The band topped the U.K. charts with tracks “Going Underground,” “Start!,” and more
Rick Buckler, drummer for British rock band the Jam, has died at the age of 69.
Buckler’s former bandmate and lead singer Paul Weller confirmed his death on social media Tuesday. “I’m shocked and saddened by Rick’s passing. I’m thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking,” wrote Weller. “To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey! We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time.”
The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton also shared a tribute to Buckler, writing, “I was shocked and devastated to hear the very sad news today.” He added, “Rick was a good guy and a great drummer whose innovative drum patterns helped shape our songs. I’m glad we had the chance to work together as much as we did.”
In a statement to the BBC, his family said that Buckler “passed away peacefully on Monday evening in Woking after a short illness with family by his side.”
The Jam formed in 1972 while all three band members were in secondary school, and their first album titled In the City released in 1977. The group would go on to roll out 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom including their track “That’s Entertainment” and “Just Who Is the 5 O’Clock Hero?,” which are among the U.K.’s best-selling import singles. Their other top singles included “Going Underground” and “Start!” in 1980, and 1982’s “Town Called Malice” and “Beat Surrender.”
The band went their separate ways in 1982. In 2015, Buckler published his autobiography That’s Entertainment: My Life in the Jam.
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