ILL ICON
Seventies rock legend, 68, rushed to hospital as he reveals he’s been forced to quit tour amid health battle
He is eyeing a return to the stage for a special anniversary tour
BRITISH rock legend Bruce Foxton has been rushed to hospital for surgery.
The 68-year-old bassist, who was a member of The Jam alongside Paul Weller and Rick Buckler in the 70s and 80s, now performs the group's hits under the guise From The Jam.
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Taking to social media, Bruce told fans he was quitting his group's tour to focus on his recovery.
He wrote: "To all my lifelong wonderful fans, as a lot of you know my health has not been good for the past few years and the latest news is that I have had to go into hospital for an immediate procedure.
"It is with much regret and sadness that I will not be able to perform again with From the Jam until I have made a full recovery.
"The band has done everything to help me for the past couple of years and have even suggested several times that I take time off to look after my health and recuperate.
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"That time has now come so I wish the band (my dear friends) continued success until I return and with God’s will I will see you all in the not too distant future on the 'Setting Sons’ 45th anniversary tour."
The iconic bass player has been performing with tinnitus for many years and now wears a hearing aid.
Despite this, he has soldiered on playing classics like Town Called Malice and The Eton Rifles for The Jam's loyal fan base.
In between coronavirus lockdowns, From The Jam hit the road with two tone ska legends The Selecter for The Sound Effects album's 40th anniversary.
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Frontman Russell Hastings did an incredible job stepping into Weller's shoes and drew rave reviews from fans around the country.
The Jam racked up up 18 top 40 singles and seven charting albums in just five years.
Paul Weller - Wildwood
After the split, Bruce had a short-lived solo career before joining punk band Stiff Little Fingers in 1990.
He played with the band until 2006 when he decided to form From The Jam.
Bruce has the full blessing of ex-frontman Weller to perform the classic songs.
The former Style Council frontman, who walked away from The Jam in 1982 to pursue a different musical direction, has stated he has no desire to make his living solely off playing his former band's hits live.
Speaking on his podcast, earlier this year, he shared his disdain at being considered a "heritage act".
He said: “I am not f***ing going down that road, mate – I’m not a heritage act.
“I had to fight that term, my own little fight in a sense to get through all that stuff.
“I probably lost a certain amount of audience along the way in this past ten or so years, the ones that just wanted to hear the Jam stuff.
“But they’ve kind of gone now, I guess they go and see Bruce Foxton's band or other people – whatever they want to do, whatever makes them happy.
“But it’s been worth it, because I’ve proved myself right.
“If you just plough through that bulls*** and follow your programme and what you think it should be, eventually you will get there.
“But it’s easy to get side-tracked by people saying, ‘Maybe you should do this, or you could do that, or make it like the old record’.
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"No, just follow your vision, if you’ve still got a vision.”
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