Town Called Malice
| "Town Called Malice" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Jam | ||||
| from the album The Gift | ||||
| A-side | "Precious" | |||
| Released | 29 January 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Polydor (UK)[3] | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Weller[3] | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Wilson and the Jam[4] | |||
| The Jam singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by British band the Jam from the album The Gift. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982.[5][6]
Overview
The title is a play on words of the 1950 Nevil Shute novel A Town Like Alice, although Paul Weller says he had not read the book at the time.[7] It was a double A-side single release featuring "Precious" as the flip side. A 12" version was also available with a live version of "Town Called Malice" backed by an extended version of "Precious".
Paul Weller has said that it was written about his hometown Woking as a result of his teenage experiences there.[8][9][10] The Irish Independent described the song, like "Going Underground", as a "class-war tirade set to a post-punk northern soul groove".[1]
Released as the first single from the album on 29 January 1982, it entered the chart at number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at the top for three weeks,[4] and preventing "Golden Brown" by the Stranglers from reaching number one. EMI, the Stranglers record company, objected to the sales of both versions of "Town Called Malice" being aggregated, arguing that Jam fans were buying both and thus preventing their band from reaching the top of the chart.[3]
"Town Called Malice" was the band's third number-one single in the UK. It was the band's sole chart entry onto any American chart (although this single and "Start!" both appeared in the low-rungs of the Billboard Dance/Club Play charts) when it hit No. 31 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1982.[11][12]
The song was ranked among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1982 by NME.[13]
In popular culture
 |
"Town Called Malice" was featured prominently in the 1985 comedy film, National Lampoon's European Vacation; provided the soundtrack for a key scene in the 2000 drama Billy Elliot;[14] and was the opening track to the 2005 film, The Matador.[15] It was also used in a scene in the 2019 superhero movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home.[16] It was also featured in the third episode of the seventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead, in a montage where Dwight observes daily life in the Sanctuary. The song is featured in the 2022 action film Morbius, starting from the intro of the song, until abruptly stopping at the end of the scene; the melody is recognizable, but most lyrics are audibly obscured by dialogue between main characters Milo and Dr. Michael Morbius.
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ a b c Egan, Barry (9 May 2021). "Modfather Paul Weller's fire still burns: 'He sings with a passion that his teenage self would surely have admired'". Independent.ie. Independent.ie. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "AllMusic - Town Called Malice - The Jam". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 221–2. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ a b "JAM | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ "The Jam Singles – Town Called Malice". Thejam.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 405–6. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Dave Simpson (12 November 2012). "How we made: Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton on Town Called Malice | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ [1] Archived 5 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sunday Times 2007". Wellerworld.co.uk. 12 June 1999. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ "July 2008". Music Zone. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Jam | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ "Billboard Chart History: The Jam". Billboard.com.
- ^ "Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ [2]Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ MrJamesPriestly (4 December 2011), The Matador intro, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 27 May 2018
- ^ Moran, Sarah (2 July 2019). "Spider Man: Far From Home - Soundtrack". screenrant. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "The Jam – Town Called Malice" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "The Jam – Town Called Malice" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "The Jam – Town Called Malice". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "The Jam: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "The Jam Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "The Jam Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1982". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "British single certifications – The Jam – Town Called Malice". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Town Called Malice in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
