"Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by the English rock bandthe Jam from their sixth and final studio albumThe Gift. It debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart in February 1982.[8][9]
The title is inspired by the 1950Nevil Shute novelA Town Like Alice, althoughPaul Weller said in 2012 that he had not read the book at the time.[10] "Town Called Malice" was released as adouble A-side single along with "Precious". A 12" version was also available with a live version of "Town Called Malice" backed by an extended version of "Precious".
Weller has said that "Town Called Malice" was written about his hometown ofWoking, inspired by his working-class upbringing there and desire to leave.[11][12] TheIrish Independent described the song, like the band's 1980 single "Going Underground", as a "class-war tirade set to apost-punknorthern soul groove".[2] Greg Freeman ofThe Guardian described it as featuring a "stomping,Motown-inspired beat" conveying a "sense of pent-up rage and frustrated ambition".[13]
Released as the first single from the album on 29 January 1982, it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and stayed at there for three weeks,[7] preventing "Golden Brown" bythe Stranglers from reaching the top spot.EMI, the Stranglers' label, objected to the sales of both versions of "Town Called Malice" being aggregated, arguing that Jam fans were buying both and thus preventing "Golden Brown" from reaching number one.[6]
"Town Called Malice" was the Jam's third number-one single in the UK. According to theOfficial Charts Company it was the 10th best-selling single of 1982 in the UK.[14] It was the band's sole entry on any mainstream American chart when it hit No. 31 on theMainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1982.[15][16] The song was ranked among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1982 byNME.[17]
^Gerard, Chris (15 April 2024)."The 100 Best Alternative Songs of the 1980s".PopMatters. Retrieved25 December 2024.The Jam are tight as nails on "Town Called Malice", a soulful rocker built around Bruce Foxton's thumping Motown-inspired bass...
^abcRice, Jo (1982).The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 221–2.ISBN0-85112-250-7.
