Rick Buckler, drummer in The Jam, has died on the age of 69. The information was confirmed by his ex-bandmates on social media.
The band was led by singer and guitarist Paul Weller, who posted on X: “I’m shocked and saddened by Rick’s passing. I’m thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking. To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey! We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time. My deepest sympathy to all family and friends.”
Bass participant Bruce Foxton added: “I was shocked and devastated to hear the very sad news today. 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. My thoughts are with Leslie and his family at this very difficult time.”
In an announcement, his household described him as a “loving husband, father and grandfather” who was “devoted to many” and shall be “greatly missed.”
The assertion added that he “passed away peacefully on Monday evening in Woking after a short illness with family by his side.”
In 2015, Buckler spoke to MOJO’s Chris Catchpole and defined the origins of The Jam, who had been lively from 1972-1982. The band grew to become fairly well-liked within the punk and new wave period of the late Nineteen Seventies. They’re additionally broadly credited with inspiring a revival in mod style and music.
“Me and Paul sort of knew each other at school. Anybody who was interested in music used to hang around the music room and swap albums. Paul and Steve [Brookes, original Jam guitarist] had a gig and needed someone to play drums. He gave me a big stack of albums that were sort of Chuck Berry-style things and said, ‘Go away and learn some of those.’”
Afterward within the interview, Buckler, who was born in Woking, England, mirrored on the band’s historical past. “The band was evolving all the way in which alongside the road and it virtually stares you within the face while you take a look at it from a retrospective standpoint. We had been at all times pushing the boundaries of what we may do with a three-piece band. It meant that every album had its personal identification. Simply the range of tracks.
“The difference between ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Absolute Beginners’ and ‘Funeral Pyre’ and ‘Start!.’ They’re all totally different in the way they’ve been approached and recorded. I think in the early days we felt we had to prove ourselves to the record company or prove ourselves to an audience so that we could gain our own fan base. It just seemed to be an ethic that we carried on.”
