the jam:

Starting a mod revival

• While punk music was taking over Britain in the 70’s• Most bands were scruffy looking, dirty and addicted to drugs• The Jam played punk music but contrasted with bands like the Sex Pistols

in the way that they presented their selves• They started a ‘mod revival’ in a time where everyone else was trying to

get rid of the 60’s• (Like the Sex Pistols) they got young people thinking about politics – and

in a way that nobody had before

WHAT’S IT all about?

• WHY did The Jam take off so quickly?• WHAT made them different from other bands?

Angle

Interest for the story:

Hard time for working class Britain under the reign of Margaret Thatcher’s tory government. We are facing a similar situation today.Internet:

The jam.org.uk Thejamfan.net Wikipedia.org/thejamProgrammes related to your idea:

BBC 6 Music Jam BiographyBooks/magazines:

“Boy About Town” by Tony Fletcher, “People you have talked to:

Original Jam fans, Paul Weller support band.

RESEARCH

Begins with vox pops with people talking about the influence/effect that The Jam have had on them

Male presenter gives a brief background of the band

Introduce the question “What made them so big so quick?”

Interview 1: Female Jam fan from the early days gives her say

With this new information in mind, presenter develops idea and introduces interview 2

Interview 2: Member of Jam tribute band

Presenter develops question

Interview 3: Biographer of The Jam and Paul Weller

Presenter summarises (with montaged cuts of interviews)

Story Arc

• Informative, medium paced

STYLE

1. Long time Jam fan: - Gives a personal and passionate account on The Jam’s story

2. Member of The Jam tribute band: - Gives a different angle from the ordinary, non-musical fan. Can also give a more technical insight and help us understand (for example) the complexity of the music

3. Writer of the Jam and Paul Weller: - Knows more about the band’s background and is a more professional voice than the other two

interviews

BBC 6 Music

Radio station

• 25 – 50

• Likely to be aimed more towards men

• Working class – middle class

• Laidback language with common British colloquialisms but not overly informal

• ‘Laddish’, ‘football terrace attitude. Aimed towards those who were (probably) teenagers at the time when The Jam were breaking through

Target Audience

• Hits from the Jam’s debut album In The City• Possibly 1 clip from each of Led Zeppelin and/or The

Sex Pistols when comparing the Jam to other rock-based artists of the time

Music

• Variety of interviews• Music and effects• Presenter led• Location recordings• Rich vocabulary

How will you keep the listener interested?

• Iggy Pop biography on BBC 6 Music

(Sunday afternoon, Feb 2014)

• Small Faces documentary on Radio 2

(Thursday evening, Dec 2013)

Influential radio shows

Iggy Pop bio: So well researched and the presenter was very passionate about the subject. Used her own bootleg recordings from gigs she had been to.

Small Faces doc: Unusually relaxed for a documentary – made for comfortable listening. Presenter had a laidback chat with the guests while they both admired the music and the memories.

Why were they impressive?

Use colloquial language that British people will understand. Aim to make Jam fans feel at ease.

Provoke memories by having guests/ vox pops tell little stories.

Play live clips as opposed to just studio recordings.

Explain how the ‘mod’ and ‘punk’ scenes made a massive impact on 70’s music

How will I emulate these techniques?

Magazine program: Music and Culture

Talk about the type of culture that The Jam came from, the new music and culture that was taking off, and the ‘revived’ mod culture that they brought with them in the way that they dressed and conducted themselves. (And also their attitudes towards the music scene at the time.)

Relative to magazine