Paul Weller, the Modfather himself, brought his unrelenting energy and trademark swagger to Newcastle City Hall. The night was a masterclass in blending rock, postpunk and acoustic brilliance and was a testament to his legendary career.
I first experienced Weller way back in the days of The Jam. My blog entry of the time jogs my Memory (At Least A Little): “The Jam 1977 And 1978. When We Think Of Late 70s Punk Rock, We have a certain image of safety pins, spitting, the pogo, and fast furious rebellious rock. In reality the punk scene was a pretty broad church, which drew from a wide range of influences.
The Jam burst onto the scene in 1977, blending mod, sharp suits, with attitude, arrogance, and great catchy pop songs. They had obviously been influenced by, soul, R&B, The Who and Small Faces and you could tell that lead singer and guitarist Paul Weller was a huge fan of Steve Marriott and Pete Townshend.
I attended a few early Jam concerts in the Northeast, at Newcastle Mayfair and at Sunderland Seaburn Hall. These gigs were pretty wild affairs with Weller and the guys having to dodge a hail of glasses (and they were real glass in those days, not plastic) and waves of spit.
The Seaburn Hall gig (see postcard of Seaburn which I recently purchased on eBay, Seaburn Hall is top left) was particularly ferocious; it was attended by a group of skinheads (“We hate punks”) who were looking for trouble and there were several scuffles. The Jam set in those days drew from their first album, their early singles, and a nifty cover of the Batman them closed the show. They were a breath of fresh air, and it was evident even at those early gigs, that this was a band that stood above the rest and would ultimately transcend the punk movement.
By 1978 The Jam had graduated to playing Newcastle City Hall (see ticket above), a venue that would be host to some great Jam gigs over the next few years. I also saw them headline the Friday night of the Reading festival in the same year. Sample Jam setlist from 1978: The Modern World; London Traffic; I Need You (For Someone); The Combine; Aunties & Aunts; Standards; Here Comes the Weekend; Sounds From the Street; News of the World; London Girl; In the Street, Today; Bricks and Mortar; In the City; In the Midnight Hour; Carnaby Street; All Around the World.” Thanks to Wikimedia Commons for the picture of the Jam in concert at Newcastle City Hall in 1982, a concert which I almost certainly attended.
I saw Paul many times after those early performances including further Jam concerts at Newcastle City Hall, their farewell tour at Whitley Bay Ice Rink (the first concert at that cavernous, cold venue), and when he formed The Style Council (see my recent purchase of the single “Ever-Changing Moods” by the Style Council) including momentous performances at Live Aid and as part of Red Wedge, which Paul founded with Billy Bragg.
The tour was to mark the release of Paul’s latest album 66 which is his 17th solo album and was released on Polydor Records on 24 May 2024. The artwork was by Sir Peter Blake, who designed The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s LP all those years ago, again demonstrating Paul’s 60s influences. 66 is named partly for his age at release and partly, he claims, for 1966 – the year that produced much of the music that fired him up in the first place. (From Newcastle University website).
Such memories swirl around my head as I go to see Paul Weller again. It has been some years since I’d last seen Weller live; his arena tour in 2009 to be precise. So, I figured it was about time to see him again. Supporting Paul was Liam Bailey an English singer-songwriter from Nottingham. Liam is noted for his soul, reggae, and blues-influenced vocal style. He was an excellent opening act, warming the crowd up for the main man. Paul Weller kicked off the evening with “Cosmic Fringes”, and “That Pleasure”, Weller wasted no time, igniting the crowd and reminding us all what a great performer he still is.
Backed by his excellent band, he smoothly moved through an eclectic mix of music from his solo work, Style Council hits and even provided a nod to his Jam days. The audience erupted during “Start” and “Shout to the Top”, songs that remain as anthemic as ever! Midway Weller softened the pace with poignant renditions of “Broken Stones” and, later “Wild Wood”; his voice strong, filling the hall with warmth. The audience were captivated as they were taken through the depth and breadth of his career.
During the encore, the energy reached an all-time high. “That’s Entertainment” and “Town Called Malice” had the entire hall on their feet, singing every word as one. I was reminded of all the times I’d seen The Jam, and, for a moment, it felt like no time had passed since those days. Indeed, leaving Newcastle City Hall that evening, it was clear to me that Weller continues to be a great live performer and remains a true rock ‘n’ roll legend.
He is a world class act through and through. In many ways he carries his mod colours loud and proud; the 60s, Small Faces, The Who and my own particular hero Steve Marriott resonate throughout his every move and sinew. Class indeed. Many thanks to Jackie for the photographs, along with Laura for helping complete the entry and Jan and Chris for navigating the site.
Setlist: Cosmic Fringes; That Pleasure; Soul Wandering; My Ever-Changing Moods; Have You Ever Had It Blue; All the Pictures on the Wall; Headstart for Happiness; Above the Clouds; More; Stanley Road; Glad Times; Village; Hung Up; Shout to the Top!; Start!; Broken Stones; Nothing; Jumble Queen; Out of the Sinking; Into Tomorrow; Peacock Suit.
Encore: The Changingman; Porcelain Gods; You Do Something to Me; Wild Wood.
Encore 2: That’s Entertainment; Town Called Malice.
I have been meaning to see 
I was surprised just how true to the original Jam ideology and mod culture From The Jam were. They were in fact a revelation to me. Much, much better than I expected. The Boiler Shop was completely sold out, packed full of mods from every era, some wearing sharp suits and others wearing Parka coats. And to my pleasant surprise, the support act was Purple Hearts who I remember well from the late 1970s and early 1980s; I saw them several times during that crazy period.
In The Jam, Bruce and drummer Rick Buckler were the driving force, power and rhythm section behind singer, guitarist, and songwriter Paul Weller. Bruce’s versatility is evident, taking lead vocals on “David Watts” (The Kinks) and writing “News Of The World”, which to this day appears as the theme to the BBC’s Mock the Week show and has introduced his work to a new generation of fans.”
It is nice to know that “Bruce is again friends with Paul Weller which he emphasises is more important than music…… Paul asked Bruce to perform on his Wake Up The Nation album and join him on stage at the Royal Albert Hall on 25th May 2010, to a rapturous standing ovation from the audience. “No one could quite believe what they were seeing, it was history in the making and grown men had tears in their eyes” said one fan.”” (Again from the From the Jam website).
Support band Purple Hearts are: “an English mod revival band, formed in 1977 in Romford, eastern Greater London. They were often considered one of the best English mod revival groups, the NME calling them “one of the few mod bands to actually cut it on rock ‘n’ roll terms. In September 1979, the band scored a minor hit with their debut single, “Millions Like Us” which reached number 57 in the UK Singles Chart. The band then toured the UK with Secret Affair and Back To Zero on ‘the March Of The Mods’ tour in 1979.” I remember the March Of The Mods tour very well and have written about it on this blog. It called at Newcastle Mayfair and there was complete mayhem, involving fights between skinheads (“We hate the mods”) and mods (“We are, we are the mods”) and tables being thrown from the balcony of the ballroom onto the dancefloor below. The bouncers came in, complete with Alsatian dogs and brought some control to the situation. Crazy days.
Jackie and I arrived in time to catch Purple Hearts who were excellent, playing a mix of songs old and new; each track blending punk with 60s mod. A great start to the evening. We went to look for some From the Jam merchandise. The guy at the merchandise stand told us “I am selling Purple Hearts merchandise, the guy selling From the Jam merchandise has not arrived yet but all the merchandise is under the table”. Well, I don’t know what had happened but he never appeared so we were unable to buy any From the Jam gear. Never mind. Perhaps I will be tempted to buy something from their online store.
After a short break the main act took to the stage exploding into “All Mod Cons” followed by a string of Jam hits. Each song sounded true to the original, Russell Hastings performing the front man part extremely well, and the full band accompanying Bruce and Russell were great. Hit after hit followed: “David Watts”, “Billy Hunt”, “A Bomb in Wardour Street”, “Down in the Tube Station At Midnight”, “Pretty Green” (now I realise where Liam Gallagher got the name for his clothing range: I recently bought a shirt from the site and foolishly did not wear it for the occasion), “Town Called Malice”, “That’s Entertainment” and closing song “The Eton Rifles”. The entire crowd sang along; this band is the real thing and, judging by my experience at The Boiler Shop they have a very strong and loyal following.
The encores were “Beat Surrender” (I had forgotten just how good that song is), “Going Underground” and finally, back to the start with “In the City”. Fantastic. I would have liked to have seen them play “The Butterfly Collector” (my favourite Jam song) and close with “The Batman theme” just as they did in the early days. But then you can’t have everything.
Setlist (something like this): All Mod Cons; To Be Someone (Didn’t We Have a Nice Time); Mr. Clean; David Watts; In the Crowd; Billy Hunt; It’s Too Bad; Fly; The Place I Love; English Rose; ‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street; Down in the Tube Station at Midnight; Pretty Green; Town Called Malice; That’s Entertainment; Lula; Heat Wave; The Eton Rifles. Encore: Beat Surrender; Going Underground; In the City.
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