Paul Weller Career

Although The Jam emerged at the same time as punk rock bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, The Jam better fit the mould of the so-called 'new wave' bands who came later. Also, being from just outside of London rather than in it, they were never really part of the tightly-knit punk clique.

Nonetheless, The Clash emerged as one of the leading early advocates of the band, and were sufficiently impressed by The Jam to take them along as the support act on their White Riot tour of 1977. The Jam's first single "In the City" took them into the UK Top 40 for the first time in May 1977. Although every subsequent single had a placing within the Top 40, it would not be until the band released "The Eton Rifles", with Weller's very political lyrics, that they broke into the Top 10, hitting the No. 3 spot in November 1979.

The increasing popularity of their blend of pop melodies and Weller's lyrics led, in May 1980, to their first number one single, "Going Underground". Originally, "Going Underground" was supposed to be a double A side with the psychedelic "Dreams of Children", but a mistake at a French pressing plant meant "Going Underground" was given 'A' status on the label.

By the early 1980s, The Jam had become one of the biggest bands in Britain. They became the only band other than The Beatles to perform two songs ("Town Called Malice" and "Precious") on one edition of Top of the Pops (the feat would later also be equalled by Oasis and Manic Street Preachers). The Jam even had one single, "That's Entertainment", reach No. 21 in the UK singles chart despite not even being released in that country - it got there purely on the strength of the huge number of people buying import sales of the German single release. Weller, however, was eager to explore a more soulful, melodic style with a broader instrumention.


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