The Police or The Jam ?

[Joey Shabadoo]

Could you ever imagine the Police writing a lyric like "kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns"?

Well they did give us -

Another suburban family morning.
Grandmother screaming at the wall.

We have to shout above the din of our Rice Crispies
We can't hear anything at all.

Mother chants her litany of boredom and frustration,
But we know all her suicides are fake.

 

[AndyRM]

Both pish.

 

[Slick]

Copeland was an excellent drummer excellently recorded. You can learn a lot from that...

He was and you can, but I never really got the Police if I'm honest. The Jam on the other hand were something completely different to me.

 

[StuAff]

Both frontmen are ****s, but of the two, The Police. Copeland and Summers are terrific, and I really enjoyed the reunion show at Twickenham. Though I wish some of my fellow attendees had just stopped having their conversations and paid attention to the band who hadn't played live in 23 years and that everyone had paid a lot of money to see (sheesh....).

 

[MarkF]

Both pish.

God yes, l'd rather have an Ottawan tattoo than admit to liking either

 

[lazyfatgit]

The Jam.

A quick look at my music folder reveals not a single Police track.

 

[NorthernDave]

A quick look at my music folder reveals not a single Police track.

There has to be an Invisible Sun?

 

[Fnaar]

The Jam , of course, absolutely no contest!!!!!!

 

[Nigeyy]

Yeah, got to go with The Jam, though sadly almost unheard of and unappreciated over here. Over here everyone seems to fawn over Sting -The Police are far more well known -and most people haven't even heard of The Jam. Though I will say I do think both lead singers are overly self important taking-themselves-too-seriously people.

I was in London a couple of years ago on the tube and couldn't resist listening to "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight". Sadly, my son refused to listen to it (what kind of job as a father am I doing?). I still enjoy listening to All Mod Cons and Setting Sons.

 

[stephec]

Funnily enough I just put this question to the wife and she replied emphatically in favour of the Police because, she argues, they achieved success by their own merits. The Jam were heavily involved in dodgy chart-rigging practices. Now I would say that's irrelevant because the music itself stands the test of time but she feels (strongly) that they weren't good enough to make it on their own.

The public gets what the public wants.

 

[andabby]

Jam for me

 

[Seevio]

Well obviously it's the Jam but there are a couple of caveats.

Foxton played better basslines but Copeland was easily the better drummer.

Towards the end Weller was turning the Jam into the plastic soul rubbish that the Style Council embodied. I'm sure there are people who think that Beat Surrender was a good song but I'm not one of them.

The Police, on the other hand, were getting more musically interesting as they went on until personal politics ripped them apart.

 

[Beebo]

I imagine this is a Male : Female thing.

The Jam are a blokes band, the Police are more a lady’s thing.

I could be wrong, try asking the question on mumsnet.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I have albums from neither so am unqualified to offer an opinion, although I think that they definitely both better.

 

[captain nemo1701]

My ex-boyfriend used to know a nightclub owner up north in the late '70's who would give free gig tickets to mates who acted as 'roadies' for bands appearing at his club humping their kit up & down stairs, helping set things up. My ex spent an hour or so doing this but later, thought the band were lousy and didn't like them.

Six months later they got in the charts with Roxanne. It was the Police. He likes them now.