No 1! No 4, 28th May 1983

Page 1 ·  Pages 2 & 3 ·  Page 5 ·  Pages 6 & 7 ·  Pages 24 & 25 ·  Page 27 ·  Pages 38 & 39 ·  Pages 40 & 41 ·  Page 43 ·  Page 47

 

Back to top	Front Cover   Features Spandau Ballet (main photo).   Other features - Big Country, Imagination, Haysi Fantayzee, JoBoxers, Orange Juice, Heaven 17, Musical Youth (all in colour).   Cover photo by Chalkie Davis/Carol Starr
Back to top	Pages 2 & 3   SPECIALS   The Jam A Beat Concerto - part four of our abbreviated version of their official biography 38   SO WHAT'S NEXT? What's next?! How the hell should we know! OK, here's a few hints.   The Jam - BEAT SURRENDER - The final episode of No.1's exclusive serialisation.
Back to top	Page 5   NEWS   BOWIE ADDS BEAT The beat, riding high in the charts with 'Can't Get Used To Losing You', are rumoured to be joining David Bowie for his Milton Keynes concerts on July 1, 2 and 3.   News too of a row within the Bowie camp which resulted in the departure of young Texan guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn, who played on 'Let's Dance'.   Steve was apparently unhappy with his contract - 200 dollars per show - and tried to re-negotiate it.   Bowi promptly signed up guitarist Earl Slick, who has worked with him many times before.   Meanwhile, Bowie's new 'China Girl' video can be seen on The Old Grey Whistle Test on May 27 and 31.   Photo: Bowie in controversial 'long fingernail' scene from the new video.   TUBE TAKES OVER! The Tube makes TV history on June 24 when the programme takes over the Channel 4 airwaves for the night.   Titled A Midsummer Night Tube, the show will be tansmitted live from 8pm to 1am. Guest bands will include Shalamar, Wham, King Sunny Ade and his 20-piece African band, Robert Plant and The Truth.   Celebrities rumoured to be putting in an appearance are Spandau Ballet and The Police, and on film will be those home-loving types Duran Duran relaxing in downtown South of France.   Also featured is a major interview with David Bowie, U2 playing live in America, Robert Palmer, Marillion at the Marquee and The Tubes.   It promises to be a great night, and we at No. 1 have lined up a special competition to celebrate the occasion. Find out how to win an all-expenses paid night out with the stars in next week's issue...
Back to top	Pages 6 & 7   Tours & Records   The Cocteau Twins, who are rapidly building up a cult following, fly back from touring with Orchestral Manoeuvres to do a date at the Brixton Ace on June 8. Support Acts will be Gene Loves Jezebel and four-peice Melbourne band Dead Can Dance   The Armoury Show, the new group featuring ex-Skids Richard Jobson is to go on the road next month. Dates are: Edinburgh Nite-club June 8, Glasgow Nightmoves 9, Aberdeen The Venue 10, Dundee Marriot Hall 11, Sheffield The Leadmill 12, London Heaven 13.   Recent signings to Arista The Lotus Eaters release their debut single 'The First Picture Of You' on June 1.
Back to top	Pages 24 & 25   Poster of Big Country   Big Country centre-spread poster by Chalkie Davis/Carol Starr
Back to top	Page 27   SONG LYRICS   Spear Of Destiny The Wheel   Lullaby from heaven as the wheel goes round Echoes from your future as the wheel goes round There's love inside the circus There's fun on the carousel   There's magic inside the melody There's laughter with clowns As the wheel goes round As the wheel goes round   Words and music Kirk Brandon Reproduced by kind permission Chrysalis Music Ltd © 1983 On Epic Records   Spear Of Destiny - The Wheel (1983), uploaded by Friday Night in the Video Room
Back to top	Page 38   EXCLUSIVE THEIR OWN STORY   The Jam - A BEAT CONCERTO By Paolo Hewitt   It's 1978 and The Jam's fortunes are at rock bottom. Neither they nor their fans are satisfied with the 'Modern World' LP. While audiences in both the UK and USA turn their backs on The Jam, Paul Weller's songwriting has dried up. In love for the first time, bored with the group, he's at a crisis. Desperately trying to regain inspiration, he moves back into his parents' home in Woking...   PART FOUR THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT With even his own group starting to doubt his ability, it was clearly make or break time for Paul Weller.   But the move back to Woking, coupled with the precarious position of The Jam, finally pushed him into concentrating his talents more fully.   Somehow it brought him out of his shell both musically and personally. Where previously he had become arrogant to hide his growing disinterest, he now emerged with a clear perspective, determined to prove that he wasn't washed up.   Weller, with his back against the wall, responded by producing a batch of songs that were quite easily the best of his career till then.   The Jam embarked on recording their all-important third album. "We got a couple of songs going," recalls Bruce Foxton, "and we really did realise that it was happening again. It was a good feeling recording 'All Mod Cons', because it was a vital, really important time - a shit or bust sort of album.   "We wanted to prove that we didn't want to be written off with 'Modern World', so it was one of the most exciting, challenging sessions we've done.   Two singles preceded 'All Mod Cons'. August 8, 1978, saw the release of 'David Watts', a sparkling cover version of a Kinks song, coupled with 'A-Bomb In Wardour Street', a terse number which showed Weller recapturing some of his old talent. It reached 25 in the charts and was immediately followed by 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight'.   If 'A-Bomb' had shown Weller back on the track, 'Tube Station' confirmed beyond all doubt his ability.   The story of a man viciously attacked in the underground, it was on this song that Paul Weller really came into his won. He was to use its basic ingredients for the next year and a half, creating characters and painting vivid, detailed portraits of them over some great pop music.   "A lot of my songs start off as visual ideas," he explains, "I see the songs as little films in my head. They're not all essentially about me. Some, I use characters in situations, and 'Tube Station' is one of those.   "The original idea was to try and write a short TV play, only in a three minute music context. I wrote the lyrics really quickly.   "At first they were written as a short story. I later split them into lines and chopped bits out here and there.   "It's always amused me how the songs most people think of as my best were written so quickly."   'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' was released on October 6, 1978, and reached an encouraging 15 in the charts. The week after it came out, 'All Mod Cons' was released.   The Jam's renaissance had begun. Bristling with talent and imagination, 'All Mod Cons' stands as one of the premier LPs of the late '70s. The music is uplifting and forceful, the words colourful and dramatic, as Paul Weller finally imbues The Jam with their own distinctive sound and style. Things could only get better from here.   The string of titles that followed speaks for itself: 'Strange Town', 'When You're Young', 'The Eton Rifles', the acclaimed 'Setting Sons' LP...   By now, The Jam's following verged on the fanatical - a fact brought dramatically to life with the release of their tenth single on March 7, 1981.   'Going Underground' entered the charts at No. 1 on its first week of release. Now, the obvious question was: how do you follow that? The adage that once you're at the top the only way is down never seemed more appropriate for The Jam.   "I was really worried after that," Weller admits. "I see so many people who get number one records and then get screwed up. One hit wonders.   "I was scared we'd just slip up like that - which didn't happen because the band had such a strong following."   The band certainly had enough time to contemplate their next move. Always preferring the stage to either a studio or sitting idly at home, their touring was extensive as they made progress in America and even added Japan to their growing list.   The constant waiting around in airports, hotels and dressing rooms gave Weller, as the songwriter, enough time to start sorting out new ideas.   The only problem, if it can be called that, was the amount of alcohol the band were now consuming. Before each gig, Paul would regularly imbibe vodka or beer as a confidence booster, using it to calm his nerves.   "It wasn't alcoholic proportions, but I used to get regularly pissed,"   Page 39   GENERATION GAP   A month before the release of 'Sound Affects', Paul Weller finally met Pete Townshend.   As leader of The Who, Townshend had always been seen as Weller's major influence. It was hearing The Who's classic 'My Generation' that first directed Weller towards his obsession with mod style. And in The Jam's early days Weller adopted many of Townshend's mannerisms — the windmill arm movements, the leaps across the stage, the crashing guitar chords and feedback.   There had been previous attempts to meet.   On Weller's 19th birthday two NME journalists, Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill, had driven him down to Townshend's Twickenham home, only to find the Who guitarist out. They left him a copy of The Jam's debut LP and left.   But three years later, when they did eventually meet at a specially arranged interview for Melody Maker, they discovered they had little in common.   Townshend didn't like The Jam nor Paul The Who. They differed enormously over America, and clashed on politics.   Pete Townshend's final conclusion was that Weller was "a tougher nut than I ever was".   Photo: Paul Weller and Pete Townshend—a historic meeting outside London's Marquee Club. Note the up-and-coming act appearing that night (U2). Photo: Janette Beckman   CONTINUED... Weller admits. "On the early tours I would never drink before I went onstage, but I really started to enjoy things when 'Mod Cons' was out, touring especially, so I started drinking again."   Hangovers amongst the group were commonplace, and on some occasions they even suffered further physical side-effects. One time in France, for instance, Paul's stomach swelled up abnormally.   "My gut just came up like a hard boiled egg. You could actually ping it. So the doctor said to me no more beer for two weeks.   "Two weeks went by, stomach went down, and I was back on the booze."   Eventually something had to give.   One night after a show at London's Hammersmith Odeon, Rick Buckler and a tour manager called Dickie Bell sat down and consumed 34 bottles of wine between them.   Rick has a weak heart, and by the time the tour got to its next stop in Jersey, most people with the group felt that he was actually close to death. Pale and fragile, for a time it was touch and go.   The experience hit home hard. Rick stopped drinking completely.     This dependence on alcohol in order to relax undoubtedly had its roots in the enormous pressure that now rested on The Jam's shoulders. The Jam - Weller especially - were pop stars to many, idols to thousands.   All of them stressed constantly that idolatry was not what they wanted. In interviews Weller would always disown any suggestion that he was a 'spokesman' or 'leader' for youth.   "Some of it gets to be a little like adulation," he states, "but at the same time a lot of them are such nice people as well.   "If you want to keep as sane as possible you've got to try and remove yourself. See how crazy it is and let it just wash over you a little bit.   "I also find it really funny because it's like living out a cliche."   What wasn't amusing was when over-zealous fans interfered in the group's personal lives.   "I used to live in this one flat in Pimlico," Weller remembers, "which was more or less opposite a school - which was a dopey move to make. Most of the kids round there knew where I lived and really used to crack me up.   "I used to get people hanging around outside the windows at night and have to crawl around the room on all fours. It was horrible.   "And then people managed to get in the front door and knock on my flat door, all this sort of thing, and it really used to freak me out."   For Bruce and Rick the adulation was less intense, but still a pressure.   "I've never taken the attitude that I was a famous person," Rick says. "l still get shocked when people come up and say, oh you're so-and-so out of The Jam.   "It never really went to our heads. None of us started wearing glitter clothes and all that sort of caper.     "In fact, Weller had already taken advantage of the songwriting   CONTINUES OVER
Back to top	Page 40   CONTINUED... royalties he was receiving arid set up Riot Stories, his own publishing company.   The first book to appear was Notes From Hostile Street, a collection of poems written by his old school friend and former member of The Jam, Dave Waller.   Tragically, Dave Waller was never to write a second book. In 1982 he died from a drug overdose in Woking's Wheatsheaf Hotel, one of the pubs he and Paul used to visit as teenagers. "It didn't really shock me at all," Paul says about Waller's death. "It was bound to happen at some point anyway. We used to try and dissuade him from using drugs, but I think he had a bit of self-destruct in him. For some people, living is really painful, and I think Dave was a bit like that."     An incident on a plane showed how tensions could run high. Flying into Los Angeles, Bruce and Rick fell out over a petty argument about a glass of vodka and went for each other's throat, throwing punches before they were pulled apart.   Foxton in particular seemed to feel the pressures of constant touring, and was prone to erupt.   These small outbursts on Bruce's behalf may have stemmed from his natural insecurity, a small part of his overall make-up that Weller had already noticed.   "I think he's insecure," says Paul, " Like something would worry him and he'd just keep on and on about it. It would get everyone down a little bit, so arguments started that way.   We haven't spoken about it before, but I think that's why he didn't pack his job in till the last moment, and he was always a bit apprehensive about changing his style, stop wearing flares and get his hair cut.   "I always thought it was a bit funny, but I also thought it a bit silly, especially now, because he has established himself as one of the top bassists anyway. It's just in his character, I suppose."   Where Rick or Paul managed to keep their emotions under check while touring, Bruce's reactions would manifest themselves outwardly. Sometimes there would be tantrums.   Bruce said he wanted to go home in Canada," recalls tour manager Ken Wheeler. "I went up to his room and his case and everything had gone. I panicked and ran all over the hotel looking for him. He was calmly sitting eating breakfast!"     By the time the group finally did arrive home, the ideas for their fifth album, 'Sound Affects', were already forming in Weller's active mind. Again he was working best with his back against the wall, the pressure on him to deliver yet another batch of songs.   Consequently he was writing in the studio or penning songs furiously at his London flat, 'That's Entertainment', for example, came about after a night on the booze.   "I wrote that, " Weller reveals, "after coming back from the pub drunk with beery euphoria, I wrote seven verses, then I cut one of them the next day. The whole thing took about ten minutes because the words just rolled off my pen.   "I get moments ike that when I just write reams and reams of stuff. songs, poems, thoughts in general. Most of it is crap, but I feel cleaned out after it and fresh.   "The tune to 'That's Entertainment' I got later. It's a very simple tune that doesn't hide the lyrics."   Three months before the release of the LP, The Jam's follow-up to 'Going Underground' was released. One of only eight singles to have also appeared on an album, 'Start!' entered the charts at number three, and two weeks later became their second number one - confirmation of the dominant position they now occupied.   The 'Sound Affects' album itself rose rapidly to two in the charts - and a measure of the high esteem in which The Jam were now held came with the sales of 'That's Entertainment'. Although not officially released in the UK, it reached 21 in the British charts after it was issued as a single in Germany and imported into this country.   Meanwhile, in the prestigious NME Readers' Poll the group easily swept the board.     The group's worries about the success of 'Underground' and the effect it might have had on The Jam had proved unfounded. Up until their triumphant demise, there wouldn't be a pop group in Britain to touch them.     This series is condensed from The Jam. A Beat Concerto by Paolo Hewitt, copyright Riot Stories 1983. The pictures used with the serialisation may not necessarily appear in the book.   NEXT WEEK: THE JAM BREAKUP - THE TRUE STORY   THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT A police car and a screaming siren Pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete A baby Wailing and stray dog howling The screech of brakes and lamplight blinking That's entertainment That's entertainment   A smash of glass and the rumble of boots An electric train and a ripped up phone booth Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat Light's going out and a kick in the balls I say That's entertainment That's entertainment   Days of speed and slow time Mondays Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday Watching the news and not eating your tea A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls I say That's entertainment That's entertainment   Waking up at 6am on a cool warm morning Opening the windows and breathing in petrol An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays That's entertainment That's entertainment   Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were faraway That's entertainment That's entertainment   Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude Getting a cab and travelling on buses Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs I say That's entertainment That's entertainment   Words and music Paul Weller Reproduced by kind permission And Son Music Ltd On Polydor Records © 1980   The Jam - That's Entertainment (Official Video), uploaded by TheJamEVEO   Page 41   MARILLION Marquee, London So many fans realised that the 'Skyline Drifters' were truly Marillion that this 'secret gig' was an astounding success. The sellout crowd went absolutely crazy and everybody loved them. Everybody, that is, except me. While the throng of bearded intellectuals were dancing about the floor making exhibitions of themselves, I was involved in a far more interesting task - counting the bulbs in the bank of lights above the band. This was a shame as the show started so well. 'He Knows You Know' sounded far better than on vinyl, but gradually one epic number blended into another and another - leaving me convinced that Marillion were playing a two hour song with little gaps in between. Marillion may be superb at what they do and I was clearly a minority of one at the Marquee, but next time go to see them I think I'll take a camp bed and sleeping bag. David Ling   Marillion - First show with Andy Ward - Live Marquee - 12/5/1983, uploaded by Marillion - The Fish Era
Back to top	Page 43   Contents   News - The Beat for Bowie gig 5 Colour - Big Country 24, The Jam 39 Songs - Spear Of Destiny The Wheel 27 Charts - UK Singles 47   Big Country centre-spread poster by Chalkie Davis/Carol Starr
Back to top	Page 47   Week ending May 28, 1983   UK Singles 31, 14, 10, 1, Let's Dance, David Bowie (EMI) 48, -, 1, 48, In A Big Country, Big Country (Phonogram) 54, -, -, -, The Wheel, Spear of Destiny, (CBS) (This week / last week / weeks in chart / highest)   Big Country - In A Big Country (Official Video), uploaded by Big Country   UK Albums 4, 2, 6, 1, Let's Dance, David Bowie (EMI) 21, 13, 3, 13, Chimera, Bill Nelson, (Mercury) 35, 26, 12, 3, War, U2, Island 38, 41, 3, 38, Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie (EMI) 48, 42, 9, 4, Script For A Jester's Tear, Marillion, (EMI) 57, -, -, -, Hunk Dory, David Bowie (EMI) 58, -, -, -, Man Who Sold The World, David Bowie (EMI) 59, -, -, -, Aladdin Sane, David Bowie (EMI) 64, -, -, -, Pin Ups, David Bowie (EMI) (This week / last week / weeks in chart / highest)   Charts compiled by New Musical Express

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