Jam – That’s Entertainment 

I learned about these guys from a friend’s brother, who introduced me to Big Star, The Clash, and The Dead. They had export albums that no one else I knew had at the time. There was no Spotify…you had to work for it. You had to hunt songs and albums down. It made it that much better when you heard them. 

I wrote this for another Jam song a while back and it holds true: Sometimes people say…oh this or that band was just too British. I never found a fault in that and wanted more British bands.  But…if ever a band could be considered “too British” this may very well be the band. But I want more…

This is one of those rare songs that doesn’t just describe life, it feels like life. Weller wrote it in a single night after stumbling home drunk (“Coming home pissed from the pub”), acoustic guitar in hand. And you can tell, the lyrics have that bleary, late-night poetry, where ordinary objects take on greater significance. A “policeman’s baton,” “a smash of glass,” “a freezing cold flat”  these aren’t metaphors, they’re scene-setting. There are strong Ray Davies vibes going on in this, with working-class life. 

He’s not glorifying his world; he’s documenting it. And in doing so, he’s creating a kind of working-class poem, a collage of British life with all the glamor scratched off. This is why I love the Kinks, the Who, and other bands that deal with everyday life. I would include Squeeze in there as well. 

They formed in 1973 and released their first album in 1977. Their members included guitarist Paul Weller, bassist Bruce Foxton, and drummer Rick Butler. Paul Weller is the best known out of the band, but they were all great musicians. Being a bass player…I’ve noticed a lot of Foxton’s bass playing is terrific.

The song was released in 1981 and peaked at #21 on the UK Charts and #34 in New Zealand. The song was on the album Sound Affects, which peaked at #2 on the UK Charts, #72 on the Billboard 200, #39 in Canada, and #2 in New Zealand. 

Paul Weller: “It was just everything that was around me y’know. My little flat in Pimlico did have damp on the walls and it was f–king freezing. I was doing a fanzine called December Child and Paul Drew wrote a poem called ‘That’s Entertainment.’ It wasn’t close to my song, but it kind of inspired me to write this anyway. I wrote to him saying, Look is it all right if I nick a bit of your idea, man? And he said, It’s fine, yeah.”

Thats Entertainment

A police car and a screaming sirenA pneumatic drill and ripped up concreteA baby wailing and stray dog howlingThe screech of brakes and lamp light blinking

That’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

A smash of glass and a rumble of bootsAn electric train and a ripped up phone boothPaint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcatLights going out and a kick in the balls

I say, that’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

Days of speed and slow time MondaysPissing down with rain on a boring WednesdayWatching the news and not eating your teaA freezing cold flat and damp on the walls

I say that’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morningOpening the windows and breathing in petrolAn amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yardWatching the telly and thinking about your holidays

That’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettesCuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfumeA hot summer’s day and sticky black tarmacFeeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

That’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnightTwo lovers missing the tranquility of solitudeGetting a cab and travelling on busesReading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs

I say that’s entertainmentThat’s entertainment

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

42 thoughts on “Jam – That’s Entertainment ”

  1. my favorite Jam song. I like what you said about them being “too British”. that fits for them… not that I mind. I too miss the days of hunting for records in dusty bins ( still do ). Now everyone has the same access. the mystery is gone

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    1. Oh I do miss those days as well. You appreciated it much more than buying one off of ebay or listening to Spotify.

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  3. Pingback: Jam – That’s Entertainment  – MobsterTiger

      2. Yea….that is one of the reasons they didn’t make it over here. Great band though. You cannot be too British for me.

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  8. Good song & good piece of urban poetry. As you said Foxton was (hopefully still is) a superb bassist. Good comparison to Squeeze – they are a bit cheerier and humorous at times, but both write about ordinary British lives and had the knack for a catchy tune

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    1. I thought you covered this before and I searched and I was going to link you….but I didn’t find it.
      I hear a lot of Ray Davies in this as well.

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      3. Yes, the drummer went on to play briefly in a band called ‘Time UK’ before joining up (again briefly) with Foxton’s band; ‘Sharp’. Buckler then went into management and ran a recording studio. Finally he left the music scene altogether and went into carpentry.

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  10. this is a genre or sub genre or an act I’m told I have to listen to and have to like, but much like the American band Death Cab for Cutie….I’m told ‘oh you have to hear this’…..I’m just not a fan. I’ve tried.

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    1. Hey…I have bands like that as well. No matter how hard I try it doesn’t connect. In the 80s there were alot…Duran Duran, Madonna, and the list goes on…I just could not see what other people did.

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  12. Never really listened to them. Actually heard more of The Style Council stuff. Something I find interesting: this song was released in 1981 and so was The Kinks’ Give The People What They Want, which contains the song “Art Lover”. Both songs have a line about feeding the ducks in the park. Coincidence?

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  13. I don’t know the band that well. Probably more aware of Weller and his influence than anything. I can definitely get that gritty Kinks vibe here. Only the Brits, Scotts and Irish can write from that kind of life experience.

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  14. This is my fave Jam song too. Very grey dour outlook. At that time Bitc- ahem, Baroness Thatcher was gleefully grinding the soul out of her ‘subjects’ and the future wasn’t looking overly bright for your average working class lad or lass. (or ‘oiks’ as Maggie might say.)

    I’m amazed it was only in the upper reaches of the charts here. I heard it a lot at the time.

    What a perfectly downbeat line is ‘feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away.’

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    1. I only heard it with my friend’s brother’s secret stash of his brothers. They were like illegal contraband. None of my other regular friends heard of any of this stuff.
      It really feels like Ray Davies…not to say Weller copied him no…but he got his spirit…and Petes.

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      2. It did for me. Reading those Beatle books came in handy… I understood the accents and most of the sayings. I never understood that Too British thing. It’s not that hard people!

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  15. Hi all, a Brit music obsessed Jam fan here. Really interesting reading the thoughts from you all ‘over the pond’. I was a spotty teenager growing up as The Jam ruled the UK charts – their last 3 singles reaching no.1 and then the announcement they were splitting up! It was huge at the time, this wasn’t a niche punk band, this was mainstream domination of the UK music charts. Great stuff – I could talk all day about the Jam…..if you want some Jam songs that are more generic and less ‘English’, check out some of Wellers Jam ballads Iike ‘The Buttterfly Collector’ and ‘English Rose’…..and in response to the suggestion Weller ‘borrowed’ lyrical lines etc from other bands – yes, he is a bit of a magpie of songwriting, you can find it everywhere in his songwirting……P.s…I actually came here looking for the chance to get my new song ‘Mirror’ reviewed on this site, but have been stuck here reading the wonderful posts and comments! If anyone is interested in hearing some modern Jam influenced powerpop, check out the new release ‘SEA’ EP at http://www.willecho.com, or if anyone knows how I contact the owner, please say. This looks like a blatent ‘drop your new song into a thread’, but honestly, it is all relevant, my co-writer and musical partner has shared a stage with Paul Weller and backed The Who on a past sellout stadium tour……Going back to The Jam and thier influences, you may already know this, but lots of references to The Kinks, The Jam released a Kinks song ‘David Watts’ as a double A side single with ‘A bomb in Wardour Street’. And Weller was a big fan of the ‘American sound’ check out ‘Town Called Mallice for the big motown bass line…..could go on all day….love them 🙂

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  16. Anothere interesting fact about ‘That’s Entertainment’ which I can’t remember reading in this post……Don’t know if this is fact or folklore, but it is believed Weller was never happy with the final recording of ‘That’s Entertainment’ and the official release…….and insisted on having the demo version of the song appearing on The Jam’s greatest hits double album ‘SNAP’ – either way, fact or fiction, definitely check out both versions – the released single/Sound Affects and the ‘Snap’ version.

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  17. Another act I remember from reading about in Creem. You can see by there chart positions here in N.A they just couldn’t get over that hump.

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