FORMER bass player From The Jam Bruce Foxton is performing the band’s classic album Setting Sons at the Bridport Electric Palace on September 19 with From the Jam. In conversation with Joanna Davis, Bruce reveals that life truly is on the up.

IT’S hard not to feel intimidated by the prospect of interviewing a member of a band that its fans were – and are – still fanatical about.

When The Jam separated in 1982 I was the kind of age where I was more interested in eating jam sandwiches and listening to nursery rhymes.

Going Underground, Eton Rifles, That’s Entertainment and A Town Called Malice may have passed me by the first time around, but they are songs that have never gone away, constantly popping up on film, TV soundtracks and the radio.

So it was with much trepidation that I picked up the phone to call Bruce Foxton, bass player of The Jam and solo artist in his own right.

But I was greeted by a warm, friendly man, who is refreshingly philosophical about his many years in the business.

Over the past few days I had read a lot about The Jam and listened to a lot of their music and I read that Bruce had been described as ‘unlucky’.

With the punk rock/mod revival band at the height of their popularity, Bruce and drummer Rick Buckler were told by lead vocalist Paul Weller that he was quitting the band.

Bruce went on to pursue a solo career, played in other groups and then formed From the Jam with Buckler. Two years later he lost his beloved wife Pat.

Bruce tells me: “The music business is very fickle. Overall, I’ve had more good times than bad times.

“Your career is how it is. I’ve been very fortunate with The Jam, the support we had was amazing and I thought it could have gone on a bit – but that’s just life.

“I think there’s more of that unluckiness in my personal life. I lost my first wife Pat and my parents both died of cancer and my elder brother died of cancer. But there are lots of people out there who have had these major upsets, and it’s a terrible time to go through but there are so many people going through it.”

In 2011 Bruce got re-married to Kate. He said: “My step daughter is getting married the year after next and we’re really looking forward to that.

“I feel like my life is really on the up and I’m enjoying things.”

With Kate Bush recently making a comeback is there any possibility of The Jam getting back together? I ask.

“It’s a pipedream really. Rick has given up playing drums and he’s dabbling in management.

“Paul is doing great in his own right and I’m really happy with From The Jam and I have lots of work to do on my album for next year.”

After years of not speaking, Paul and Bruce reformed their friendship after the deaths of Bruce’s wife and Paul’s dad.

I’m curious as to what their socialising now entails and Bruce tells me it’s an ‘occasional phone call’ kind of relationship rather than visiting each other’s homes. Paul did backing vocals on Bruce’s 2012 solo album Back in the Room and is set to lend a hand again on Bruce’s new album.

Bruce said: “At some point Paul and myself will do a few numbers on my record, it will be a casual thing, he will just come to the studio and do two or three songs, that’s our arrangement and that’s how we like it.”

From the Jam’s Bridport gig will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Setting Sons, including Bruce’s self-penned Smithers-Jones. The entire album has been described as ‘the last great album of the Seventies’.

“It’s very complimentary to hear that,” Bruce said.

“It’s great for us that a new audience may be discovering us for the first time, we get a real cross-section.

“We’ve got people who were kids when The Jam first performed and now these kids are coming to see the shows because they may have heard about us from their parents or listened to their albums.”

The pre-performance nerves haven’t gone away after all this time, Bruce says.

“Doing Setting Sons is a lot more challenging than doing the greatest hits.

“A lot of the songs on there we haven’t done for a long time and we need to get it right.

“You still get the nerves kicking in and you’re pacing up and down and waiting to go on stage – even Paul still gets it.

“You want to perform well because the fans are very passionate.”

The Bridport audience can expect to hear a very Weller-esque sound from lead vocalist Russell, who is a dab hand with social media, Bruce tells me.

“I think that Facebook and Twitter are great for letting people know what you’re up to.

“But I’m not very good at it. I leave it all to Russell.”

Something Bruce is good at though is opening up to an interviewer and answering questions intelligently, with a lot of honesty. And who can do that in 140 characters or less?

From The Jam perform at the Electric Palace in Bridport tomorrow night from 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale on the door.