) and Rick (Buckler) being two of them (both former members of From the Jam). Mark is a great guy and friend of mine and we just had a really great time with it all.

“Bruce though, well I think it’s about 11 years or so we’ve known each other. We have many things in common and often go on holiday together, share a lot and often found ourselves speaking for each other. I'm actually with FTJ because of Rick because he wanted some help, and we just went from there and the fans love it, as do we.”

Newcastle is one of the band's favourite venues.

“I love going there and seeing the people,” Hastings says. “They're always up for it from the word go. It can be quite daunting being in the dressing room hearing them, but once we start, it’s great. I love the place and it's a really vibrant city – we can't wait.

“It’s not just those A’s and B’s which we’ll be playing though as this gives us a chance to put on some surprises as well on the night. We’ve got a lot of ammunition to work with and get the crowd going, so we’ll aim to start off with a big bang and just keep it going.”

  • Tickets for the A & B Sides Tour, Newcastle’s O2 Academy, are available now at £22.50, from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/from-the-jam-tickets/210141.