from Michael Colwell....................................The Jam in Paris

Reading these messages has brought back a lot of deep feelings, I say deep because as a sixteen year old male ( sorry girls but I felt the love of The Jam was a man thing ) hearing Tube Station for the first time went straight into the nervous system like an injection of the most powerful drug, including love, or maybe thats what love is.

I also went to that concert in Paris and saw the knives being wielded by the French skinheads and felt proud when Weller tied the Union Jack to the mike. I lived in Belfast at the time and managed to travel to see The Jam 23 times, the first time being in Glasgow when Ann Weller, in response to a letter, telephoned me at home and invited 12 of us to go to the soundcheck which was grea. Especially when the bouncers tried to throw us out and Weller shouted at them to leave those kids alone.

All these acts of kindness by everybody connected with The Jam where all genuine and never stage managed for Smash Hits.The break up was sad but inevitable and because they stopped at the top it has left such a legacy of honesty, integrity, dignity and all the other positive human ideals and a solid bond in our hearts

Michael Solwell - August 2002