THE JAM SINGLES (8)

The second non-album single of 1979 and every bit as good as its predecessor in terms of quality on both sides of the plastic.

mp3 : The Jam – When You’re Young
mp3 : The Jam – Smithers-Jones

This was THE anthem of my teenage years.  The song that said all that had to be said.  It should have been a much bigger hit than just #17 after its release on 17 August 1979.  But the really massive hits were just around the corner…

There was a John Peel session recorded on 29 October 1979 and broadcast seven nights later:-

mp3 : The Jam – When You’re Young (Peel Session)

It’s a version that captures the band in very fine form…it’s a sort of hybrid between the single version and the way it was performed on stage

Almost exactly a year later, the band played it live on 28 October 1980 at the Newcastle City Hall where it was captured for inclusion on the NME Dancin Master cassette issued a year later:-

mp3 : The Jam – When You’re Young (live)

The b-side, one of the last Bruce Foxton compositions to be released by the band, was re-recorded for the Setting Sons LP that hit the shops in November 1979.  The orchestral version really took fans by surprise but it was a version that fitted in magnificently to said LP:-

mp3 : The Jam – Smithers Jones (album version)

As with all of the band’s UK 45s it was re-released by Polydor Records in 1980 and 1983. It didn’t chart in 1980 but it did hit #53 in 1983.

As mentioned earlier in the week, I’m now away to Toronto for a few days.  Bear with me if you send an e-mail and hear nothing back.