A famous track from The Beatles‘ Revolver inspired a No. 1 single from the 1980s. A writer of that hit said Paul McCartney would have sued if the songs were more similar. However, the songwriter in question stressed that his song was not a direct rip-off of The Beatles.
‘Taxman’ From The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ influenced The Jam’s ‘Start!’
During a 2012 interview with Music Radar, The Jam’s Bruce Foxton discussed the 11 songs that defined his band. One of them wacky the catchy pop tune “Start!” Foxton admitted the track was similar to The Beatles’ “Taxman.”
“We were listening a lot to The Beatles’ Revolver album,” he recalled. “It wasn’t intentional, but ‘Taxman’ subconsciously went in, and when we came up with the idea for ‘Start!’ that’s what went in. It isn’t exactly the same, thankfully. Otherwise, I’m sure Paul McCartney would have thought about suing us!”
The Jam’s song is different from The Beatles’ in a few key ways
Despite this similarity, Foxton felt “Start!” wasn’t a carbon copy of “Taxman.” “It wasn’t a rip-off, and it wasn’t intended that way; it was just influenced by The Beatles,” he remembered. Notably, the songs have two completely different sets of lyrics. “Start!” is about the relationships, while “Taxman” is a bunch of rich guys complaining about taxation. On top of that, “Start!” is a jangly rock song with little of the soul influence present in “Taxman.”
Foxton said the commercial response to “Start!” was tremendous. “That was the No. 1 that knocked David Bowie off the top of the charts,” he said. “Then I thought, ‘Wow, we really have arrived!’”
Hitting No. 1 had a downside for The Jam. “Once you get a No. 1, it’s a bit like Spinal Tap with their amps going up to 11,” he said. “Once you get to No. 1, where do you go? That created a lot more pressure.” On the other hand, the success of The Jam’s singes ended any discussion of the band breaking up for a while.
How ‘Taxman,’ ‘Revolver,’ and ‘Start!’ performed on the charts
The Beatles’ “Taxman” was never a single in the United Kingdom, so The Official Charts Company reports the tune never chartered there. The tune’s parent album, Revolver, was far more popular in the U.K. It was No. 1 for seven weeks, remaining on the chart for 34 weeks.
On the other hand, “Start!” was a huge hit in the U.K. The Official Charts Company says the song reached No. 1 there for a week. It lasted on the chart for a total of 11 weeks. “Start!” appeared on The Jam’s album Sound Affects. That album reached No. 2 in the U.K. and remained on the chart for 19 weeks.
“Taxman” is a great song, and it paved the way for “Start!”
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