Rockers From The Jam to perform in Swindon next month

The three-piece, which includes one of the original members of Paul Weller’s 1970s outfit, The Jam, have been playing together as From The Jam since 2007, and singer and guitarist Russell Hastings is as keen as ever to take to the stage.

The band are currently on their 40th anniversary tour celebrating The Jam’s debut album ‘In the City’, released in 1977.

Russell, 51, who is originally from Sussex, said: “We always look forward to playing live. We’ve just had a month’s holiday because we tour 11 months of the year, so we’re all ready to get out there again.”

The band is made up of Russell, drummer Steve Barnard and bass player Bruce Foxton, one of the original members of The Jam.

Russell, who first started playing the guitar at the tender age of 12, has been a huge fan of The Jam his whole life and is thrilled to be playing the music that has defined him.

“I listen to a very wide spectrum of music, from classical to acoustic,” he said. “I was a big fan of The Jam when I was younger. I’m 10 years younger than Bruce and I grew up listening to his music.

“It’s fantastic playing with them, though it was very daunting at first. But I don’t go out there to be Paul [Weller], I go out to be me. It has worked very well over the years, and long may it continue.”

It won’t be the first time that Russell has played in Swindon, though he admitted it was quite a number of years since he was last here.

“What I love is that there is such a massive range of ages at gigs, from kids of seven or eight to people in their 80s. It’s great to see young people who know every word of the songs.”

The band will be on tour all over the UK right up until Christmas, play in every major town until the final show in Brighton on December 16.

When asked his favourite Jam song, he said the 1977 hit Away from the Numbers, but qualified it with “but that changes almost every day”.

The show takes place at Meca on Saturday, April 15. For tickets, log on to www.mecaswindon.co.uk.