Ad for The Jam

January 20, 2005 12:46 PM

I've landed what is (for me) a dream freelance gig: writing the liner notes for a new U.S. compilation CD of The Jam. I'm looking for independent confirmation regarding an ad the band took out in an American music magazine (most likely Trouser Press) following their 1982 U.S. tour. (Going underground... inside!)

I seem to recall reading a post-tour ad that said something along the lines of "thanks to all our American fans who turned out for the shows -- we'll be back and hope to visit more cities soon." Then they went back to the UK and, soon thereafter, Weller made the decision to break the band up... thus meaning, of course, that they never came back to the U.S. (and that a certain 13-year-old girl in Denver *cough* young scody *cough* was sorely disappointed).

I'd like to include this anecdote in the liner notes, but I'd also like to be a little more certain about the details. Is there anyone out there who may remember this ad as well? (Come on, I know I'm not the only MeFite who remembers when the word "mod" meant, well, mod!) I want to make sure I haven't misremembered it, and also, if possible, to confirm that it ran in Trouser Press (I've emailed them a query in the meantime, but thought I'd give it a shot here too, just in case they don't get back to me before my deadline).

posted by scody to pets & animals (8 comments total)

I have a call in to the husband who is a bit older than me and a super fan. I'll let you know if he remembers anything.

Dreamjob indeed. Any tracks we might not have seen elsewhere?
posted by Wolfie at 1:58 PM on January 20, 2005

I assume you've done this already, did you post something to Trouser Press's message board?
posted by jessamyn at 2:06 PM on January 20, 2005

Well, for what it's worth, "About the Young Idea" says the final US/Canada tour ended June 5, 1981. The band breakup of course was announced October 30. Perhaps those dates would help you triangulate?

As long as we have a Jam topic here, I would love to track down another Disc 5 [the rarities disc] of the "Direction, Creation, Reaction" box set. Mine disappeared about two jobs ago.
posted by britain at 3:53 PM on January 20, 2005

I have nothing of use to post, but I did want to say congratulations! Definitely a cool deal. I'm too young to have seen The Jam play, but I've seen Paul Weller once and it was a fantastic show. Good luck!
posted by stefnet at 4:15 PM on January 20, 2005

Jessamyn, thanks -- I have no idea how I'd previously managed to find the contact info on the Trouser Press site but not the message board! So I've queried there now, too.

Wolfie: nope, nothing new or unusual (I wish -- that would be fun!). It's a pretty standard collection of the usual suspects ("This is the Modern World," "Going Underground," Town Called Malice" etc).

Britain, thanks for checking with "About the Young Idea" for the exact dates. My copy's still packed away in a box (I moved last month and then had surgery, so unpacking's been a little... slow). I'm assuming you (or the author) meant 1982, not '81...? In any case, it does help it narrow down quite a bit -- looking on the Trouser Press website, actually, I'm almost positive I'm thinking of issue 77.
posted by scody at 4:44 PM on January 20, 2005

FWIW, scody, I once dropped Ira a random question about an obscure 80's band and he wrote back quickly. If you note that he's posting on the boards, you might see if he knows - an ad such as you describe might well have made an impression.
posted by mwhybark at 7:50 PM on January 20, 2005

The timeline in the back says '81... looked at it again -- they just didn't put "1982" over the 1982 column. [hangs head, shuffles off]
posted by britain at 9:12 PM on January 20, 2005

For what it's worth, you can buy old issues of Trouser Press on ebay pretty cheap.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:54 AM on January 21, 2005