The Moment He Kicked the Fan… You Knew This Was ‘From the Jam’.

From The Jam @ The Gov 2/7/26

The guitar tech wandered on stage for the final soundcheck. One crunchy strum from a black Rickenbacker echoed around The Gov. My immediate thought? Oh yeah... this is gonna be a big night.

Then the band swaggered on stage and launched into Heat Wave. Seconds later, the cooling fan became the night's first casualty. One song in... it was booted. Game on! (See video.)

Within minutes, I stopped thinking of them as From the Jam. For one night, they simply became... The Jam.

The night was packed with standout moments. An unusually raucous That's Entertainment had the whole room singing every word in unison, Town Called Malice reminded everyone why it's still one of the greatest live songs ever written, while The Eton Rifles delivered all the swagger, punch and attitude that made it a Jam classic.

Every chord had that crunchy, aggressive edge that became The Jam's trademark. There are guitar sounds... and then there's the unmistakable snarl of a cranked Rickenbacker. Likeable frontman Russell Hastings attacked every song with loud, raw, unapologetic energy, his guitar cutting through the room with all the subtlety of a chainsaw in a library.

Standing in for Bruce Foxton is no easy task, but Gary Simons nailed that deep, throaty 'Foxton growl', his bass sitting perfectly beneath Russell's guitar. Meanwhile, drummer Mike Randon's silver sparkle Ludwig kit looked almost understated—right up until the kick drum punched you square in the chest.

Fun fact: the bass drum-mounted cowbell even had its own microphone... because let's face it, you can never have enough cowbell.

There was also a genuine warmth throughout the night. Between songs—and again after the gig—the band spoke fondly of Bruce Foxton, acknowledging how much he'd have loved to be on stage doing what he does best. It never felt forced or sentimental—just sincere. Anyone who's met Bruce knows he's one of the genuine good guys in the music industry, making those tributes even more meaningful. Bruce may not have been on stage, but he still put his stamp on the night.

After a generous five-song encore, the band left the stage and the instruments finally fell silent. But the night wasn't quite over. In a classy touch, they returned to the front of the stage for an impromptu meet and greet, happily chatting, shaking hands and posing for photos with fans. The music had stopped. My ringing ears, however, clearly hadn't received the memo.