There are few venues in London better suited to an evening of sharp songwriting and classic British wit than the wonderfully elegant Cadogan Hall. For the first of two nights at the venue, Bruce Foxton and special guest Chris Difford delivered a show steeped in nostalgia, humour and timeless songs that have long since become woven into the fabric of British music culture. While Difford provided warmth and charm through a career-spanning opening set, Foxton and his band revisited the enduring catalogue of The Jam with the confidence and polish of musicians who know exactly what their audience wants.
Bruce Foxton @ Cadogan Hall
Opening the evening on the vast Cadogan Hall stage, Difford performed as part of a trio, kicking things off with the Squeeze classic Take Me I’m Yours, which worked beautifully with the combination of lap steel and dual guitars.
Difford’s cheeky South London raconteur persona quickly came to the fore as he eased into What Happened, one of his solo songs reflecting on the many people no longer around. Stories from his upbringing on a Deptford council estate introduced Deptford, packed with sharp humour and warmly received banter. By the time the trio launched into a slowed-down version of Up The Junction, enriched by the mournful lap steel, the audience were fully invested.
A teasing few notes of Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) prompted a large portion of the crowd to start singing before the song had even begun, drawing a laugh from Difford and leading into a delightful rendition powered by audience participation. More amusing reminiscences guided the set into Is That Love, where Difford shared some enjoyable interplay with guitarist Andy Kane.
Kane then stepped forward to sing Squeeze hit Tempted, usually handled by Glenn Tilbrook. Unfortunately, it proved to be the one real misstep of the set, with Kane’s vocals better suited to backing duties. The trio soon recovered, however, drifting into an old-time country feel on Cowboys Are My Weakness, driven by the rich lap steel textures.
As Difford began thanking the audience, a mass singalong erupted for Labelled With Love, earning huge applause. Set closer Cool For Cats was delivered gently, with strategic pauses allowing the audience to gleefully take over, capping off a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining opening performance.
It was then time for Bruce Foxton’s headline set — my first time seeing him solo since the Out Come The Freaks tour at Lyceum Theatre back in the 1980s. I’ve caught him numerous times with Stiff Little Fingers since then, but not under his own banner. His quartet opened with That’s Entertainment, sounding impressively tight from the outset.
Guitarist and vocalist Craig Joiner proved an effective stand-in for Paul Weller, delivering strong vocals on In The City, even if he lacked some of Weller’s grit and bite. Foxton himself seemed to have reached a point in his solo career where he is happy revisiting the classics of his youth, though now with a more seasoned elegance.
Joiner introduced Down In The Tube Station At Midnight as the first The Jam song he learned while in sixth form before joining Romeo’s Daughter. Sitting comfortably in the grandeur of Cadogan Hall made it difficult to fully connect with the paranoia and fear that pulses through the song, but the performance itself was strong.
He also admitted he hadn’t realised David Watts was originally by The Kinks when he first heard The Jam’s version. Foxton then took over vocal duties, while Andy Fairclough’s keyboards added an undercurrent of tension to the performance.
Mark Brzezicki of Big Country stepped up to sing All Around The World, sharing solid harmonies with Joiner before briefly taking centre stage for some crowd interaction while Foxton took a breather. Strange Town followed, though the polished setting and delivery left it feeling a touch too polite to fully capture the song’s restless energy.
Joiner switched to acoustic guitar for English Rose, though the stripped-back rendition lacked some spark. Much of the audience joined in enthusiastically, trying to inject a little more life into the performance.
Things finally ignited properly with the dark, menacing A-Bomb In Wardour Street, which featured Foxton’s most intense bass playing of the night as he locked horns with Fairclough’s explosive keyboard work. Smithers-Jones delighted hardcore fans, standing as one of the evening’s deeper cuts.
The band then rolled into a crowd-pleasing version of In The Midnight Hour, complete with an excellent harmonica solo from Fairclough amid his swirling keyboards. The Modern World felt slightly at odds with the vintage atmosphere of both the band and venue, its youthful urgency softened by time.
By the time Here Comes The Weekend arrived, much of the audience had abandoned their seats and were fully embracing the spirit of the evening. A Town Called Malice still carried its sharp social commentary and street-corner tension, even decades after its release.
Responding to one of the few audible audience requests of the night, the band delivered a cool, slowed-down version of Pretty Green, before closing the main set with a triumphant mass singalong to Going Underground.
For the encore, and fittingly in the heart of the Eaton estate, they tore through a rough-and-ready rendition of The Eton Rifles, leaving much of the audience grinning from ear to ear.
While the set undeniably gave devoted fans exactly what they came for, there was still a lingering sense that Foxton could have revealed more of his own musical identity beyond his years with The Jam. For the faithful, this was a joyous celebration of a beloved icon’s legacy; for those watching with a more critical eye, it also felt like a missed opportunity to shine a brighter light on the wider breadth of Bruce Foxton’s career.
Live review of Bruce Foxton & Chris Difford @ Cadogan Hall, London by Simon Phillips on 8th May 2026. Photography by Louise Phillips.
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