In the late 1970s and early 1980s no rock band was bigger in the United Kingdom than The Jam. The London trio of singer/guitarist Paul Weller, bassist Bruce Foxton, and drummer Rick Buckler emerged from the London punk scene. Although, the group was heavily influenced by such melodic British Invasion groups as The Beatles, The Kinks, and especially The Who’s mod era, as well as by Motown.
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Forty-six years ago, on March 22, 1980, The Jam scored the first of four No. 1 hits on the U.K. singles chart with the power-pop anthem “Going Underground.”
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The song was released as a two-sided, non-album single, along with “The Dreams Of Children,” on March 10, 1980. “Going Underground” debuted at No. 1, knocking disco singer Fern Kinney’s pop ballad “Together We Are Beautiful” from the top of the chart. After a three-week run “Going Underground” was replaced at No. 1 by The Spinners’ medley “Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl.”
“Going Underground,” which was written by Weller, is a pointed critique of the U.K. government spending an exorbitant amount of money on nuclear weapons rather than on the National Health Service.
In 2022 interview with Total Guitar, reported by MusicRadar.com, Weller noted, “It was borne out of the political state we were in at the time. Whether it was youthful paranoia or whatever, I thought we were on the brink of devastation really. We were building up our nuclear missiles, especially in this country.”
The Jam was touring the U.S. when “Going Underground” hit No. 1 in the U.K. The band proceeded to cancel its remaining stateside dates. They flew back to the U.K. to appear on The Top Of The Pops TV show.
About “The Dreams Of Children”
As for “The Dreams Of Children,” it initially was intended to be the A-side of the single with “Going Underground.” The latter tune wound up becoming more popular, though.
“The Dreams Of Children,” which also was written by Weller, is a hard-driving but melodic song with some psychedelic influences. Lyrically, the song features themes touching on how youthful optimism often turns to disillusionment as a person deals with the reality of the modern world.
“The Dreams Of Children” was recorded near the end of the sessions for The Jam’s 1979 album, Setting Sons. The beginning of the track features a brief backwards snippet of the Jam song “Thick As Thieves.” Weller had been listening to The Beatles’ Revolver album a lot around that time. He liked the Fab Four’s use of backwards recording. He asked a studio engineer to make a recording of Setting Sons backwards. From there, they came up with the idea for “The Dreams Of Children” while listening to that.
More About The Jam and Paul Weller
The Jam’s other No. 1 hits in the U.K. were “Start!” (1980), “A Town Called Malice”/“Precious” (1982), and “Beat Surrender” (1982).
The band had a strong cult following in the U.S., but never enjoyed major commercial success in the States.
The Jam broke up in 1982 when Weller left the band to form the R&B/soul-influenced group The Style Council. Weller launched a prolific solo career in 1990.
(Photo by FG/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images)
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