From the band’s first single, ‘In The City’ in April 1977, to their last, ‘Beat Surrender’ in November 1982, The Jam went from new wave wannabees to arguably the biggest band in the UK. The Jam on track covers every song released by the group during their five-and-a-half-year career on the Polydor label and includes the pick of demos and little-known recordings from various compilation albums after the band’s demise. Each song is looked at from a musical and lyrical viewpoint, and includes contemporary comments from Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, music critics and those working closely with the band. Album and single sleeves, videos (or promo films as they were more widely known at the time) and TV appearances are part of the mix as author Stan Jeffries looks at what made The Jam one of Britain’s most respected acts and how their legacy continues to this day. For both the dedicated and the curious, this book guides you through the career of one of the country’s musical giants.

Stan Jeffries, Sheffield born and fled. North, to Newcastle, where he lived and worked for seven years and wrote The Encyclopaedia of World Pop Music 1980-2001 in his spare time. He spent a dozen or so years touring the globe with any band who'd have him. Laughably, he called this a job. His first Jam album was All Mod Cons and his first Jam show was in Leicester during the 1979 Setting Sons tour. Currently, he lives in Andalusia, Spain, where he struggles to make himself understood by the natives.