"In the City" is the debut single by English band

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 1 ...

from their album of the same title. It was released on 29 April 1977 and reached No. 40 on 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 ...

in May 1977, making it their first

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

single and the beginning of their streak of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles. While the album was not particularly successful in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, the song was the UK's first introduction to The Jam, and was characteristic of

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 mu ...

's youth anthems— mod-influenced celebrations of British youth—that dominated the band's early output. Musically, the song is in the vein of the band's first album, a mod/punk number influenced by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's early music, but with an energy and attitude updated for the punk era. "In the City" borrowed its title from an obscure Who song of the same name, which was released in 1966 as the B-side of the " I'm a Boy" single (and which can now be found as a bonus track on most CD re-issues of their 1966 album ''

A Quick One ''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...

''). The Sex Pistols' single "Holidays in the Sun", released six months after The Jam's "In the City", is thought to have taken its descending introductory chord pattern from the latter, though "Holidays" intro consists of C, B, A, G and played using fifth chords (power chords, empty chords ect) the "In the City" intro consists of Gsus, G, D, G and played using major chords. Lyrically, the song is a celebration of youth in the big city, and of what Paul Weller called the "young idea", reflecting Weller's optimism for the punk movement. There was also a direct reference to police brutality: "In the city, there's a thousand men in uniform/And I hear they now have the right to kill a man". In May 2002, Polydor Records decided to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Jam by re-releasing their debut single in its original packaging, in its 7"

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

format and at its original price of 75 pence. The limited pressing sold out immediately, and the song made the Top 40 one more time, peaking at No. 36; higher than it did in its original release and two subsequent reissues. It became the first single to chart in the UK Top 40 based alone on limited edition 7" sales since the late 1970s. Only one single (" Freakin' Out" by

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...

) has since charted in the UK Top 40 alone on limited edition 7" single sales.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

ranked the track as being one of the "great debut singles".

References

{{authority control 1977 debut singles 1977 songs Songs written by Paul Weller The Jam songs