This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2022) |
"Going Underground" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Jam | ||||
A-side | "Dreams of Children" | |||
Released | 10 March 1980 [1] | |||
Recorded | 16 January 1980 | |||
Studio | Townhouse Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:50 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Weller | |||
Producer(s) | Vic Coppersmith-Heaven | |||
The Jam singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Going Underground" on YouTube |
"Going Underground" is a single by English rock band the Jam, written by lead guitarist Paul Weller and released in March 1980. It debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, [3] spending three weeks at the top. [4] "Going Underground" was the first of four number one singles the band were to achieve throughout their career. [5] [6]
"Going Underground" and "Dreams of Children" were both recorded on 16 January 1980 at Townhouse Studios in London with Vic Coppersmith-Heaven producing. [7] The lyrics have been described as having a "Shakespearian sentiment" as they "beckon the masses to recognise their collective power against the rise of the hierarchy". [8] Weller specifically offers a sharp condemnation of Margaret Thatcher's recently elected Conservative government, the voter apathy that led her to power, and the military–industrial complex with the song. [9] According to critic Eoghan Lyng, Weller's guitar and Bruce Foxton's bass work on the track were "pleasantly reminiscent" of the Beatles song "And Your Bird Can Sing" from the album Revolver (1966), which the follow-up single "Start!" would also take ideas from. [8]
"Going Underground" was not released on any of the band's six studio albums, although it has appeared on many compilations since the 1980s, as well as reissues of Setting Sons . The song was released as a double A-side with "Dreams of Children", which originally had been intended to be the sole A-side; [10] following a mix-up at the pressing plant, the single became a double A-side, and DJs tended to choose the more melodic "Going Underground" to play on the radio. [11]
"Going Underground" became the Jam's first UK number-one single and one of the top-selling releases of their career. At the time the single reached number one, the band were touring in the US, where they had long struggled commercially. Foxton recalled: "The record company called us up and told us we'd gone in at Number One. We said, 'Well, what are we doing here then?' We jumped on the plane and went home to where people did want to hear us. We flew back on Concorde and recorded Top of the Pops ." [12]
"Going Underground" was the 15th best-selling single in the UK in 1980. [13] The song was ranked at number 2 among the "Tracks of the Year" for 1980 by NME . [14]
"Going Underground" was coupled with "Dreams of Children" as a double A-side. It opens and is intermittently accentuated with a backmasked sample of the band's 1979 song "Thick as Thieves". In the US the backwards intro was edited out making the single 10 seconds shorter than the UK Version. This US edit is available on the best-of compilation Snap! .
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [15] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The song was covered by Buffalo Tom for the 1999 Jam tribute album Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam . This version also was released as part of a double A-side single with Liam Gallagher's and Steve Cradock's version of "Carnation" and reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. [16]
The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, "That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" remain the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. When the group disbanded in 1982, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100.
Paul John Weller is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the band the Jam in the late 1970s. Following the dissolution of the Jam in 1982, he changed musical style and had further success with the Style Council (1983–1989), before establishing himself as a solo artist with his eponymous 1992 album.
Bruce Douglas Foxton is an English singer, songwriter and musician.
Bis are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark, John Clark, and Amanda MacKinnon, formed in 1994. The band's name, rhyming with 'this', derives from "black iron skyline", a lyric from the song "Twilight of a Champion" by The The.
The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band that initially existed between 1978 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980 and No. 36 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
The Beat are an English band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Their music fuses Latin, ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock.
Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, best known for the 1989 single "Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Later that year, the single was followed by the album of the same name, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. They achieved further success with the singles "Get Up! " and "Move This". Technotronic went on to release the albums Body to Body (1991) and Recall (1995).
Setting Sons is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Jam, released on 16 November 1979 by Polydor Records. It reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart upon the first week of release, continuing the commercial favour that had begun with their previous album All Mod Cons.
Sound Affects is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Jam. The album was released on 28 November 1980 by Polydor Records. It is the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album track co-written by the entire band, "Music for the Last Couple".
The Gift is the sixth and final studio album by English new wave/mod revival band the Jam. It was originally released on 12 March 1982 by Polydor as the follow-up to the Jam's critically and commercially successful 1980 album Sound Affects. The songs were largely recorded during 1981 to 1982, at George Martin's Air Studios, assisted by Peter Wilson. Generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother sound of the band's later work, it was one of their most successful studio albums, reaching No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart.
"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in December 1979 as the sixth and final single from the group's sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous. Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang lead vocals. It was a major hit, topping the charts in many countries and peaking at No. 2 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1979. Twenty years later, Irish pop group Westlife released a version that reached No. 1 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1999.
"Start!" is the eleventh UK single release by the band The Jam and their second number-one, following "Going Underground"/"Dreams of Children". Upon its release on 15 August 1980, it debuted at number three, and two weeks later reached number one for one week. Written by Paul Weller and produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and The Jam, "Start!" was the lead single from the band's fifth album Sound Affects. The single's B-side is "Liza Radley".
"When You're Young" was the eighth single released by the Jam. The single was released on 17 August 1979, and charted at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 September. The B-Side of the single, "Smithers-Jones", is a guitar-based recording of this song, as opposed to the all-strings arrangement composed at the suggestion of the band's drummer, Rick Buckler, and included on the reissue of their fourth album, Setting Sons.
"Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by British band the Jam from the album The Gift. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982.
"Beat Surrender" was the Jam's final single, and was released on 22 November 1982. It became the band's fourth and last No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1982.
"Cum On Feel the Noize" is a song by the English rock band Slade, which was released in 1973 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their fourth number one single, and remained in the charts for twelve weeks. The song was included on the band's 1973 compilation album Sladest. In a UK poll in 2015 it was voted 15th on the ITV special The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One.
The Boxer Rebellion is an international indie band formed in London, United Kingdom in 2001, consisting of Tennessee-native Nathan Nicholson and Englishmen Andrew Smith, Adam Harrison, and Piers Hewitt (drums). They have so far released an eponymous EP, six studio albums, Exits (2005), Union (2009), The Cold Still (2011), Promises (2013), Ocean by Ocean (2016) and Ghost Alive (2018), as well as a compilation album, B-Sides & Rarities Collection, Vol. 1 & 2 (2012).
"We'll Bring the House Down" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1981 as the lead single from their ninth studio album We'll Bring the House Down. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Slade. The band's first single to reach the UK Top 40 since 1977, the song peaked at No. 10 in the UK, remaining in the chart for nine weeks.
Touch Sensitive is the debut solo studio album by English rock musician Bruce Foxton, released on 12 May 1984 by Arista Records. Two tracks, "It Makes Me Wonder" and "Trying to Forget You " were co-written by Foxton and Pete Glenister. The remainder of the songs are credited solely to Foxton himself. In March of the same year, fellow Jam counterpart Paul Weller released his first official studio album with the band the Style Council, titled Café Bleu. The album was notably his last recording of original material for twenty-eight years, until he released Back in the Room in 2012. Keen to establish himself as a solo artist after the breakup of the Jam, Foxton enlisted producer Steve Lillywhite to give the album a contemporary sound.
Hewitt, Paolo (1997). Direction, Reaction, Creation (CD). United Kingdom: Polydor. 537143-2.