Well, that was a blast, eh? Didn’t we have a nice time.

As Otis Redding put it at Monterey in June 1967, ‘This is the love crowd, right?’ And there was plenty of evidence of that at the Home of Football (it’s my review, so my rules apply) as Woking FC played host to the third annual Here Comes the Weekend festival, a celebration of all things Weller, Buckler, Foxton, The Jam, The Style Council, and all that, attracting quality live acts, engaging talks and… well, bonhomie and camaraderie.

On stage on Saturday afternoon, interviewed by broadcaster and Jam fan Aaqil Ahmed, I was reminded of that exchange in Only Fools and Horses, Derek Trotter reminiscing while gazing wistfully at a photograph of his mates’ football team.

‘We had Denzil in goal, we had Monkey Harris at left back, we had… camaraderie!’

To which Trigger, about to head home, asks, ‘Was that the Italian boy?’

There was camaraderie on tap at Kingfield, my beloved football club out on loan to lovers of a movement that had its roots in Woking, what started as a Lennon and McCartney meets the Everly Brothers duo of Sheerwater schoolboys Steve Brookes and Paul Weller soon becoming so much more, not least after Rick Buckler then Bruce Foxton joined, The Jam truly born.

This event landed 50 years to the week the initial band played a ‘Rock & Roll Evening’ at the same Kingfield venue, supported by the Norman Hale Trio, in a week they also played Sheerwater Community Centre, Woking Working Men’s Club and their regular Michael’s nightclub residency across town, John Weller’s lads continuing to build a following.

Two years later, so much had changed, The Jam newly signed to Polydor – historic home of The Who and Slade – and on the road promoting debut single ‘In the City’ and the incendiary LP of the same name, the world their oyster, their future anything but a clam. And it will come as no surprise to many of you that I added that last line without contemplating where it came from, so deeply in my DNA is that wonderful catalogue of songs, ‘When You’re Young’ one of those I cited as a major influence in Saturday’s interview, that song ingrained in this lad’s psyche from around my 12^th birthday… and never leaving.

I aimed to write a standard review here, but I’ve already drifted from that premise, so best get back on board and head to the first musical highlight of my two-day visit. Unfortunately, time and geography ruled out what I’m reliably informed was a storming Friday night headline set from The Hornets and support band The Special Guests, the latter with their own strong link to The Jam’s early days, lead singer Enzo Esposito with their town rivals Squire back in the day, going on to feature among the Mod revival scene’s foremost outfits.

My own musical introduction to the festival came via the Stax Pistols. Imagine Booker T tackling punk and new wave, their cracking take on late ‘70s classics delivered in a Hammond organ-led Stax and Motown style. ‘Memphis surfs the New Wave’, as they put it. They admit there’s not a lead singer among them, but the instrumentation and vibe carries it all, the vocal moments they deliver occasionally bringing realisation on the floor for those struggling to place a song being given that twisted cover treatment.

Highlights included their take on X-Ray Spex’s ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours!’ (the guitarist revising Poly Styrene’s iconic intro to ‘Some people think gentlemen of a certain age should be seen and not heard, but I think…’) and encore, ‘Ça Plane Pour Moi’, frontman Toby proving himself a contender for King of the Divan with that glorious one-note organ solo. What’s more, their cover of ‘Pump It Up’ reminded me just how soulful the Attractions were, even in the punk era, long before Get Happy… which the smiles around me suggested was the case on this occasion too.

As for Saturday’s headline act, what was not to love? Daniel Ash from Teenage Waitress and his band – I met Daniel and his lead guitarist in the Green Room that afternoon and it’s fair to say the word ‘unassuming’ springs to mind, certainly with no pretentiousness, for all this gifted collective’s talent. Their set included a guest spot for Sunday evening support act Samuel Rogers and Dee C Lee’s Style Council predecessor, Jaye Ella-Ruth on ‘Walk on Gilded Splinters’, part of an engaging live session taking us from start to finish of a rightly-lauded LP, somehow now 30 years old but in reality 30 years young.

On an album that has no fillers, ‘Out of the Sinking’ – which they went on to play again as a second encore – was sublime, Jaye helping the band reach a spiritual high, an act of communion unfolding between band, fans and Lord knows Whom… above the clouds. Magical. As for ‘Whirlpool’s End’, it’s a song that never fails to grab me, this scribe ‘rolling down green Surrey hills in Spring’ in his memories. And again, it was beautifully pulled off here.

Daniel was a delight throughout, neatly complemented by his oh so professional band, and you could hear a pin drop as Jaye delivered heartfelt yet understated LP finale ‘Wings of Speed’, re-reaching the heights managed earlier on ‘You Do Something To Me’. Not a dry eye in the house.

Two showstoppers followed by way of an encore, Beatles covers ‘Come Together’ and ‘Day Tripper’ proving perfect send-offs. Facing that crowd and mastering those songs was hardly ‘taking the easy way out’, but Daniel and co. managed it in style, the Love Crowd helping them on their way.

My Sunday started earlier than the previous day’s late night shenanigans called for, your scribe back from a night on a mate’s floor in Guildford, bleary-eyed but bushy-tailed all the same to tackle Tufty’s Tour’, Steve ‘Tufty’ Carver and sidekick Sam Molnar on fine form around and about town for a key component of a winning weekend’s entertainment, a coach-load of us taking in a variety of Jam and Weller-related landmarks, from the arguably rather underwhelming ‘The Space Between Us’ tree tributes to the trio (nicknamed ‘Pole, Spruce and Stick’, Rick apparently pointing out that as the drummer he must be the one at the back) and a wander around the setting for the ‘Funeral Pyre’ promo video and the Martians’ landing place in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds on Horsell Common. We also had a trip to Stanley Road – less than a mile from my own family roots – and the nearby venues where the band initially played and practised, and even the alleyway from the ‘Uh Huh Oh Yeah’ video. As we walked, the songs piled up in my head, from the latter to the title track of that ’95 solo LP and even ‘Amongst Butterflies’ as we grabbed a moment of reflection in the beautiful  setting of the Muslim burial garden and peace garden.  

‘And in the woods was a soldier’s tomb
The ghost of which looked over you
And God was there amongst the trees
We felt his whisper as the summer’s breeze’

Talking of poignancy, how about the sight of 90-plus scooters filing past the former Weller home in Maybury, Tufty breaking off from tales of neighbourhood and deep friendship outside No.44 Balmoral Grove as the procession passed, a touching tribute to the memory of the drumming legend who attended last year’s event, many of us still struggling to come to terms with his departure but Rick’s Rideout a fitting way to express our love.

More talks followed, Detail magazine’s Claire Mahoney discussing with HCTW co-organiser Stuart Deabill and that man Tufty again the mighty Setting Sons, 45 and a half years on, before filmmaker Lee Cogswell and producer/writer Mark Baxter’s chat with Joe Dwyer on their Mono Media CV, not least Stone Foundation documentary, Rise Above It, Johnny Harris-penned movie, Jawbone (with music by Weller), Pauline Boty: I Am The Sixties (still on the BBC iPlayer and definitely worth a look), music docs on Tubby Hayes and Danny Thompson (the latter newly finished), and plenty on Style Council documentary, Long Hot Summers.

Then came the evening entertainment, Birmingham singer-songwriter Samuel Rogers’ covers set – culminating in a duet with his dad on ‘My Generation’ – bringing further smiles to faces and setting the tone for the big finish, a post-tour appearance by From The Jam, the booking that persuaded me (despite the miles involved from West Cornwall and the time commitment) I had to be there, the head having ruled over the heart regarding attendance of the previous HCTWs.

As a Jam, Style Council and Weller fan with Woking family roots, and a regular at Kingfield for the footie and all around the town, so to speak, for 50-something years, it had to be, not least when word spread that Bruce was looking to hang up his bass guitar after this tour. I had to make the commitment, whatever the implications. The official word was that he was bowing out the previous night in Manchester after 18 years’ service. As has become increasingly clear, he’s struggled with his health lately, not least due to a recent knee op. However, part of me held out hope that Woking FC would host his unofficial farewell.

Bruce was on wonderful form the last time I caught the band in July 2024 at Barnoldswick Music & Art Centre in East Lancashire, on that occasion solely playing the second set – which seemed to have become the band MO. Hence, for this tour From The Jam consisted co-founder Russell Hastings (lead guitar/vocals), Gary Simons (bass/second guitar) and Mike Randon (drums), with Bruce joining them for a few songs later on. And it’s worked. But he wasn’t well enough for the final dates in Liverpool and Manchester, so an appearance at Woking was increasingly unlikely, much as he’d have loved to appear, in what would have been a proper ‘Full Circle’ moment (in the words of the 2016 Foxton & Hastings song), bearing in mind that Woking FC show in ’75.

However, we’re increasingly understanding all too well (Russell himself having words with his cardiologist before the final dates, to get the go-ahead to continue) that health comes first, and all we can do is wish Bruce the very best from here. So while there was a slight air of disappointment early on, Russell and co. soon brought us round, Gary in particular deserving all the credit we can shower at him for the way he’s dealt with that deflation on a nightly basis, the band rising to the challenge each time, winning over those audiences.

In this case, a salvo of the heavier trilogy from Setting Sons – ‘Little Boy Soldiers’, ‘Thick as Thieves’ and ‘Private Hell’ – settled the nerves, Russell then confirming a Bruce no-show before dedicating ‘Girl on the Phone’ to Rick (as his family looked on)… and we were away. A ‘fuck it, Woking, let’s have some fun’ type pronouncement from Russell followed, and boy, did we! While they could play the songs off the fourth album standing on their heads by now, they were keen to mix things up and invite requests, resulting in the most engaging of sets, the pure emotion of Bruce’s absence and Rick’s recent departure the backdrop, the setting to the songs (so to speak) adding extra poignancy, the band truly digging in to deliver.

It seemed ironic that the intimacy of this venue and its comparatively low ceiling meant there wasn’t room for the huge image of Rick used as the backdrop that proved so iconic on the tour, not least with Derek D’Souza, the photographer responsible, on hand (as was fellow photography master Lawrence Watson), but as a Cards fan of some  40 years, I was more than happy with the in-house Woking FC scarves and banners behind the trio. Besides, every song played proved to be a tribute of the highest order to The Jam and that wonderful legacy.

I don’t mind admitting I was gone on several occasions. By way of example, at one point Paul’s sister, Here Comes the Weekend co-organiser Nicky Weller, down the front, requested All Mod Cons’ ‘In the Crowd’, and the band gave it a go. Correction… they absolutely nailed it, the fear on Gary’s s face at the outset replaced a few minutes later by elation and relief, a high-five from Russell one of many glorious moments.

I heard them soundcheck 2022’s ‘Lula’ from Woking Park earlier, earlier, a song that’s crept up on me in recent times, that and 2012’s ‘Window Shopping’, the only latter-day numbers in the set. And while it’s a Ray Davies song, ‘David Watts’ has as good as become Bruce’s song since 1978 and proved to be a celebration of the Jam bass legend’s legacy on this occasion.

Other highlights? Where do I start? It was during ‘Smithers Jones’ that I first properly lost it – that moment where you go to sing but your voice betrays you, emotions off the scale.  ‘Wasteland’ was another gorgeous moment, such a quality song written by one so young, as agreed by the listening panel earlier. And if ‘Heatwave’ took the party vibe to a new height, the audience participation on ‘Saturday’s Kids’, ‘Man in the Corner Shop’ and ‘To Be Someone’ saw us soar into hyperspace.

There was also ‘Down in the Tube Station’, ‘The Eton Rifles’, ‘Pretty Green’, ‘Start!’… all anthemic here, while ‘In The City’ transported us back to ’77, ‘Ghosts’ a moment for further reflection’, and ‘Liza Radley’… well, I was gone again.

And while I’m on that tack, ‘Town Called Malice’, Woking’s hymnal, was another high point, the Jam Family embracing the experience, while ‘Going Underground’ made this boy gulp, made this boy cry. As for ‘That’s Entertainment’ …. the moment Bruce’s bassline came in, courtesy of Gary, and we went into the first chorus… bloody hell, I was a mess.

Such a rich vein of classic songs, perfectly delivered. Praise be to Russell, Gary and Mike, and to the same extent to Paul, Bruce and Rick. A perfect finale for an amazing event. Meanwhile, tickets are on sale tomorrow for the next one, at Portmeirion (October 31st to November 2nd). You know what you have to do.

And if you’ve yet to receive a copy of Solid Bond In Your Heart: A People’s History of The Jam by Malcolm Wyatt, with a foreword from Paul Weller and an afterword from Gary Crowley, you can order direct from the publisher, Spenwood Books, your local book shop, or a number of trusted online outlets.