he formed the first incarnation of the jam in the same year, playing bass guitar with his best friends steve brookes (lead guitar) and dave waller (rhythm guitar). weller's father, acting as their manager, began booking the band into local working men's clubs. joined by rick buckler on drums, and with bruce foxton soon replacing waller on rhythm guitar, the four-piece band began to forge a local reputation, playing a mixture of beatles covers and a number of compositions written by weller and brookes. brookes left the band in 1976, and weller and foxton decided they would swap guitar roles, with weller now the guitarist.