Day After Day #98: Going Underground

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Going Underground (1980)

When it came to making the most of a short time together, the Jam had it figured out. Formed in 1972 by Paul Weller while still in high school in England, the band took a few years to figure out their direction. Weller and the band got into 1960s mod culture after listening to the Who and adopted that style, listening to '60s soul and R&B and wearing mohair suits onstage. 

Their early sound was lumped in with punk bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols, but it also was steeped in '60s influences; they covered the Batman theme on their 1977 debut album In the City. Weller's lyrics were topical, speaking out against the decline of the British Empire, condemning police brutality and detailing working class life in the U.K. They didn't get much attention in the U.S. at first, but they continued releasing albums and singles to acclaim on their side of the pond.

The Jam's fourth album, Setting Sons, was their first to chart in the U.S., hitting #137 on the Billboard 200 chart. In March 1980, the band released the single "Going Underground" and it debuted at #1 on the U.K. Singles Chart, spending three weeks there. It was the band's first of four #1 singles. 

The song wasn't released on any of the Jam's six studio albums, but it has been included on many subsequent compilations as well as reissues of the Setting Sons album. It was originally supposed to be the B-side of "Dreams of Children," but a pressing plant mix-up made the single a double A-side and radio DJs started playing "Going Underground" more. 

Weller criticizes the Thatcher government, voter apathy and militarization in the song.

"Some people might say my life is in a rut/I'm quite happy with what I got/People might say I should strive for more, but/I'm so happy I can't see the point/Something's happening here today/A show of strength with your boys brigade/And I'm so happy and you're so kind/You want more money, of course I don't mind/To buy nuclear textbooks for atomic crimes/And the public gets what the public wants/But I want nothing this society's got/I'm going underground."

The band was in the U.S. when the song went to #1 in the U.K. Once they heard, they flew back to the U.K. and played on Top of the Pops.

"We talk and we talk until my head explodes/I turn on the news and my body froze/This braying sheep on my TV screen/Make this boy shout, make this boy scream/Going underground."

Sound Affects, the band's fifth album, was released in November 1980, going to #2 in the U.K. and #72 in the U.S. and featured the hit "That's Entertainment." In 1982, the band's final album, The Gift, was released, featuring more soul and R&B influence, especially on the #1 hit "Town Called Malice." It was a very successful record, but Weller was ready to move and announced plans to end the band. The other members of the trio, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, were shocked at the decision and wanted to keep going, but Weller was done. Foxton didn't speak to Weller for 20 years, and Buckler as of 2015 still hadn't spoken to him since the breakup. 

Weller immediately went on to form the Style Council, which combined pop, soul and jazz; a very different sound from the Jam. The group had a few hits, including "My Ever-Changing Moods," before splitting up in 1989 after its label refused to release its final album. Weller then went on to a fairly successful solo career, experimenting with different styles, including the guitar-driven sound he was first known for. He's got a new album coming out this year and just announced a U.S. tour in the fall. 

Foxton and Weller made up in 2009 and collaborated on two songs for Weller's 2010 solo album, but Weller has steadfastly refused any suggestion of a Jam reunion. Still, the band left behind quite a legacy in a short time.