Oh…..I’m going to be in bother for giving this a chart placing as low as #15. Especially as I’ve used dozens of past postings to tell the world of my adoration for The Jam.This was the first band that I ever got infatuated with. They were the first band that I ever queued up for tickets overnight, lying on a cold and wet Glasgow pavement in a sleeping bag.
The minute the record shop opened on the day the band released a new single or LP, I was waiting to go in and buy it. My part of the bedroom wall in the room that I shared with my brothers was covered in posters of The Jam.
On day when I saw a friend’s wall had all the picture sleeves from the singles stuck to his bedroom wall, I went home and did the same. My shrine to Buckler, Foxton and Weller had to be better than that of anyone else I knew.
The break-up of the band didn’t send me into a sulk. Instead, I thought this was a chance to watch and enjoy each of their new bands and wait for the inevitable reunion (got that last bit spectacularly wrong, didn’t I???)
Even when The Style Council broke up and interest in The Jam was at a low, I could still be relied to keep talking about them to anyone who was interested. I think it was 1992 when myself and a mate were 40% of the audience at a theatre-show at the Edinburgh Fringe, all about the story behind the formation, success and break-up of The Jam. The other 60% in the audience were Sean Hughes, Phil Jupitus and some mate of theirs who probably worked for Channel 4 or the BBC...
No other band gave me such agony choosing which single to select for inclusion in the run-down. It could easily have been In The City which introduced me to them at an early stage. Or Down In the Tube Station At Midnight, a song that on release I thought would always be my favourite record of all time. Just as equally, Strange Town and When You’re Young are singles that mean so much to me – often because with The Jam, the B-sides were just as good as the single, and this was very much the case with The Butterfly Collector and Smithers-Jones respectively.
In the end, after much agonising, I’ve gone for Going Underground, and I’ve done so because it was the song that allowed me to say, to the watching world and all those who had cast dispersions on the band, YOU WERE WRONG, AND ALL THE TIME I WAS RIGHT.
In 1980, singles didn’t enter the charts at the #1 position. Instead, they came in somewhere in the 20s and that got you onto Top of the Pops. The single would sell well on the back of this TV appearance, would climb a few places and then again the following week into the Top 10. The second TOTP appearance would follow, and if it was different enough from the first one and Radio 1 was still playing it, then the Top 5 and a chance at #1 would follow. It was always a 3-4 week cycle to hit the top slot.
Going Underground broke all the rules of the game. It flew in at #1 and stayed there for three weeks.
Critics of the band said it only did this as the initial copies of the single came with a limited edition live EP, and thus fans rushed out and bought it immediately. The fact that The Jam would repeat the straight in at #1 on two more occasions soon disproved that theory.
Going Underground is my favourite Jam single for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it proved that in March 1980, The Jam were by far and away the biggest and most popular band in the UK - despite which, the band still managed to make long-time fans feel they were still something special.
Secondly, it was an attack on the Thatcher government’s policy of increased spending on nuclear weapons, and as a member of CND (weren’t we all in those days), this song seemed significant in spreading the word to a wide audience.
Thirdly, the B-side was another brilliant Jam song. So brilliant, it was originally intended as a double-A release, only the printing press got it wrong. Allegedly.
Finally, it did in fact come with a great live EP which didn’t bleep-out the swear words on The Modern World……
mp3 : The Jam – Going Underground
mp3 : The Jam – Dreams Of Children
mp3 : The Jam – Away From The Numbers (live)
mp3 : The Jam – The Modern World (live)
mp3 : The Jam – Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (live)
This was another single that I lost in the Edinburgh flit. But it was one that I chased up on e-bay not long after I got the USB Turntable and re-kindled the interest in vinyl.
So why only #15 in this rundown? Well, its just too good to be at #16 or lower.....
10 comments:
A surprising choice VV. Didn't expect that from you. As great as Going Underground is it's well, a little obvious but WTF it's your list.
I'd have gone for the Northern Soul floor burning homage that is Precious myself (b-side to Town Called Malice I think).
Excellent stuff as usual fella.
For the first time in about 20 years I'm actually looking forward to the Top 10.
Hey, Going Underground is my fave as well.
Going Underground pretty much sums up the first half of The Jam in terms of sound and style. All of those singles are my favourite, but then you couldn't have them all in the 45...
Going Underground also destroyed my first record player. And my second. That bass note right at the end destroyed the speakers!
A young man taking his first tentative steps into the music world... Synth groups all about... Replicas by Tubeway Army never far from the record deck... Tiswas on a Saturday morning... The opening chords of Going Underground...
This song put me on the right path and it'll always hold a place dear in my heart. It's simply terrific.
I occasionally think about what impact some records would have if they were released today rather than the somewhat insipid shit we are often assailed by. Imagine this today. Imagine the sheer excitement of hearing it for the first time. It's a classic and a truly great choice.
Augustus
"I think it was 1992 when myself and a mate were 40% of the audience at a theatre-show at the Edinburgh Fringe, all about the story behind the formation, success and break-up of The Jam."
I'm intrigued. What was the show? Any good? Who wrote it? Where can I get the director's cut on DVD?
Be honest: if 'That's Entertainment' had been an official single release, it would have made your top five.
If you deny it, you're lying . . . to yourself ;-)
Going Underground was always one of my favourite singles ... until somebody thought it would be good idea to put it in my toaster at a party!
That version of Tube Station, is that the same one that was on the b-side of That's Entertainment? It's that long since I've had my singles I can't remember...
I'll never forget the sheer excitement this record brought me and the announcement as UK No 1that Tuesday lunchtime back in Mar 80. Just like you, I'd told everyone about its release and, as the Woking boys were now on top of their game, I believed it would be a new entry in the top 10. I'd dared to hope Top 5 but, as the rundown continued and still no sign of it, the hairs rose on the back of the neck.
Straight in at No 1 was unprecendented since the days of Slade.
Deciding on The Jam's finest single is pretty darn impossible all in all. I am suprised you have gone for this one, but then again I fully understand your rationale.
No 15 is more of a turn up!
Thanks folks for all that's been said here and elsewhere this past couple of days.
From recollection, the live 'Tube Station' is the same as the b-side to the import single of That's Entertainment. But no, even if it had been a proper release, I still would have plumped for Going Underground for all the reasons outlined in the posting. Having said that, in 12 months time, I might have chosen a different single...
The Edinburgh Fringe thingy was, from recollection, called 'The Jam Show' and it was on at something like 3pm in the afternoon at the Gilded Balloon.
There wasn't any programme available to buy, so this is from a distant memory. It was three blokes, all dressed in the classic Jam look of the 'In The City' and 'Art School' videos (black suits, white shirts, black ties). They each had a part of Paul, Rick or bruce but also adopted other persona such as journalists, fans and Pauls dad!!
It was only about an hour long, and while enjoyable enough to someone like myself who was a fan, it probably required a lot of knowledge about the band to follow the story. And it was at a time when Weller was a long time out of popularity and pre 'The Modfather' comeback, so no real casual audience interest. I imagine it didn't appear much beyond that fringe show...
I promise I'm not being deliberately provocative but I always preferred the Style Council
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