Going Underground

"Going Underground" and "Dreams of Children" were both recorded on 16 January 1980 at Townhouse Studios in London with Vic Coppersmith-Heaven producing.{{Sfn|Hewitt|1997|loc=CD 3 tray insert}} The lyrics have been described as having a "Shakespearian sentiment" as they "beckon the masses to recognise their collective power against the rise of the hierarchy".{{Cite web |last=Lyng |first=Eoghan |date=28 February 2022 |title=The Story Behind The Song: The Jam damn the British government with ‘Going Underground’ |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-story-behind-the-jam-song-going-underground/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228130928/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-story-behind-the-jam-song-going-underground/ |archive-date=28 February 2022 |access-date=28 June 2024 |website=Far Out}} Weller specifically offers a sharp condemnation of Margaret Thatcher's recently elected Conservative government, the voter apathy that led her to power, and the military–industrial complex with the song.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/song-of-the-year-1980-going-underground-by-the-jam-t20s7n3vmlc|title=Song of the year: 1980 Going Underground by The Jam|last=Cairns|first=Dan|date=2008-09-14|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=2019-11-15|language=en|issn=0956-1382}} According to critic Eoghan Lyng, Weller's guitar and Bruce Foxton's bass work on the track were "pleasantly reminiscent" of the Beatles song "And Your Bird Can Sing" from the album Revolver (1966), which the follow-up single "Start!" would also take ideas from.

"Going Underground" was not released on any of the band's six studio albums, although it has appeared on many compilations since the 1980s, as well as reissues of Setting Sons. The song was released as a double A-side with "Dreams of Children", which originally had been intended to be the sole A-side;The Very Best of The Jam sleeve notes (p. 11), 1997 following a mix-up at the pressing plant, the single became a double A-side, and DJs tended to choose the more melodic "Going Underground" to play on the radio.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2r6R374swwC&pg=PA103|page=103|author=David Lines|title=The Modfather: My Life with Paul Weller|publisher=Random House|date= 31 March 2012|isbn=9781448149100}}

"Going Underground" became the Jam's first UK number-one single and one of the top-selling releases of their career. At the time the single reached number one, the band were touring in the US, where they had long struggled commercially. Foxton recalled: "The record company called us up and told us we'd gone in at Number One. We said, 'Well, what are we doing here then?' We jumped on the plane and went home to where people did want to hear us. We flew back on Concorde and recorded Top of the Pops."{{Cite web |last=Chamberlain |first=Rich |title=Bruce Foxton of The Jam's 11 career-defining songs: "Start isn't exactly the same as Taxman... otherwise I'm sure Paul McCartney would have thought about suing us!" |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/bruce-foxton-of-the-jams-11-career-defining-songs-start-isnt-exactly-the-same-as-taxman-otherwise-im-sure-paul-mccartney-would-have-thought-about-suing-us |website=MusicRadar|date=14 March 2023 }}

"Going Underground" was the 15th best-selling single in the UK in 1980.{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-50-best-selling-songs-of-1980__32562/ |title=The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1980 |publisher=Official Charts |date=26 February 2021 }} The song was ranked at number 2 among the "Tracks of the Year" for 1980 by NME.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1980-2-1045402 |title=Albums and Tracks of the Year |date=2016 |publisher=NME |access-date=30 October 2016 }}

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"Going Underground" was coupled with "Dreams of Children" as a double A-side. It opens and is intermittently accentuated with a backmasked sample of the band's 1979 song "Thick as Thieves". In the US the backwards intro was edited out making the single 10 seconds shorter than the UK Version. This US edit is available on the best-of compilation Snap!.

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Jam|title=Going Underground|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2023|id=2570-2171-1|access-date=13 January 2023}}

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The song was covered by Buffalo Tom for the 1999 Jam tribute album Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam. This version also was released as part of a double A-side single with Liam Gallagher's and Steve Cradock's version of "Carnation" and reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.{{cite encyclopedia|author=Nick Edwards|editor=Peter Buckley|encyclopedia=The Rough Guide to Rock|title=Buffalo Tom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PT155|access-date=24 February 2015|edition=3rd|date=October 2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781843531050|pages=147–148}}

Manfred Mann's Earth Band recorded their version of the song for the album Criminal Tango in 1986.

The song was covered by Amateur Transplants in 2005 with alternative lyrics about the London Underground.

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{{Cite AV media |url= |title=Direction, Reaction, Creation |date=1997 |last=Hewitt|first=Paolo|type=CD |publisher=Polydor |place=United Kingdom|id=537143-2}}

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Category:1979 songs

Category:1980 singles

Category:The Jam songs

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Songs written by Paul Weller

Category:Political songs

Category:Protest songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven

Category:Polydor Records singles

Category:British hard rock songs

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles