Rick Buckler

Early years

Buckler was born in the town of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. He received his education at Sheerwater Secondary School, in Woking. Whilst there in the early 1970s he joined other pupils in a newly formed band named The Jam.

The Jam

He was the drummer for The Jam from its formation in the early 1970s through to its break up in the early 1980s, during which time it became a critically acclaimed and commercially successful pop band with an original sound as part of the post-punk "Mod Revival" movement in England's music and fashion scenes of the period. Although the band was creatively dominated by its lead singer/guitarist Paul Weller, its rhythm section of Buckler and Bruce Foxton (bass guitar) were integral to its sound.

The band broke up at the behest of Weller in 1982, and Buckler and Weller - apart from a brief greeting exchanged in passing at a chance meeting - have not spoken to one another since.

Post Jam career

In 1983 Buckler set up a new band entitled Time UK, featuring himself on drums, Jimmy Edwards and Ray Simone, Danny Kustow, and the bassist Martin Gordon. Gordon's tenure was brief – he recorded demos and performed only one gig with the band before being replaced by Nick South. Time UK sold nearly 60,000 copies of their first single release "The Cabaret".

In the mid-1980s Buckler briefly reunited with his former Jam bandmate Bruce Foxton, and with Jimmy Edwards they performed in a new band called Sharp, recording some new songs for the short-lived 'Unicorn' record label. These recordings were subsequently re-issued on a 'Time UK' anthology release.

After Time UK broke up, Buckler moved into Recording, producing the album Bound for Glory by The Highliners, which he also drummed for briefly in 1990. He also produced the debut album in 1989 for The Family Cat .

Retirement from the music industry

In the mid-1990s Buckler abandoned professional music and went into business as an antique furniture restorer and dealer in Woking, Surrey.

Return to music - From The Jam

In November 2005 Buckler re-entered professional music when he set up a new band called The Gift, named after the final long player release by The Jam, with Russell Hastings (lead vocals/guitar) and Dave Moore (Bass), with himself on drums, playing exclusively old material from The Jam's back catalogue. In 2007 Buckler's old ex-Jam band mate Bruce Foxton joined as the bass-player (Moore moving to rhythm guitar and keyboards) and the new band began touring under the name of From The Jam. After four years of touring Buckler quit From The Jam in September 2009, being replaced by Mark Brzezicki. Criticism of the new act from a distance by Paul Weller confirmed that it wasn't going to be a means of a reformation of the original band, and Buckler felt that to continue performing with it without Weller ran the risk of him and Foxton finding themselves in the curious situation of becoming an ersatz The Jam tribute band.

Whilst in the Jam Buckler played drums on the early demo recordings by Scottish band Big Country. Ironically the eventual Big Country drummer Mark Brzezicki went on to record and play with From The Jam. In 2011 Buckler joined a short-lived new band named If as its drummer, with Tim V from Sham 69 on vocals, and Ian Whitewood on 'second drums', Tony Feedback on guitar and Al Campbell on bass.

Music management

In 2013 Buckler moved into a management consultancy role for number of new musical acts, including singer-guitarist Sarah Jane, and the band 'The Brompton Mix'.

Buckler's autobiography, entitled: That's Entertainment: My Life in The Jam, was published in 2015 by Omnibus Press.

Personal life

Buckler and his wife Lesley live in Woking, with two children, Jason (b.1986) and Holly (b.1993).