In the City (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "In the City" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Jam | ||
| from the album In the City | ||
| B-side(s) | Takin' My Love | |
| Released | 1977-04-29 | |
| Genre | Mod Revival | |
| Writer(s) | Paul Weller | |
| Producer(s) | Vic Smith and Chris Parry | |
| Chart positions | ||
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#40 (UK Singles Chart) |
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| The Jam singles chronology | ||
| "In the City" (1977) |
"All Around the World" (1977) |
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- This article is about the song by The Jam. "In the City" is also the name of a different song by The Eagles.
"In The City" was British mod band The Jam's debut single released on 29th April 1977, taken from their album of the same name. It reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, making it their first Top 40 single, and the beginning of their streak of eighteen consecutive Top 40 singles, carrying the group to the very end of their career in 1982.
While only a minor hit on the charts, the song is well remembered for serving both as England's first introduction to one of its most beloved groups as well as one of singer/guitarist/songwriter's Paul Weller's finest "youth anthems", the mod-inflected celebrations of British youth that dominated the Weller's early output. These songs would eventually help catalyze the so-called "mod revival" movement.
Musically, the song is in much in the vein of the band's first album, an immediate mod/punk number very much in debt to the early Who but with an energy and attitude updated for the punk era. In fact, the Jam's "In the City" borrows its chord progression and a good deal of its lyrical content from an obscure Who song of the same name released in 1966 as the B-side of "I'm a Boy" single (and which can now be found as a bonus track on most CD issues of their 1966 album A Quick One).
At that time, The Jam were unique among punk bands for their open affection of '60s British Invasion, right down to their smartly besuited image when most scenesters were sporting leather jackets and ripped jeans. They were also one of the few bands on the scene that was technically proficient. Their early songs were typically more structured, tighter, and more melodic than those of most other groups, even though Paul Weller was only 18 at the time.
Lyrically, the song is a celebration of youth in the big city, and what Paul Weller called the "young idea", reflecting Weller's optimism for and heartfelt communion with the punk rock movement. (Unfortunately, those views on the punk movement would eventually sour as expressed on later songs such as 1978's "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street", after violence had become commonplace within the scene.)
There was also a direct reference to police brutality ("In the city there's a thousand men in uniform/And I hear they now have the right to kill a man"), as inspired by one of Weller's contemporary influences, The Clash's Joe Strummer, marking Weller's first of many forays into social commentary.
The song's descending opening bassline bears a remarkable resemblance to the Sex Pistols' single "Holidays In The Sun" (which was released a few months later), whether coincidentally or otherwise. This is very open to debate.
The single, with the B-side of "Takin' My Love", has the particular distinction of being the only Jam single to hit the UK Top 40 on three different occasions, with a fourth near miss. After Going Underground became the group's first number one single in 1980, Polydor decided to re-issue all nine of the group's prior singles. They all performed respectably for recent reissues, but "In The City" was the only one to make the Top 40 again, peaking at #40 for a second time. After the group's break-up at the end of 1982, Polydor re-issued every single of the band's career in early 1983. Four of re-issues made the top 40, but "In The City" fell just short at #47. Finally, in May 2002, Polydor Records decided to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Jam by re-releasing their debut single in its original packaging, in its original 7" vinyl record format, and at its original price of 75 pence. The limited pressing sold out immediately, and the song made the Top 40 one more time, peaking at #36, higher than it ever did in its original release and two subsequent reissues. This impressive feat is a testament to the enduring popularity of The Jam in their homeland decades after their dissolution and to the song's graceful ageing.
