THE year was 1977 and punk rock had just taken over the airwaves.

It was the musical movement that ripped up the rulebook, flipped the middle finger to the establishment and went on to influence the next generation of musicians with its raw sound and raucous energy.

Russell Hastings could not help but be inspired. He was 12 then and it was the year he started to learn the guitar. At that time one of the albums that had the most impact on him was In The City by The Jam which kind of borrowed from the punk scene before taking a left turn.

Russell said: “The interesting thing about that album was where it came from. It’s a mixture of the Sex Pistols and the Wilko Johnson era of Dr Feelgood. Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller went to see the Feelgoods in 1974 and 75 when they were in Guildford.

“Then Paul obviously went and saw the Pistols at the Lyceum in London and it changed his life. Lyrically The Jam were a massive influence on me. Apart from Joe Strummer and people like that, there wasn’t anybody speaking for people of our age and certainly people who had come off council estates.

“I think most people who went to a Jam gig then were from a council estate and proudly so.”

Now bassist Bruce Foxton’s From The Jam are celebrating the 40th anniversary of In The City and Russell finds himself in the strange position of being in a band with his idol. In fact, Bruce has now been working with Russell for longer than he did with ‘The Modfather’ Paul Weller during The Jam’s trailblazing run from 1972 to 82.

“A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then,” added Russell.

“Bruce and I have travelled the world together. I’ve got memories of selling out shows in New York where Blondie came to see us. Bruce was my hero and now we’re the best of friends which is most bizarre.

“We go on holidays together with our families so we can’t be sick of each other on the road just yet. Bruce is an amazing musician in his own right. He’s a great bass player and there aren’t many of his kind around, particularly the way that he plays.

“He plays very melodically. You only have to hear the opening lines of A Town Called Malice to realise what a great bass player he is. It’s been a lot of fun over the years and I do count myself extremely lucky.

“I’m very fortunate and honoured to be playing such great songs. I do pinch myself quite often and think: ‘You’re a lucky sod’.”

It all came about when Russell became friends with The Jam drummer Rick Buckler in 2000. Rick wanted to get out and play again and so the pair went out on the road as a band called The Gift, named after The Jam’s last studio album.

Eighteen months later their paths crossed with Bruce Foxton at a gig in Guildford.

Russell said: “Bruce said: ‘Why don’t I get up and play on a couple of songs? So he jumped up and did Down In The Tube Station At Midnight and Smithers Jones and the rest is history. I was a big fan of The Jam. I made no secret of that and it meant the world to me.

“I thought it was amazing. Being on a stage with Rick and Bruce completely blew me away. They hadn’t played together since they walked off the stage in 1982 in Brighton.

Russell also co-wrote Bruce’s albums, Back In The Room and Smash The Clock. Both were recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn studios.

The 51-year-old added: “When Paul walks into room you know about it but at the same time he put us at ease. He often came in while we were recording and he offered to play a bit of guitar and piano so I would sit down with him and show him how the song went.

“When he’s in a studio he’s very much at home.”

From The Jam is at Parr Hall on April 28. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345