What did The Jam play at their final show in 1982?
19 February 2025, 17:21
The death of Rick Buckler means that the mod legends' final show was in Brighton back in December 1982. How did The Jam bring the curtain down on their career?
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The death of Rick Buckler has ended the possibility of a full reunion of The Jam for good.
The drummer died on 17th February 2025 after a short illness. He was 69.
In a tribute, his bandmate Paul Weller said, "I'm shocked and saddened by Rick's passing. We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time. Jam bassist Bruce Foxton paid tribute with the words: "Rick was a good guy and a great drummer whose innovative drum patterns helped shape our songs. I'm glad we had the chance to work together as much as we did."
The Jam last played together in December 1982 and, significantly, the line-up of Weller, Foxton and Buckler never got back together for a reunion tour or even a one-off show. Weller repeatedly resisted performing with this ex-bandmates again, telling the BBC in 2006: "The Jam's music still means something to people and a lot of that's because we stopped at the right time, it didn't go on and become embarrassing".
Despite rumours that Weller and Foxton didn't speak for over 20 years, the pair had reconciled around the mid-00s, but nevertheless Weller continued to forge ahead with his solo career. The Modfather is now on his seventeenth solo album, 2024's 66.
Why did The Jam split up in 1982?
In October 1982, Paul Weller announced that The Jam's European tour was to be cancelled and the band would be splitting at the end of that year. A one-off single, Beat Surrender, was to be released on 19th November alongside the band's first ever live album, Dig The New Breed, on 10th December. The LP would follow two "Christmas" shows at Wembley Arena on 1st and 2nd December.
In a handwritten "personal address to all our fans", Weller explained the reasons behind the split. "At the end of the year, The Jam will be officially splitting up as I fgeel we have achieved all we can together as a group. I mean this both musically and commercially.
"I want all we have achieved to count for something and most of all I'd hate us to end up old and embarrassing like so many other groups do.
"I want us to finish with dignity. I feel now is that time. The longer as. griup continnues, the more frightening the thouhght of ever ending it, because that is why so many of them carry on until they becoming meaningless. I've never wanted The Jam to get to this stage.
"Thank you for all the faith you have shown in us and the building of such a strong force and feeling that all three of us have felt and been touched by.
"Here's to the future, in love and friendship."
In 2015 ago, Weller told Sky in a documentary about the band that The Jam would "absolutely, categorically" never reunite. He added: "To me it would be against everything we ever stood for. “More than ever, the older I get, the more I want to see what I can do. I just want to push it as far as I can."
“I wanted to end it to see what I was capable of," Weller explained. "We stopped at the right time. The music has gone on, the music has legs and it’s got longevity.
“The young kids are getting into it now and hopefully in years to come when we are all brown bread, people will be discovering it and that is a good place to leave it ain’t it?”
However, his bandmate Bruce Foxton said in the same documentary that the split was "devastating". The bassist collaborated with Rick Buckler on the band Sharp in the 1980s and in 2007 formed From The Jam to perform some of their old band's material at live shows.
Where did The Jam play on their farewell tour in 1982?
The tour was originally set to feature two nights at Wembley Arena, but this was extended to five due to demand. While the tour was set to end in Birmingham on the 8th December, two more shows were added: Guildford (almost the band's hometown) on the 9th and a final date at the relatively new venure, the Brighton Centre on the 11th.
- 25th November Apollo, Glasgow
- 27th November Arts Centre, Poole
- 28th November Cornwall Coliseum, St Austell
- 29th November Afan Lido, Port Talbot
- 1st December Wembley Arena, London
- 2nd December Wembley Arena, London
- 3rd December Wembley Arena, London
- 4th December Wembley Arena, London
- 5th December Wembley Arena, London
- 6th December Royal Spa Hall, Bridlington Spa
- 7th December Apollo, Manchester
- 8th December Bingley Hall, Birmingham
- 9th December Civic Hall, Guildford
- 11th December Conference Centre, Brighton
Tickets for all shows were £5, with Wembley tickets costing £5 and £6.
What did The Jam play at their Brighton Centre show in December 1982?
The setlist showcased the band's final album The Gift, which had beemn released in March of that year, giving an airing to the singles Precious and Town Called Malice, plus the album tracks Ghosts, the title track and Bruce Foxton's Circus.
The show leaned heavily on the band's acclaimed third album All Mod Cons, with the trio playing the album's It's Too Bad, In The Crowd, Mr Clean and the title track, alongside the hit Down In The Tube Station At Midnight. For loyal Jam fans, the group went right back to their 1977 debut album In The City for the track Away From The Numbers.
The Jam also threw in some covers: The Kinks' classic David Watts, The Small Faces' mod favourite Get Yourself Together and the soulful Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield.
The Jam setlist Brighton Centre, 11th December 1982
- Start! (from the album Sound Affects, November 1980)
- It's Too Bad (from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
- Beat Surrender (single, November 1982)
- Away From The Numbers (from the album In The City, May 1977)
- Ghosts (from the album The Gift, March 1982)
- In The Crowd (from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
- Boy About Town (from the album Sound Affects, November 1980)
- Get Yourself Together (originally recorded by The Small Faces in 1967)
- All Mod Cons (title track of the album, November 1978)
- To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time) (from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
- Smithers-Jones (from the album Setting Sons, November 1979)
- Tales From The Riverbank (b-side of the single Absolute Beginners, October 1981)
- Precious (from the album The Gift, March 1982)
- Move On Up (originally recorded by Curtis Mayfield in 1971; b-side to Beat Surrender single, November 1982)
- Circus (from the album The Gift, March 1982)
- Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
Encore 1
- David Watts (originally recorded by The Kinks in 1967; from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
- Mr Clean (from the album All Mod Cons, November 1978)
- Going Underground (single, March 1980)
- In The City (title track of the album, May 1977)
- Town Called Malice (from the album The Gift, March 1982)
Encore 2
- The Butterfly Collector (b-side of Strange Town, March 1979)
- Pretty Green (from the album Sound Affects, November 1980)
- The Gift (title track of the album, March 1982)
