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The Story Behind The Song: The Jam’s masterpiece ‘That’s Entertainment’
The article examines how The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ became a defining song of British punk and new wave. Written by Paul Weller for the 1980 album *Sound Affects*, it portrays a bleak, everyday London through restrained acoustic instrumentation rather than the band’s usual electric intensity, giving its social observations particular force.
Weller reportedly wrote the song in about ten minutes after a night at the pub, drawing on images around him and his disillusionment with the capital. Although The Jam did not initially release it as a UK single, a German single became a major UK import after ‘Start’ reached number one; the article also notes that Weller said Paul Drew’s poem ‘Entertainment’ inspired its central idea, with Drew’s permission.
In short
- A sparse 1980 song captured bleak everyday life in London.
- Weller said he wrote it in around ten minutes.
- Its German single became a hugely popular UK import.
Explained simply
"That's Entertainment" is a song by British band The Jam from their 1980 album Sound Affects. It differs from much of their other work by using restrained acoustic instrumentation instead of their typical electric sound, employing this simpler style to convey observations about bleak, everyday London life.
Paul Weller, the band's frontman and songwriter, wrote the song in roughly ten minutes following a night at a pub. He drew inspiration from his surroundings and his disillusionment with the capital, and he has said that a poem titled 'Entertainment' by Paul Drew also influenced the song's central concept.
Although The Jam did not initially release the song as a UK single, it became widely known in Britain after a German single was released and imported into the country. The song has since become recognised as one of the band's most significant works and an important part of British punk and new wave music.