As bass player for
the Jam,
Bruce Foxton had the enviable role of backing one of England's most respected singer/songwriters,
Paul Weller.
Foxton's deft playing and harmonies certainly added to
the Jam's winning sound, although his own songwriting (usually a track per album) fell below the standard set by
Weller. Only "Smithers-Jones" (rock version: B-side to "When You're Young"/string version: "Setting Sons") stands out as an equal to
Weller's output. When
Weller put an end to
the Jam in the early '80s, no one expected
Foxton to rebound with a solo career, but he certainly gave it a shot.
Foxton signed a deal with Arista Records and began putting together a band. Enlisting the help of former Hitmen guitarist
Pete Glennister, former Hitmen keyboardist Stan Shaw, and drummer
Adrian Lillywhite (brother of producer
Steve),
Foxton went back to work. In 1984, his rock/funk "Freak" single was released and did some very respectable business in the U.K. charts. Unfortunately, none of his other singles made a mark on the charts, nor did his Touch Sensitive album, and
Foxton was dropped from the label. Shortly after his contract was terminated,
Foxton hooked up with former
Jam drummer
Rick Buckler and vocalist Jimmy Edwards (both of whom had been members of Time UK while
Foxton was struggling with his solo career) and formed the short-lived Sharp, who released a sole 7" single. After a few more years of disappointments,
Foxton hooked up old friend
Jake Burns and joined his legendary outfit
Stiff Little Fingers in the late '80s, where he remained an integral part of the band for years.
Even if
Foxton was firmly part of
Stiff Little Fingers, he never entirely left
the Jam behind. In the '90s, just after
Paul Weller's comeback started to take hold,
Foxton wrote a joint autobiography with
Jam drummer
Rick Buckler called Our Story, detailing their time with
Weller. The bassist returned to
Stiff Little Fingers, but in 2007
Foxton re-teamed with
Buckler in the
Jam tribute group called From the Jam, an expansion of
Buckler's then-current
Jam tribute band the Gift. From the Jam toured in 2007 and 2008, with a live concert set appearing in 2008, all to the reported displeasure of
Paul Weller. Fate, however, has a way of intervening, and in 2009
Foxton lost his wife Pat to cancer and
Weller lost his father John, the two deaths spurring a reconciliation between
Bruce and
Paul.
Weller had
Foxton in to guest on the 2010 album
Wake Up the Nation, a move that jump-started
Foxton's career. Soon, he assembled his own band and recorded
Back in the Room, his first solo album in nearly 30 years.
Weller returned the favor to
Foxton by guesting on
Back in the Room. ~ Steve Schnee