There were two formats available. A double 7″ and a 12″ single version
featuring cover versions of The Chi-Lites‘ ‘Stoned Out of My Mind‘, Curtis
Mayfield‘s ‘Move on Up’ and Edwin Starr‘s ‘War’.
Beat Surrender was The Jam‘s final single.
It topped the charts in the UK on 4 Dec 1982, 40 years ago today.
Led by angry young man PAUL WELLER mod-rock-punk trio THE JAM released their riff-crazy debut LP IN THE CITYforty-five years ago – on 20 May 1977. The start of a dazzling career with six hit LPs – from good to grand – that ended when Weller got tired of the band and decided to take other directions.
What the press said…
RECORD MIRROR “Armed and extremely dangerous The Jam stalk the decrepit grooves. If you don’t like them, hard luck they’re gonna be around for a long time. It’s been a long time since albums actually reflected pre-20 delusions and this one does”.
NME “Paul Weller captures that entire teen frustration vibe with the melodic grace and dynamic aplomb of early Kinks and Who…”
ALL MUSIC “In the City is a remarkable debut and stands as one of the landmark punk albums…”
MELODY MAKER “Weller’s songs are anything but an embarrassment, he has a deft touch that places his
material on a much higher plateau…”
Music, maestro, please.
Three highlights.
That’s entertainment…
B-side: Dreams Of Children Released: 14 March 1980 Score: topping the UK Charts on 22 March – 41 years ago
The band’s first No 1 hit in the UK
Note: The song was actually released as a double A-side
with ‘Dreams of Children’, which originally was planned to be
the only A-side. After a mix-up at the pressing plant, the single
eventually became a double A-side, but radio stations played
the melodic ‘Going Underground’
TURN UP THE VOLUME 