10 Dark Backstories To Otherwise Cheery Songs

9. The Jam - Town Called Malice

Released: 29 January 1982

Released in the same year as their breakup, Town Called Malice was one of the last singles they released and also one of their most successful, staying at number one for three weeks in a row. The song features one of the most iconic bass lines ever recorded, paired with a tambourine and an ever present keyboard played alongside. So, fairly standard for an 80s pop song.

Yet on further inspection of Town Called Malice, it is revealed that the song is in fact a cynical look at growing up in an English working class background. Weller's lyrics juxtapose the cheery musical side, especially in the line "To either cut down on beer or the kids new gear, it's a big decision in a town called malice" highlighting the choices that had to be made when living on a low income and questioning the morality of people as they put their own happiness before the essentials when living in those circumstances.