The Jam

The late 1970s saw a band emerge from the streets of Woking who played with the high energy of punk and new wave with strong leanings to the beat boom of the 1960s and they were largely responsible for the Mod revival.

They had the attitude of angry young men but rather than look the part of the punk contemporaries they wore the smart suits and were at the forefront of the MOD revival that also saw the huge film Quadrophenia released to reflect the popularity.

The band consisted of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler and they got a good reputation in the early 1970s playing the pub scene and eventually in 1977 they signed to Polydor Records. They quickly released there first single and album called 'In the city', the single reached the top 40 and the content on the album was beginning to show that this band were not going to hold back. A political message tinged with melodic covers such as the Batman theme.

The band did not sit on there laurels and were very busy in the studio and a second album followed in 1977 with the release of the 'this is the modern world' but the album didn't receive the same accolades as the first and this maybe due to the speed to get the album out. In 1978 they released 'News of the world' which was penned by Foxton and hit the top 30. The output went quiet but the release of 'Down in the tube station at midnight' pricked the conscience of the public again and a album quickly followed called 'All mods con' which did a lot better than the previous album.

Further non album singles were released but the release of 'Eton rifles' as a single was a huge success and peaked at number 3 in anticipation of the new album 'Setting sons' which had a more socialist feel to the album. However 1980 saw a huge step for the band when they got there first number one single in the UK with the double A side release Going underground/dreams of children. An album as always followed suit with 'Sounds affect' which featured the classic songs Start (which hit number one in the UK) and That's Entertainment (not officially released but did well as an import).

Further singles followed with 'Funeral Pyre' and 'absolute beginners' and in 1982 they released there last studio album 'the Gift' which hit number one in the UK album charts. The album featured the huge number one hit 'Town called malice'. It was a double A side with Precious and the band were afforded the luxury of performing both on Top of the Pops which only the Beatles had the privilege to do!

The follow up singles 'Bitterest pill' peaked at number two and the final single 'beat surrender' hit the top and the band could bow at the top as Paul Weller disbanded the group.

There recording career maybe short but the content they produced was influential and relevant at the time when the country was going through big changes. There were a lot of big influential bands around that time but few could match there musical and writing talent.

The Jam released 6 studio albums with four reaching the top 10 and the final album The Gift reaching number one. They released 18 singles with 9 hitting the top ten. They enjoyed four number one singles, a notable achievement was the top 10 success of 'Just who is the 5 o'clock hero' this was officially released in the UK and was a Dutch import.