Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of

mod revival The mod revival was a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence lasted for de ...

band

the Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

. He occasionally performed the lead vocals, such as on the songs " News of the World", " David Watts" and "

Smithers-Jones "When You're Young" was the eighth single released by the Jam. The single was released on 17 August 1979, and charted at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 September. The B-Side of the single, "Smithers-Jones", is a guitar-based recording of ...

". After the band's break-up, he pursued a brief solo career releasing one studio album, '' Touch Sensitive'', in 1984. The album's single "

Freak A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature ...

" became a UK Top 20 hit in 1983. He played in several bands, including

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...

with former Jam member

Rick Buckler Paul Richard Buckler (born 6 December 1955) is an English musician who is the former drummer of The Jam. Early years Buckler was born in the town of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. He received his education at Sheerwater Secondary Sch ...

, before joining

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

in 1990. After leaving SLF in 2007, Foxton officially joined Rick Buckler and members of his tribute band, The Gift, to tour under the name From the Jam.

Early life and education

Bruce Douglas Foxton was born the youngest of three boys on 1 September 1955, in Woking, Surrey, England, to parents Henry and Helen. He grew up at 126 Albert Drive,

Sheerwater __NOTOC__ Sheerwater is a residential neighbourhood or small suburb of Woking, in the Woking district in Surrey, England, occasionally described as a village, between West Byfleet and Horsell. Its border is defined to the north by a gently win ...

where he was born, and attended Sheerwater Junior and Secondary where he showed great skill in football and technical drawing. In 1972, he left school to work with his brother Derek at a printing firm. While there, he formed a band with his colleagues at work but he abandoned the project out of frustration due to lack of progress and instead chose to join

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

, although at the beginning he had doubts about the band's frequent covers of old hits.

Career

Together with drummer

he formed the rhythm section for The Jam, which was fronted by singer, guitarist and songwriter

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

. Foxton initially joined the band as lead guitarist (Weller played bass), but the pair switched roles following the departure of guitarist Steve Brookes. During his time with the band Foxton performed lead vocals on several tracks, most notably the singles " David Watts" (a cover of a

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

track) and " News of the World", which was his own composition. Foxton also penned a number of other tracks, the most notable being "

", done as a straightforward rock take for the B-side of " When You're Young" and later reworked with strings for the ''

Setting Sons ''Setting Sons'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Jam, released on 16 November 1979 by Polydor Records. It reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart upon the first week of release, continuing the commercial (and critical) favou ...

'' album. After Foxton joined

in 1990 the band would regularly perform the song live. Whilst in The Jam, Foxton discovered the new wave band

the Vapors The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band that initially existed between 1978 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980 and No. 36 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

and offered them two appearances on the May 1979 tour of The Jam. The band was managed by John Weller, Paul's father. The Vapors enjoyed greater success in the US than The Jam, with the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

single "

Turning Japanese "Turning Japanese" is a song by English band the Vapors, from their 1980 album '' New Clear Days''. It was an international hit, becoming the band's most well-known song. The song prominently features an Oriental riff played on guitar. Overv ...

", but broke up shortly thereafter. After The Jam broke-up in 1982, Foxton pursued a brief solo career and released the studio album, '' Touch Sensitive'', in 1984. The album's single "

" became a UK Top 20 hit in 1983. He had other minor UK hits in 1983 and 1984 with the singles "This Is the Way" and "It Makes Me Wonder", and played in several bands, including

with former Jam member Rick Buckler, before joining Stiff Little Fingers. He stayed with Stiff Little Fingers for 15 years, during which time they recorded five albums, namely, '' Flags and Emblems'', '' Get a Life'', ''

Tinderbox A tinderbox, or patch box, is a container made of wood or metal containing flint, firesteel, and tinder (typically charcloth, but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a fire ...

'', '' Hope Street'' and '' Guitar and Drum''. During his time with the band, he wrote and co-wrote several tracks and, along with lead singer

Jake Burns John "Jake" Burns (born 21 February 1958) is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, although he has also recorded with Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, 3 Men + Black, and as a solo artist. Early life ...

, managed the band for a while after Russel Emmanuel relinquished the role. In 1994, Foxton and Buckler collaborated on ''Our Story'', a biography of their years in The Jam. It was around this time he became a source of fascination for comedians

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

and

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the lead ...

on their

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

music shows. In 2006, Foxton toured with Bruce Watson,

Mark Brzezicki Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with the Cult, Ultravox, From the Jam, Procol Harum, Rick Astley, the Crazy World of ...

and

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

as the Casbah Club. When this band supported

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

in the UK, Foxton encountered Paul Weller backstage for the first time in nearly 25 years. In February 2007, Foxton and Buckler announced they would be touring together again as From the Jam, with members of Buckler's Jam tribute band the Gift. In March 2008, they toured Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

– a first for Foxton and Buckler. A complete concert (recorded at the

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further develop ...

in December 2007) was released on DVD in 2008 through the London-based indie label

Invisible Hands Music Invisible Hands Music is a UK-based independent record label. The label is owned and run entirely by Charles Kennedy who started out by self-releasing cassettes sold at gigs by his first band 'Night World' in 1987. The first CD release was ''F ...

. On 5 May 2009, Foxton attended the funeral of Paul Weller's father John, who had been instrumental in The Jam's success. Foxton played bass and contributed backing vocals on the songs "Fast Car/Slow Traffic" and "She Speaks" included on Weller's solo album, '' Wake Up the Nation'', released in April 2010. On 25 May 2010, at the Royal Albert Hall, Foxton joined Weller onstage for the first time in 28 years, to perform three songs, "Fast Car/Slow Traffic", "

The Eton Rifles "The Eton Rifles" is a song written by Paul Weller. It was recorded by The Jam, and was the only song to be released as a single from that group's album ''Setting Sons''. Released on 26 October 1979, it became the band's first top-ten hit on the ...

" and "The Butterfly Collector". On 1 October 2012, Foxton released ''Back in the Room'', his first album in 30 years. It was funded by fans through

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

and released on Absolute via

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. Co-written with From the Jam singer Russell Hastings and featuring drummer

, guest musicians included Paul Weller. Weller performed on three tracks, the single "Number Six", "Window Shopping" and "Coming on Strong". In November 2016, ''Smash the Clock'', a second collaboration with Russell Hastings, was released on Absolute to generally favourable reviews. Once again it featured a number of well known guest musicians, including Paul Weller. "Get Ready to Rock" online magazine/blog in their review wrote "Foxton and Hastings may not thank me for saying it, but this is probably the best album Paul Weller never made" In December 2017, Foxton released the album ''From The Jam Live!'' with Hastings. In 2020, Foxton and Hastings celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Jam’s 4th album

with a From The Jam tour that involved

The Vapors The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band that initially existed between 1978 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980 and No. 36 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

as the original support act on The Jam's 1979 Setting Sons tour. Because of the

Covid pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, the tour was eventually postponed to 2021.

Personal life

In early 2009, Foxton's wife of 25 years Pat, who had worked in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

. Bruce is now married to Kate Foxton (nee Farrow).

Discography

With The Jam

Solo

Studio albums Singles

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foxton, Bruce 1955 births 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers 20th-century English bass guitarists 21st-century English bass guitarists English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock musicians English male singers English new wave musicians English songwriters Living people Male new wave singers Mod revival musicians Arista Records artists People from Woking Stiff Little Fingers members The Jam members Casbah Club members