Beat Surrender
| "Beat Surrender" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Error creating thumbnail: File missing | ||||
| Single by The Jam | ||||
| from the album Snap! | ||||
| B-side | "Shopping" | |||
| Released | 22 November 1982 | |||
| Genre | Post-punk[1] | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | Polydor (UK)[2] | |||
| Songwriter | Paul Weller[2] | |||
| Producer | Peter Wilson[2] | |||
| The Jam singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Beat Surrender" was the Jam's final single, and was released on 22 November 1982. It became the band's fourth and last No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1982.[3]
Title
[edit | edit source]The song's title was a play on words combining the title of the 1979 Anita Ward disco single "Sweet Surrender", with the British traditional military term of "Beating Retreat", signalling a withdrawal.[4]
Background
[edit | edit source]Paul Weller wrote the song to mark the end of the group, which he disbanded shortly after the single's release. "I wanted it to be a statement, a final clarion call saying: Right, we're stopping, you take it on from here."[4]
For bassist Bruce Foxton, the single's commercial success made the breakup more discouraging: "That was our fourth Number One. It was very emotional for myself and I can't talk for Rick [Buckler] but I’d imagine... he didn't want the band to split up. We were thinking 'Why are we going to split up?' We were Number One in the single and album chart at the time. I've only just got over it!"[5]
Release format
[edit | edit source]The 7" was backed by the B-side "Shopping". A double 7" and 12" single version was available with additional studio cover versions of The Chi-Lites' "Stoned Out of My Mind", Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up", and Edwin Starr's "War".[2]
"Beat Surrender" was not included on any of the band's six studio albums. In the U.S., it appeared on the five-track EP, Beat Surrender (Polydor 810751), which peaked at No. 171 on the Billboard 200 album chart in April 1983.[6][7]
Cover art
[edit | edit source]The sleeve for the single, including the 12" and the double single pack, featured Gill Price, Weller's girlfriend at the time.
Performances
[edit | edit source]"Beat Surrender" was previewed live on the first episode of The Tube, on 5 November 1982.[8]
Musicians
[edit | edit source]- Paul Weller – guitar, lead vocals
- Bruce Foxton – bass, backing vocals
- Rick Buckler – drums
- Tracie Young – backing vocals
- Peter Wilson – piano
- Martin Drover – trumpet
- Paul Cosh – trumpet
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Jeffries, Vincent. The Jam - The Very Best of the Jam (1997) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Interview with Paul Weller, Mojo, June 2015
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
External links
[edit | edit source]Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).