Bruce Foxton anchored the Jam’s rhythm section as bassist, supporting Paul Weller, one of England’s most admired singer-songwriters. His agile lines and vocal harmonies helped shape the group’s distinctive punch, yet the songs he contributed—one per album—rarely matched Weller’s level. The lone exception, “Smithers-Jones,” appeared first as the rock B-side to “When You’re Young” and later in its string arrangement on Setting Sons.
When Weller disbanded the Jam in the early 1980s, few anticipated Foxton launching a solo career, yet he pursued one anyway. He signed with Arista Records and assembled a new group featuring ex-Hitmen guitarist Pete Glennister, ex-Hitmen keyboardist Stan Shaw, and drummer Adrian Lillywhite, brother of producer Steve Lillywhite. The resulting 1984 single, the rock-funk track “Freak,” achieved solid chart placement in Britain, but subsequent releases and the album Touch Sensitive failed to register, prompting Arista to drop him.
After leaving the label, Foxton joined forces with former Jam drummer Rick Buckler and singer Jimmy Edwards—both veterans of Time UK—to form the short-lived Sharp, which issued only one 7-inch single. Years of further setbacks followed until the late 1980s, when Foxton accepted an invitation from longtime acquaintance Jake Burns to join Stiff Little Fingers, remaining a core member for an extended period.
Even while committed to Stiff Little Fingers, Foxton stayed connected to his Jam past. In the 1990s, coinciding with Paul Weller’s renewed success, Foxton and Rick Buckler published the joint memoir Our Story, recounting their years alongside Weller. Foxton continued with Stiff Little Fingers until 2007, when he and Buckler launched the Jam tribute project From the Jam, an outgrowth of Buckler’s existing band the Gift. The group toured through 2007 and 2008, releasing a live album in the latter year, moves that reportedly displeased Weller.
Personal loss altered the dynamic in 2009: Foxton’s wife Pat succumbed to cancer, and Weller’s father John passed away, prompting the two musicians to reconcile. Weller invited Foxton to appear on his 2010 album Wake Up the Nation, an opportunity that revived Foxton’s momentum. He promptly formed a new band and cut Back in the Room, his first solo record in nearly three decades, on which Weller contributed as a guest.
