Rick drummed with the British mod band from their inception in 1972 up until their end a decade later.
He was staying at the Corner House Hotel on Monday en route to Glasgow for a Q and A session and book signing. Travelling alongside him was Sham 69 singer Tim V.
Rick spoke exclusively to the Annandale Observer about his new book and life in The Jam.
He said: “There is a real connection between Jam fans and the band, we were very open to the fans, we let them into sound checks and we’d meet them and sign stuff for them.
“I’ve got to know quite a lot of Jam fans on a personal level and still see some of them to this day.
“I think people feel a connection. Maybe because of Paul’s lyrics because they still seem relevant.”
On why he is on tour, Rick added: “Six years ago when I released my autobiography book signings in shops weren’t really cutting it for me.
“To get back in with The Jam fans the Q and As have been going down really well. It’s great to chat to Jam fans, there’s still a lot of them out there – new ones as well as the original fans.”
The Jam 1982 covers the last year of the band in their peak through to their break-up, 40 years ago this month. Rick added: “It was the last year of The Jam, it was the year Paul Weller decided he was going to leave the band.
“It was a difficult book to write because it was quite an emotional year. I’d been with Paul for ten years building the band up, getting signed, and making it the success that it was.
“There are a lot of interviews in here from other people who were involved at the time and everybody’s got their own little view on what was going on at the time.
“It’s a bit of a broad look, I suppose, at that year because we were at the top of our game: the tours were great, everything was selling out, records were doing well, we’d had four number ones – what could possibly go wrong?
“A lot of it, I think, has got to do with the way the band was managed. Things were creeping in, either the fame or the pressure or the greed, or something was cutting in.
“I’m very proud of everything we did, I know Bruce (Foxton – bass guitarist) is as well and I’m sure Paul will be as well.
“We achieved a great deal in that time because that’s exactly what we wanted: we wanted to be signed by a record company, we wanted to tour the world, we wanted to release great records, we wanted all this stuff, and when it all turned up it was a dream come true.”
He said the book looks at how “a totally successful band can end up in a situation where you’re just throwing it all away”, adding: “It seems to me almost like an act of musical vandalism to throw this away.
“It’s maybe not trying to make sense of what happened, but just put a picture in there as to what was going on at the time and people can make up their own minds as to why it fell apart.”
Describing the end, he said: “The last shows were really really good. We planned out how we were going to wind the whole thing up, gave a final album to the record company, because we respected his (Paul’s) decision, he wanted to leave the band.”
Rick still plays the drums but isn’t with a band right now, he said: “I still keep my hand in, but I’m not involved in anything at the moment.”
n The Jam 1982 is available at all major bookstores and on Rick’s website strangetown.net
We have a signed copy from Rick to give away to one lucky reader. Just tell us what year The Jam formed? Send your entries, with your contact details, to Jam Competition, DNG Media, 96 High Street, Annan, DG12 6EJ by Thursday December 22. First correct entry drawn wins. Terms and conditions apply. Editor’s decision is final
