"Beat Surrender" was

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School 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 198 ...

'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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for two weeks in December 1982.

Title

The song's title was a play on words combining the title of the 1979

Anita Ward Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956 or 1957) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/ ...

disco single "Sweet Surrender", with the British traditional military term of "

Beating Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...

", signalling a withdrawal.Interview with Paul Weller, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'', June 2015

Theme

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

wrote the song to mark the end of the group, which he disbanded shortly after the single's release. "I wanted it to be a statement, a final clarion call saying: Right, we're stopping, you take it on from here."

Release format

The 7" was backed by the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Shopping". A double 7" and 12" single version was available with additional studio

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of

The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, ...

' " Stoned Out of My Mind",

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

's "

Move on Up "Move On Up" is a song by Curtis Mayfield from his 1970 debut album ''Curtis''. Nearly nine minutes long on the album version, it was released as a single in the United States (Curtom 1974), but failed to chart. An edited version of the song spen ...

", and

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-on ...

's "

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

". "Beat Surrender" was not included on any of the band's six studio albums. In the U.S., it appeared on the five-track EP, ''Beat Surrender'' (Polydor 810751), which peaked at No. 171 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart in April 1983.

Cover art

The sleeve for the single, including the 12" and the double single pack, featured Gill Price, Weller's girlfriend at the time.

Performances

"Beat Surrender" was previewed live on the first episode of '' The Tube'', on 5 November 1982.

Musicians

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, lead vocals *

Bruce Foxton Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of mod revival band the Jam. ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Rick Buckler Paul Richard Buckler (born 6 December 1955) is an English musician who is the former drummer of The Jam. Early years Buckler was born in the town of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. He received his education at Sheerwater Secondary Sch ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Tracie Young Tracie Young (often just billed as Tracie; born 25 March 1965) is a former English pop singer in the 1980s. She achieved success after becoming a protégée of Paul Weller. Career Born in Derby, England, Young was discovered by The Jam frontma ...

– backing vocals * Peter Wilson –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Steve Nichol –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Keith Thomas –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

References

External links

Lyrics to "Beat Surrender"
{{authority control 1982 singles 1982 songs Polydor Records singles The Jam songs Songs written by Paul Weller UK Singles Chart number-one singles