A rare 'tour blank' issued by Polydor Records to promote mod revival group The Jam's 1977 In The City tour in support of their debut studio album In The City.  The band's first major headline tour kicked off on 7th June, ending after 36 intensive dates instead of the planned 42. Singer songwriter and lead guitarist Paul Weller later recalled travelling in a red cortina for hours ...and having to learn to walk again when you got out. Tour blanks would be printed by record companies with a blank space for local promoters to insert the individual date and venue details. With its political lyrics condemning police brutality and expansionist development, In The City reached no. 20 in the UK album chart.

The poster artwork was taken from photographer Martyn Goddard’s first shoot with The Jam, for the cover of In The City, which took place at his studio in London on 2nd March 1977. In an interview with Snap Galleries, Goddard shared his memories of the shoot:

I had a phone call from Bill Smith, one of the art directors at Polydor Records, in late February 1977. He had to produce an LP cover for a new band, which he was excited about... Bill’s concept for the cover was to photograph the group in an urban location featuring a wall of white tiles with graffiti sprayed logo, as the album title was ‘In The City’... We decided to shoot in my studio in Kensington Church Street using a couple of 8 x 4 foot flats, tiled in four inch white crystal tiles. I can’t remember whether it was budget or time constraints, but Bill and I tiled the flats in the morning of the session, and it was Bill who took the black spray paint and in one attempt produced the iconic logo on the white ceramic tiles as the glue was setting. An example of this poster is held in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Condition

Excellent (A-)

Conservation backed on linen with no restoration. Backing has smoothed and diminished six very light horizontal folds and minor nicks and creases to edges. Some spots of discolouration to edges. Image and colour excellent.