The Jam
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| The Jam | ||
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 Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller on Top of the Pops circa 1977
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Woking, Surrey, England |
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| Genre(s) | Punk Rock Mod Revival Power pop New Wave |
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| Years active | 1972 - 1982 | |
| Label(s) | Polydor Records | |
| Former members | ||
| Paul Weller Bruce Foxton Rick Buckler |
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The Jam were an English punk rock/mod revival band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
They were one of the most popular groups of the day, achieving 18 straight Top 40 singles in the UK from their debut in 1977 to their swansong in 1982, including four #1 hits. Two of these eighteen singles were available on an import-only basis; they remain the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They also released six albums, the last of which, The Gift, hit #1 on the UK album charts.
Massively popular in Britain, as well as much of the rest of Europe and beyond, they never gained much commercial success in North America, but they did retain a considerable cult following.
They drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including punk rock, British Invasion, American soul, mod music, and even English psychedelia. Despite the group's limited fame in the United States, they remain an influence on American groups such as Green Day.
Launching the career of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Paul Weller, who remains a successful solo artist, the trio was known for its melodic pop songs, distinctly English flavour, and mod image. Weller wrote and sang most of the group’s original compositions, and played lead Rickenbacker guitar. Bruce Foxton played unusually prominent bass. His basslines are the foundation of many of the group’s songs, including the hits "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight", "The Eton Rifles", and "Town Called Malice". Foxton also provided backing vocals. Rick Buckler played drums.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation (1972-1976)
The Jam formed in Woking, Surrey, England in 1972. The line-ups were very fluid at this stage, consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Paul Weller and his various friends at Sheerwater Secondary School. The line-up began to solidify in the mid 1970s with Weller, guitarist Steve Brookes, drummer Rick Buckler, and bassist Bruce Foxton.
In their early years, their sets consisted of early American rock and roll covers by the likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. They continued in this vein until Weller discovered The Who’s "My Generation" and became fascinated with mod music and lifestyle. As he said later, "I saw that through becoming a Mod it would give me a base and an angle to write from, and this we eventually did. We went out and bought black suits and started playing Motown, Stax and Atlantic covers. I bought a Rickenbacker guitar, a Lambretta GP 150 and tried to style my hair like Steve Marriott’s circa ’66." [1]
Eventually Brookes left the band, and was not replaced, inviting Weller to develop a combined lead/rhythm guitar style influenced by The Who’s Pete Townshend as well as Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson. The line-up of Weller, Foxton, and Buckler would persist until the end of The Jam’s career. They were managed by Weller’s father, John Weller, who still manages Paul’s career.
Around 1976, Weller had another stylistic revelation after seeing the Sex Pistols. He recalled later, "The Pistols’ noisy garage band racket and Rotten’s youthful amphetamined arrogance. I loved it! It was so young and exciting, and of course, there were no flares - one of the most hideous fashion creations ever!” [2]
In the following two years, the Jam gained a small following around London from playing minor gigs, becoming one of the new lights on the nascent punk scene. In many ways, however, they stood out from their punk peers. Though they shared a youthful outlook, short hair, crushing volume, and lightning-fast tempos, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits where others wore ripped clothes, played professionally where others were defiantly amateurish, and portrayed clear influences in 1960s rock where others were disdainful of the past. Indeed, they were tagged by some journalists as revivalists. They were signed to Polydor Records in early 1977.
[edit] Early recordings (1977)
Polydor released their debut single, "In The City", which scraped the bottom of the Top 40 in England, on April 29, 1977. In early May, the band released their debut album of the same name. The album, like those of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, comprised fast, loud and to-the-point songs.
What set it apart was its clear influences in vintage rock and roll. They covered early American rock and roller Larry Williams's "Slow Down" (also covered by The Beatles) and the Batman theme, something of a standard for bands in the 1960s. Their originals revealed the influence of Motown, The Beatles and – most noticeably – The Who.
Many punk records at the time had some political overtones. The Jam also were politically-engaged, condemning police brutality ("In The City") and expansionist development ("Bricks And Mortar"). However, their most openly political song, "Time For Truth", bemoaned the decline of the British Empire, police brutality and expressed disparaging sentiments about "Uncle Jimmy" (the then Labour British Prime Minister James Callaghan) in no uncertain terms ("Whatever happened to the great Empire?").
These pro-Empire sentiments and ostentatious displays of the Union Jack began to earn the group the tag of "Conservative". Weller's announcement that The Jam intended to vote for the Conservative Party in the upcoming General Election served to confirm this association. It would later cause them much embarrassment and dog them throughout their career.
Misunderstandings in the music press as regards The Jam's political or social stance are usually attributed to Weller's lyrical perspective. Even as he pointed out what he saw as wrong and demanded change, Weller's lyrics reflected a deep affection for an idealised vision of England, much in the style of The Kinks' Ray Davies and, more recently, Pete Doherty. This contrasted with the Sex Pistols' calls for destruction, or The Clash's calls for progressive change.
After the non-LP single "All Around The World" nearly reached the UK Top 10, The Jam, having achieved a notable following in such a short time, was hard-pressed to produce more material. Their second album, This Is The Modern World, arrived later in 1977. Foxton, generally considered a lesser songwriter than Weller, contributed two songs to the LP, which along with "Smithers-Jones" on the Setting Sons album and the instrumental track "Circus" on the 1982 album The Gift, would represent Foxton's total solo written contribution to The Jam's six LPs.
Despite displaying more stylistic variety than before, including some ventures into introspective pop, This Is The Modern World was not widely praised, with critics blaming variously the album's unfinished ideas, poor songwriting, uninspired performances or bland production. This Is The Modern World remains one of the least regarded LPs of the group's career and Weller later admitted a temporary lack of interest.
[edit] All Mod Cons (1978)
The Jam spent much of the next two years touring. In March of 1978, the band released "News of the World", a non-album single that was both written and sung by Foxton. It charted at a respectable #27 UK, and was the band's second biggest hit to that time. However, this would turn out to be the only Foxton solo composition to be released as a Jam A-side.
The Jam were not very successful with their 1978 U.S. shows, for some of which they were the opening act for arena-rockers Blue Öyster Cult, but they did better with their UK performances. As they went back into the studio to record a third album of primarily Foxton contributions, the songs were dismissed by producers as poor and held off recording an album in hopes that Weller would once again find inspiration.
Returning to his hometown of Woking, Weller spent much of his time listening to albums by The Kinks and coming up with new songs. They released their next single, the double A-side "David Watts" b/w "'A' Bomb In Wardour Street". "David Watts" was a cover of the bouncy Kinks classic; Weller and Foxton traded lead vocals throughout the song.
"'A' Bomb In Wardour Street" was a Weller original. One of their hardest and most tense tracks, Weller venomously spat out lines cursing the violent thugs that now plagued the punk scene over a taut two-chord figure. The single, and "'A' Bomb" in particular, was hailed as a return to form and became their most successful 7" since "All Around The World".
It wasn't until their next single, "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight", that The Jam regained their former critical acclaim. "Tube Station", in which the narrator gets beaten by thugs who "smelled of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs and too many right-wing meetings", was a story seemingly ripped from contemporary headlines of skinhead violence. Alternating quiet verses and loud choruses and propelled by Foxton's tense bassline, "Tube Station" again channels the atmosphere of fear and violence that was afflicting Britain in the late 1970s.
Around this time, the Jam slimmed their team of two producers to one, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, who helped develop the group's sound with harmonised guitars and acoustic textures. The Jam released their third LP, All Mod Cons in 1978, including three previously released tracks among the twelve in total: "David Watts", "'A' Bomb In Wardour Street", and "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight". (It also contained two songs Polydor had previously rejected for single release, the manic "Billy Hunt" and the acoustic ballad "English Rose".) Despite having only nine all-new songs, All Mod Cons is considered by many to be the band's masterpiece.
[edit] Going Underground (1979-1981)
After the successful non-LP singles "Strange Town" and "When You're Young", the band released "The Eton Rifles" in advance of their new album. It became their most successful single to date, peaking at #3 on the UK charts, their first Top Ten hit. November of 1979 brought about Setting Sons, another massive UK hit, and their first chart position in the U.S., albeit at 137 on the Billboard 200.
The album began life as a concept album about three childhood friends, though in the end many of the songs did not relate to this theme. Many of the songs had political overtones; "The Eton Rifles" was inspired by scuffles between demonstrators on a Right To Work March—a campaign initiated by the left wing Socialist Workers Party — and pupils from Eton College; "Little Boy Soldiers" was an anti-war multi-movement piece in the vein of Ray Davies. Another notable song from the album was Bruce Foxton's "Smithers-Jones," originally a b-side to "When You're Young". The song is almost unanimously considered to be his greatest contribution to the Jam; the song was given a complete makeover, including a strings arrangement, for the album release.
The band's first single release of 1980 was intended to be "Dreams of Children," which combined bleak lyrics lamenting the loss of childhood optimism with hard-edged psychedelic production effects. Due to a labelling error, however, the a- and b-sides of the single were reversed, resulting in the less-adventurous "Going Underground," the single's planned flipside, getting much more airplay and attention than "Dreams of Children". As a result, only "Going Underground" was initially listed on the charts, although the single was eventually officially recognized (and listed) as a double A-side by the time the release reached #1 in the UK.
Sound Affects was released in 1980. Paul Weller said that he conceived the album as a hybrid of The Beatles' Revolver and Michael Jackson's Off the Wall. Indeed, several of the songs recall Revolver-era swirling psychedelia, such as "Monday", "Man In The Corner Shop", and the acoustic "That's Entertainment".
Weller allegedly wrote "That's Entertainment", a bitter slice-of-life piece reflecting on the struggle of the English working class, in around 15 minutes upon returning, under the influence, from the pub. Despite being only available as an import single, it peaked at #21 on the UK charts, an unprecedented feat. Although it lacks the "distinctive" Jam electric sound propelled by Rick Buckler's energetic drumming, it is now arguably The Jam's most noted song. Despite the group's lack of commercial success in America, the song even made American magazine Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
"Start!", released before the album, became another #1 single. It had note-for-note recreations of the bassline and guitar solo of The Beatles' Revolver cut "Taxman", but arranged as an otherwise completely different song. Some contemporary American R&B influence, including Michael Jackson, show up in Buckler's driving beats that power the album (such as on "But I'm Different Now"), and most obviously in Foxton's funk-influenced bassline in "Pretty Green". The album also reveals influences of post-punk groups such as Wire, XTC, Joy Division, and Gang Of Four. The album was a #2 hit in the UK and peaked at #72 on the US Billboard charts, their most successful American album.
[edit] The Gift and dissolution (1981-1982)
Two non-LP singles, "Funeral Pyre" and "Absolute Beginners", abandoned the psychedelic pop of Sound Affects for a more R&B-flavored sound. "Funeral Pyre" is built around Buckler's drumming, a militaristic tattoo on full fire throughout the entire song, one of the darkest in the band's career with its eerie bassline and chorus of "The weak get crushed as the strong grow stronger!" It is the only song in the group's catalogue which carries a joint Buckler/Foxton/Weller writing credit aside from the instrumental Sound Affects track "Music For The Last Couple".
("Funeral Pyre" and "Music For The Last Couple" are also the only songs on which Buckler receives any writing credit.) "Absolute Beginners", named for a cult novel about the late '50s swingin' London scene, was a punchier effort festooned with bouncy horns. Although a commercial success, it is not considered one of Weller's strongest efforts, and it is apparently one of Weller's least favourite Jam songs since the days of This Is the Modern World.
The 1982 release The Gift, the group's last LP, was another massive commercial success, peaking at #1 on the UK charts. Some critics were not fully supportive of the Jam's new direction, and those that were did not find the album to be consistent. Coming full-circle to their R&B roots, The Jam produce several soul, funk, and R&B-stylized songs on The Gift, most notably the #1 hit "Town Called Malice," with a Motown-style bassline somewhat reminiscent of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love". "Town Called Malice", another slice-of-life tale of trying to keep joyful in a small, downtrodden English town, is one of Weller's most favoured songs among fans and critics alike, and one of the few Jam songs he performs to this day (along with "That's Entertainment", "Man In The Corner Shop", and "In The Crowd").
After the sugary soul ballad "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)" peaked at #2, the band followed with yet another #1, "Beat Surrender" The Beat Surrender EP entered the British charts with a splash, and seemed to belie Weller's intentions: both it's graphic design and the music it contained would bear resemblance to the early Style Council releases. After a farewell tour of the UK, the band broke up.
[edit] After The Jam
Weller, who felt he had done all he could with the Jam, formed The Style Council with Mick Talbot of The Merton Parkas. After they disintegrated in 1989 Weller went on to pursue a solo career; the albums from this period are said to be among the first Britpop recordings; the "Modfather," as he had come to be known, also played lead guitar on Oasis's "Champagne Supernova".
Bruce Foxton was for a short time, in 1983, involved in a band with Jake Burns and Dolphin Taylor, which released several demos, however Arista Records offered him a solo deal and he signed up for a solo album, Touch Sensitive, released in 1984. When Ali McMordie left Stiff Little Fingers, shortly before they were due to go on tour, Jake Burns phoned Foxton offering him the job, which he duly took, and continued with the band until January 2006, when he quit to pursue other projects.
A five-disc box set release, Direction Reaction Creation, featuring all of the group's studio material plus a disc of rarities, peaked at #8 on the UK album charts upon its release in 1997, an unprecedented achievement for a box set. In 2002, Virgin Radio counted down the top 100 British Artists of all-time as polled by listeners; The Jam were #5 on the list. Paul Weller made two other appearances in the poll: as part of The Style Council at #93 and as a solo artist at #21. [3] Though many fans hope for a Jam reunion, that prospect is extremely unlikely. As their history stands now, however, the group was a commercial success from their first record to their last, breaking up at the peak of their popularity.
In a 2006 interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, Weller stated that a Jam reunion would "never, ever happen", and that reformations are "sad". He went on to say "Me and my children would have to be destitute and starving in the gutter before I'd even consider that, and I don't think that'll happen anyway ... [the Jam's music] still means something to people and a lot of that's because we stopped at the right time, it didn't go on and become embarrassing." [4]
[edit] Lineup
- Paul Weller - lead vocals, guitar
- Bruce Foxton - backing vocals, bass guitar
- Rick Buckler - drums, percussion
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] Studio
- In the City - (1977) #20 UK
- This Is The Modern World - (1977) #22 UK
- All Mod Cons - (1978) #6 UK
- Setting Sons - (1979) #4 UK, #137 US
- Sound Affects - (1980) #2 UK, #72 US
- The Gift - (1982) #1 UK, #82 US
[edit] Live
- Dig The New Breed - (1982) #2 UK, #131 US
- Live Jam - (1993) #25 UK
- The Jam At The BBC - (2002) #33 UK
[edit] Compilations
- Compact Snap! - (1983) #2 UK
- Greatest Hits - (1991) #2 UK
- Extras - (1992) #15 UK
- The Jam Collection - (1996)
- Direction Reaction Creation - (1997) #8 UK
- The Very Best of the Jam - (1997) #9 UK
- Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam - (1999)
- 45 rpm: The Singles, 1977-1979 - (2001)
- 45 rpm: The Singles, 1980-1982 - (2001)
- The Sound of the Jam - (2002) #3 UK
- Snap! - (2006) #6 UK
[edit] Singles
[edit] US EPs
- The Jam EP - 1981, #176 US
- The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow) EP - 1982, #135 US
- Beat Surrender EP - 1983, #171 US
(Note: EPs are ranked on the Billboard album chart, not the singles chart.)
