The complete Eton Rifles Story.

'The Eton Rifles' captured both Paul Weller's growing talent as a songwriter and the raw power of his band the Jam, and gave the group their first top 10 hit.

Richard Buskin

At the vanguard of the 1977 British punk movement, before leading the late-'70s/early-'80s mod revival, the Jam enjoyed massive success in the UK, courtesy of loud, hard-edged, no-nonsense rock that paid homage to the Who, the Beatles and American R&B. The band never attained much Stateside recognition, beyond a sizeable cult following, but in the UK a string of 18 Top 40 singles helped define the socio-musical period in which the band existed. While this was largely due to the uncompromising Britishness of singer, songwriter and guitarist Paul Weller's lyrics, the band that he fronted alongside bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler did make an indelible impression on the next generation of Brit rockers, as well as on American outfits such as Green Day.

The complete Eton Rifles Story