Following a short stint recording demos with Jake Burns and Dolphin Taylor, previously of Irish punk outfit Stiff Little Fingers, Foxton released his debut single "Freak" on Arista Records. Entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 34 on 30 July 1983, it eventually peaked at No. 23 [42] and secured an appearance on Top of the Pops. Foxton's solo album Touch Sensitive followed in 1984, but subsequent singles "This Is The Way", "It Makes Me Wonder" and "SOS: My Imagination" failed to enter the Top 40. A final single "Play This Game To Win" was released on Harvest Records in November 1986. [43]

Hilton, Robin (17 March 2023). "Bono and The Edge: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR Music . Retrieved 19 March 2023. I might be wrong and ready to change my mind but three details leave me very doubtful about the genuineness of this pic sleeve, I mean doubtful it was made in 1982 or 83:

Liner Notes

Top 100 Artists". Virgin Radio. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2005 . Retrieved 27 April 2011. The 1982 release The Gift – the band's final studio LP – was a massive commercial success, peaking at No.1 on the UK charts while spending an unprecedented 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. It featured several soul, funk, and R&B-stylised songs; most notably the No.1 hit " Town Called Malice", which boasts a Motown-style bassline somewhat reminiscent of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love". The song included work by Keith Thomas and Steve Nichol, who later became well known as members of the R&B groups Legacy and Loose Ends respectively. "Town Called Malice", a reality-based tale about dealing with hardship in a small, downtrodden English town, is one of a handful of Jam songs Weller still performs (along with " That's Entertainment", "Man in the Corner Shop", "Strange Town", "Art School", "Start!" and "In the Crowd"). [32] [33] [34] Bono and Edge join Zane Lowe on a road trip across the desert to discuss Songs of Surrender and reflect on their songwriting, their faith, and their journey together as both bandmates and friends.

The Style Council was totally liberating”, he told Record Collector magazine in 2018. “It felt like the right time to do it, and I was at the right age.” One song that saw the most extensive lyrical changes was " Walk On", which was originally released in 2000. At the time, Bono had written it for Burmese academic Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 2010 for her pro-democracy activities. Following her ascent to the office of state counsellor, she was criticised for Myanmar's inaction to the genocide of the Rohingya people. Bono said he "felt so let down" by her and decided to re-write the song's lyrics for a different person, instead paying tribute to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his leadership against the Russian invasion of his country. [14] Bono and the Edge performed the new version of the song on 9 April 2022 for Global Citizen's Stand Up for Ukraine livestream, which was organised to urge world leaders to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. [18] As vocals were being recorded for Songs of Surrender and preparations were being made to mix the album, Bono and the Edge were invited by Zelenskyy's chief of staff to visit Ukraine for a performance. They immediately halted work on the album and within 3–4 days boarded a train into Kyiv. [19] They performed the new version of "Walk On" for Zelenskyy in a subway station during their 8 May visit. [14] [20]

The artwork looks genuine and the catalogues numbers are real, so I think this album was scheduled for release in the USA. However, as well as Paul, Polydor UK would have objected to this release. When Paul went solo, The Jam owed Polydor two albums, which is why ‘Dig The New Breed’ and ‘Snap!’ were released. ‘Snap!’ was a best of / greatest hits compilation and this American compilation would have compromised the release of ‘Snap!’ in the USA. How they got hold of a copy of ‘Solid Bond’ is a mystery, as it was never mastered and I wouldn’t have allowed them to release it. Paul had made it clear at the time that he was saving the toon for TSC. As The Jam were signed to Polydor UK, and all foreign compilations would have needed clearance from my company, which they would never have given for the above reasons. Bruce Foxton – Play This Game To Win / Welcome to the Hero – Harvest – UK – HAR 5239". 45cat . Retrieved 27 January 2014.

Sinclair, Paul (27 July 2017). "The Jam / 1977 five-disc box set". Super Deluxe Edition . Retrieved 25 March 2021. Earl, William (3 November 2022). "Bono's Impressive One-Man Show Remixes U2 Classics With Personal History: Concert Review". Variety . Retrieved 14 March 2023. It’s often said Paul Weller split The Jam at exactly the right time. When they finished at the end of 1982, the band went out at the very top, riding high with a U.K. chart-topping album, The Gift, and a No.1 single in “Beat Surrender,” while their final tour included five sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Arena. Yet, while The Jam was Britain’s biggest band at that point, Weller had tired of the constant album-followed-by-tour treadmill and was determined his next project, The Style Council, would be a complete break with the past.Aswad, Jem (12 December 2022). "U2's Bono Announces New Round of 'Stories of Surrender' Book Tour Dates". Variety . Retrieved 14 March 2023. The final single was, of course, on the two-CD retrospective Snap!, which the label released in October of the following year, to great success. “Beat Surrender” had two weeks at No.1 in the UK in December 1982, before giving way to Renée and Renato’s “Save Your Love.” In the US, airplay was, as ever, hard to come by for the band, and the single failed to chart, just like all its predecessors.