On my show this month:
From 1977 to 1982 in British popular music culture there were very few groups that came close to The Jam.
There were of course other groups around at the time that also had an ‘edge’ to them, but very few if any had the success that The Jam experienced. With 18 consecutive top 40 singles and 4 number one hits in the UK, it’s difficult to think of many other ‘alternative’ or counter-mainstream-cultural groups of the time that had such mass appeal.
For those who were attracted by music and lyrics that in some form or other challenged the status quo, The Jam were seen, by some, to not only challenge the hum-drum and drabness of that period, but were somehow, counter-intuitively doing it quasi from the inside… That is, since they were not all-out Punks, and since they wore suits, and since they occasionally played spiked-up Soul covers, and were quite often melodic, they limbo-danced under the radars and into the bedrooms and living rooms of otherwise unsuspecting adolescents with otherwise quite middle-of-the-road musical tastes.
Lyrically they had one of the best song-writers of the time. Politics, poetry and social conscious married-up to create anti-war, anti-racist, and anti the right-wing government (from 1979…); frequently, as much as anything else, with lyrics that depicted a rundown Britain whose over-arching mood was one of despondency and hopelessness.
Paul Weller as primary song-writer neatly slotted into the British lyrical family tree which also consisted of the likes of Ray Davies of The Kinks, Peter Townsend of The Who, with elements of The Small Faces and indeed Nick Drake ... All – when they were at their best – combined with Punk fervour and a subversive do-anything attitude.
This programme is dedicated to the memory of Rick Buckler, the drummer of The Jam who died recently, who along with Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller embodied a certain attitude and outlook from a certain period of time in British musical history.
This is The Jam Etcetera ...

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Biography:

Music both old and new. My tendency has always been to be attracted to the 'different', the other, the subversive… something that in one way or another challenges authority or orthodoxy and somehow attempts to shape wider society. Whether that be Punk, two-tone, Krautrock, Rai… etc.
In addition to that though I quite simply enjoy discovering the new, the different and the strange. Sounds, voices and atmospheres from around this small globe we call home are what excite me...
Over the years I have lived in many different countries, and wherever I was John Peel was the background, for many years, that aurally lit-up my adventures. He so perfectly reminded us that the quality, importance and worth of something has nothing to do with its 'popularity', and more to do with how it breaks down barriers and makes the complacent feel uncomfortable. How music at its best can be so much more than just a wallpaper-friendly pop song. So, then, eternal thanks to John Peel, who helped mould many of us…
Plus, thanks for listening. It is a great pleasure and joy to bring these shows to you; I hope you enjoy what you hear.

Tracklistings and listen again to the previous shows: