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Cover of The Gift by The Jam
Cover: The Gift

Song · The Jam

“Town Called Malice” by The Jam

From the album The Gift (1982)

“Town Called Malice” by The Jam appears on 62 radio countdowns from 20 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1982 on the album The Gift. Its best result is #7 on the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 1982, #232 alternative song of all time and #224 of the '80s.

62countdowns
20stations
#7best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1982–2026years charted

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The Jam - Town Called Malice

Video from YouTube (TheJamVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Town Called Malice" came off The Gift in 1982, the sixth and last studio album the Jam ever made, and it went straight in at number one in Britain that February. Paul Weller wrote it, the band produced it with Peter Wilson, and it sounds like someone who's been spinning Motown and northern soul records all night: a stomping beat, a bass line that struts down the high street, and Weller spitting bile over the top.

The title nods to Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice, though Weller admitted in 2012 he hadn't read it. The real subject is Woking, his hometown, and the working-class life he couldn't wait to escape. It shared a double A-side with "Precious", and it's about as angry as a dance record gets.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 13 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982 107
1982 11 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1982 50

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 78 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 304 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 186 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 157 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 442 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 105 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 108 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 925 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 391 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 462 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 301 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 299 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 422 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 300 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 311 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 299 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 257 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 759 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 302 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 391 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 181 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 209 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 393 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 212 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 395 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 49 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 247 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 395 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 26 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 279 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 395 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 32 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 395 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 79 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 126 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 395 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 45 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 19 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005) 100
2006 110 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 7 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2006 88 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 1373 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 765 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 1314 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1309 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 644 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 1190 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1129 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1065 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1041 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 846 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2019 505 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 1787 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 196 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 619 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 128 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 1060 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 115 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2025 747 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 858 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: A Town Called Malice; A Town Called Malace.

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →
  1. 2Rock the CasbahThe Clash
  2. 3Should I Stay or Should I Go?The Clash
  3. 4Promised You a MiracleSimple Minds
  4. 5TemptationNew Order
  5. 6I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls
  6. 7Sex DwarfSoft Cell

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