The Jam formed at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey, England, in 1972. Weller frequently recorded and performed live with the Jam using this instrument Bruce Foxton provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the band's songs, including the hits ' Down in the Tube Station at Midnight', ' The Eton Rifles', ' Going Underground' and ' Town Called Malice' mainly using a Rickenbacker 4001 or a Fender Precision Bass, as well as, on rare occasions, an Epiphone Rivoli. Weller wrote and sang most of the Jam's original compositions and played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker 330. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form the Style Council and later his solo career. The trio were known for their melodic pop songs, their distinctly English flavour and their mod image. The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk and new wave. With many of the band's lyrics about working class life, Jam biographer Sean Egan commented that they 'took social protest and cultural authenticity to the top of the charts.' This placed the act at the forefront of the 1970s–1980s nascent Mod Revival movement. While the Jam shared the 'angry young man' outlook and fast tempo of the mid-1970s British punk rock movement, in contrast with it the band wore smartly tailored suits reminiscent of English pop-bands in the early 1960s and incorporated mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences into its sound, particularly from the Who's work of that period and also drew influence from the work of the Kinks and the music of American Motown. When the group disbanded in 1982, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

As of 2007, ' That's Entertainment' and ' Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?' remain the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey.

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