10 Greatest Final Rock Albums Of The 1980s
5. The Gift - The Jam
If you've ever been to a wedding or a birthday party for a relative who was alive in the 80s, then chances are you've had a drunken boogie to the song Town Called Malice by The Jam.
It's often used by DJs to segue between playing newer music and the older stuff, true fact.
As well as being a dancefloor filler, Town Called Malice also served as the first single from The Jam's final album, 1982's The Gift. It's actually got a much deeper meaning than you might think, as it's about the crumbling of working class traditions under the rule of Margaret Thatcher's government.
Think about that next time you're spinning your auntie around on the dancefloor.
Making socio-political issues more digestible through music was what The Jam did best and this album is full of them. The Gift also saw the band spread their musical wings and experiment a little, which, unfortunately, led to a split between lead singer Paul Weller and the other members, eventually resulting in their split later that year.
Disco DJs around the country would say that was a sacrifice worth making.