The Jam / 1977
1977 / january.
11 th Played at the 100 Club in London, which was reviewed by John Tobler for NME; “In comparison to the much vaunted Clash, The Jam are totally superior, not least because they have sufficient respect for their material to want it to be heard as music, rather than felt as noise. Exceedingly promising” .
22 nd Supported Bearded Lady at the Marquee in London. This was attended by Chris Parry from Polydor who was looking to sign the band.
25 th Played at the 100 Club in London, where Paul Weller reportedly burned an issue of Sniffin’ Glue onstage!
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1977 / February
5 th Supported Little Bob Story at Crawley College.
9 th Chris Parry held recording tests for ‘In The City’ at Polydor’s Stratford Place Studios.
15 th Signed to Polydor Records by Chris Parry, which was announced later that month. Chris Parry later recalled, that after handing over the cheque for the band’s advance, John Weller revealed that the band didn’t have a bank account yet. “John exclaimed, ‘I can’t take a cheque.’ So we went across to 399 Oxford Street, where Polydor banked. The money came across the counter in ten pound notes, John stuffed it in his pocket and went home a happy man!”
24 th Played at the Roxy in London.
1977 / March
16 th Played at the Red Cow in London, as part of their Red Cow residency from Wednesday 9 th March to Wednesday 30 th March.
22 nd Performed at the Roxy in London. March saw The Stranglers, Chelsea, Eater and more onstage at the Roxy.
29 th Took to the stage at the 100 Club in London as part of their ‘New Bands Night’.
31 st Played the final gig of the month at the Rochester Castle in Stoke Newington, London.
1977 / April
1 st Played at Leeds Polytechnic, which was reviewed by John Hamblett for NME; “Sure, they use the mid-60s ‘mod sound’ as a powerbase, of sorts, but from there it’s 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-zero, blast off, instant 70s modism, desperate tension, adrenalin rush guaranteed”.
17 th Supported the Stranglers and Cherry Vanilla at the Roundhouse in London.
26 th Recorded their first John Peel Session for BBC Radio One which included ‘In The City’, ‘Art School’, ‘I’ve Changed My Address’ and ‘The Modern World’ - all of which are included in the 1977 box set.
29 th Released first single, ‘In The City’, from debut album of the same name. Featured in their ‘Singles of the Week’ series, NME described it as “the most convincing British-penned teenage anthem I’ve heard in a very long time”.
White Riot Tour - A new wave package tour featuring The Clash as headliners along with The Jam, The Slits, The Buzzcocks and Subway Sect.
7 th Paul, Rick and Bruce posed for the cover of NME. The accompanying feature written by Steve Clarke described them as “the best rock ‘n’ roll band I have seen in many a year”.
8 th Played at the Rainbow Theatre in London with the Clash, The Buzzcocks, the Prefects and Subway Sect. This gig was reviewed by John Hayward from Music Week; “With their aggressive good looks and professional tightness, the Jam look set to join the Clash and the Damned as leading lights in the rapidly expanding new wave scene”.
The Jam left the White Riot Tour following the performance at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The press speculated as to what could have caused the conflict between the Jam and the Clash, however no reason was ever confirmed.
19 th Performed ‘In The City’ on their debut Top Of The Pops appearance. Footage of this performance is included in the 1977 box set.
20 th Released their debut studio album, ‘In The City’, to critical acclaim. Record Mirror’s Barry Cain wrote; “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”.
28 th The Jam featured on the cover of Record Mirror alongside an in-depth interview where they discussed youth, new wave bands and the Queen, amongst other topics.
1977 / June
The Jam embarked on their first major headline tour, In The City. It was meant to stretch to 42 dates, but they called it a day after 36. That they had even got that far was pretty remarkable: Weller would later recall “travelling in this red Cortina for hours and having to learn to walk again when you got out,” and their first day off did not materialise until they were 27 dates in.
7 th The first date of their tour, the Jam travelled to Birmingham. This initial performance is attended and reviewed by Chas De Whalley for Sounds, who noted; “The Jam have arrived. Their pent-up fury spilling out over the dancefloor is pure beat for the feet and they have the Birmingham crowd firmly in their grasp”.
18 th Performed at Poplar Civic Hall, one of three Jubilee shows the Jam committed to for free. Julie Burchill from NME reviewed the performance; “If they looked any sharper they’d cut themselves to ribbons. Weller, Foxton and Buckler: the eternal triangle of stark, functional beauty. And the music’s the same; it’s so good it hurts, only a deaf man could dismiss it”.
19 th Played at the Electric Circus in Manchester. Full gig / Carnaby Street .
28 th The Jam recorded ‘All Around The World’ and ‘Carnaby Street’.
1977 / July
1 st Performed at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle. Barry Cain from Record Mirror wrote of the event; “The band have already achieved two bell greatness in the pinball seat of power. And it ain’t gonna be long before number three and the jackpot”.
8 th The Jam released the single ‘All Around The World’ backed by the B-side ‘Carnaby Street’.
9 th Performed at the California Ballroom, Dunstable, where the Jam were supported by Chelsea.
19 th Recorded their second session with John Peel for BBC Radio One. The session included ‘All Around The World’, ‘London Girl’, ‘Bricks and Mortar’ and ‘Carnaby Street’.
21 st The Jam graced the stage of Top Of The Pops for the second time to perform ‘All Around The World’.
24 th Headlined the 4,000-capacity Hammersmith Odeon, much to even their own amazement. “Nobody wanted to do that, but it worked,” said John Weller. “That was the first big one that we did. Had we not done that, we would still have been fucking playing in the Red Cows of this world. Simple as that.”
1977 / August
4 th Took to the stage on Top Of The Pops for the third time to perform ‘All Around the World’.
18 th Returned to Top Of The Pops for the fourth time to perform ‘All Around The World’ . This performance is included in the 1977 box set!
20 th ‘All Around The World’ reached number 13 in the UK Top 50 Singles Chart.
24 th Performed ‘All Around The World’ on Marc - Marc Bolan’s TV Show. This performance features on the 1977 box set too!
25 th Began recording their second album, ‘This Is The Modern World’.
1977 / September
10 th Performed at the Nashville, London. This concert was recorded and dug out of the archives for the 1977 box set.
11 th Played at the 100 Club, London. This gig was also recorded and later released by Polydor. Godfrey Rust from Music Week attended, and later wrote; “The Jam are the real thing. For three unassuming young men they make a great deal of noise”.
21 st Recorded 4 tracks from their upcoming album, including their next single ‘The Modern World’.
30 th The Jam performed at the Paradiso Club, Amsterdam. This was the Jam’s first European tour and, despite cancellations in Norway and Sweden, the performance in the Netherlands went ahead.
1977 / October
8 th Began their first US tour, performing in Los Angeles, Boston and New York. The debut gig took place at Whisky-A-Go-Go in LA, where journalist Sylvie Simmons reviewed the Jam; “It’s powerful, it’s got bite, and you can see why they’ve been compared to early The Who”.
16 th Paul Weller went on NBC's 'The Tomorrow Show' while on the Jam’s first US tour.
21 st Released the single ’The Modern World’ off their upcoming second album, ’This Is the Modern World’, which was named Single of the Week by Sounds.
1977 / November
3 rd Took to the stage on Top Of The Pops to perform ’The Modern World’. You can find this performance in the 1977 box set.
17 th Began the Modern World tour, a UK headline tour to promote their new album, supported by the New Hearts.
18 th Released their second album, ‘This Is The Modern World’. Chas De Whalley reviewed the album for Sounds, stating; “‘This Is The Modern World’ is only a taster of what the Jam have stored up for the future and, despite the five stars, it still isn’t their masterpiece”.
20 th Performed ‘In The City’, ‘Bricks And Mortar’, ‘Carnaby Street’, ‘Slow Down’ and ‘All Around The World’ on So It Goes, Granada TV. Watch these performances on the 1977 box set!
26 th As their evening show at Friars, The Civic Centre in Aylesbury sold out, the Jam organised and played an extra afternoon gig - a first for the venue.
1977 / December
2 nd Played at the Bracknell Sports Centre. Chas De Whalley wrote an in-depth piece on the band and Paul in particular, from time he spent at this gig and Paul’s house in Woking.
10 th The Jam featured on the front cover of Record Mirror, and the accompanying interview took place at Paul’s house in Woking.
18 th Finishing the Modern World tour, the Jam’s final performance at the Hammersmith Odeon was attended and reviewed by Bob Edmands from NME, who noted; “They’re there for the Jam’s undoubted instrumental prowess, and the band are clearly so hot that the parallels with the Who are rendered redundant”.
24 th The Jam’s success in 1977 was recognised by end of the year press roundups - including NME which named ‘In The City’ one of the top singles and albums of the year.
Memories of January February March April May June July August September October November December 1977
"My sister called me into the front room to see the performance of All Around the World on the Marc show. It was a pivotal moment, the energy, the haircuts, the suits and shoes, the red Rickenbackers and, of course, the music and lyrics. My first experience of my favourite band. No one will ever come close to meaning so much." Stuart
"White socks & loafers-class,met Bruce in Harrods once but he didn’t have time to give me the riff to “going underground”-still time? " RGM
"Was at the Hammersmith gig, superb. It was showing the world how quickly the 'youth' was changing the music world. " Gregory Bricusse
"Seeing All Around The World on the Marc show changed my life. Then I got to see them at Sheffield Top Rank. They unleashed the power, noise and the energy that was The Jam live. The first of fifteen times I saw them. My only disappointment being they didn't have the spraypainted The Jam backdrop that I'd been busy scrawling all over my schoolbooks." David Scholes
"in the city for me was awesome as i lived in the country great song" Marc Witten
"Seeing them in Bristol through to the last gig they done in Brighton I have kept playing there records very good memories " Timothy O Donovan
"Brighton... was stoked an early Christmas present... some fighting broke out & Paul said if you wanna fight get the f**k out or we're f**king off! What a legend - the Jam were just brilliant live" Mandy
"I was given in the city for Christmas and my life was changed for ever. Thanks for the memories lads" Dean Pickering
"Friars Aylesbury, Paul really pissed me off that night having a pop at the audience, I went home and cut out Paul,Bruce and Rick’s faces from “ All Around The World “ picture sleeve,still got the single." Alan Keinch
"I remember putting In the City on the turntable for the first time. Song one, side on, Art School played and I was a fan for life! " Eric Pleasant
"Living in Northern Ireland as a military brat being made to babysit for my parents friends. Them coming home totally Ming monged informing me they had no money to pay me. Instead they gave me the In the City album!!! Totally cheesed off I stomp home with my record . I play it when i get home and im totally hooked...there begins my love affair with the best F***ing band in the world .....The Jam ❤❤❤" Michelle D'arcier
"Finally getting to see The Jam for the first time at Hammy Odeon. Thought I was gonna piss myself with excitement, they were fuckin astonishing and I never looked back..." Rupert
"Just thought wow !!!this will shake up the punk and Mod scene, what a great sound and group" Paul
"Remembering In The City being played for the first time at our local youth club, pogoing like crazy and thinking this was year zero to me, nothing else mattered..." Rupert Tracy
"My older brother bringing home In The City and receiving a clip round the lug hole from my Dad when Time For Truth screamed FUCK OFF from his record player" Andrew Chippendale
"friars Aylesbury my first Jam concert i was fifteen ,this changed everything for me. the energy and power was mind blowing, this is the modern world." david fradley
"Saw this gig... good memories... from that point on, a fan for life" Sam
"I remember Paul telling the punks at the front to stop gobbing at them or they were going off.." Tony Deall
"Remember watching that show. Totally blown away. Became a Jam fan from then on... " Mark McGinness
"So many great memories of the band, can't wait to order the box set!" David
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