Paul Weller
Encyclopedia
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam
(1976–1982), Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council
(1983–1989). In 1991 he re-established himself as a successful solo artist, and continues to remain a respected singer, lyricist and guitarist.
Despite widespread critical recognition in most of all the United States, Weller has remained a national rather than an international star, and much of his songwriting is rooted in British culture
. He is also the principal figure of the 1970s and 80s mod revival
and is often referred to as the Modfather.
, near Woking
, Surrey, England, to John and Ann Weller. He was initially known as John William Weller but later acquired the name Paul.
His father worked as a taxi driver and his mother was a part-time cleaner. In 1963 Weller started his education at Maybury County First School. His love of music started with The Beatles
, then The Who
and the Small Faces. By the time Weller was eleven and moving up to secondary school at Sheerwater County Secondary music was the biggest part of his life and he began playing the guitar.
In 1972 Weller formed the first incarnation of The Jam, playing bass guitar with his best friends Steve Brookes (lead guitar) and Dave Waller (rhythm guitar). Weller's father, their manager
, began booking the band into local working men's club
s. Joined by Rick Buckler
on drums, and with Bruce Foxton
soon replacing Waller on rhythm guitar, the four-piece band began to forge a local reputation playing a mixture of Beatles
covers
and a number of compositions written by Weller and Brookes. In 1976 Brookes left the band and Weller and Foxton decided they would swap guitar roles, with Weller now the guitarist.
bands such as The Clash
, The Damned, and the Sex Pistols
, The Jam better fitted the mould of the New Wave
bands who came later. Also, being from just outside London rather than in it, they were never really part of the tightly-knit punk clique.
Nonetheless, The Clash
emerged as one of the leading early advocates of the band, and were sufficiently impressed by The Jam to take them along as the support act on their White Riot tour of 1977. The Jam's first single "In the City" took them into the UK Top 40 for the first time in May 1977. Although every subsequent single had a placing within the Top 40, it would not be until the band released "The Eton Rifles
", with Weller's very political lyrics, that they broke into the Top 10, hitting the No. 3 spot in November 1979.
The increasing popularity of their blend of pop melodies and Weller's barbed lyrics led, in March 1980, to their first number one single, "Going Underground
".
They became the only band other than the Beatles to perform two songs ("Town Called Malice
" and "Precious
") on one edition of Top of the Pops
. The Jam even had two singles, "That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero", reach No. 21 and No. 8 respectively in the UK singles chart
despite not even being released in that country – they got there purely on the strength of the huge number of people buying import sales of the German and Dutch single releases. The Jam still hold the record for the best selling import only singles in the UK charts. As the band's popularity increased, however, Weller became restless and eager to explore a more soulful, melodic style with a broader instrumentation.
In 1982, Weller announced that The Jam would disband at the end of the year. The announcement came as a shock to Foxton and Buckler, who felt that the band still had many years left. Their final single, "Beat Surrender
", became their fourth UK chart topper, going straight to No. 1 in its first week. Their farewell concerts at Wembley Arena
were multiple sell-outs; their final concert took place at the Brighton Centre on 11 December 1982.
to form a new group called The Style Council
. Weller brought in Steve White to play drums, as well as singer Dee C. Lee
, who had previously been a backing singer with Wham!
Free of the limited musical styles he felt imposed by The Jam
, under the collective of The Style Council Weller was able to experiment with a wide range of music, from pop and jazz
to soul
/R&B
, house and folk-styled ballads. The band was at the vanguard of a jazz/pop revival that would continue with the emergence of bands like Matt Bianco
, Sade
, and Everything but the Girl
, whose members Tracey Thorn
and Ben Watt
contributed vocals and guitar to the 1984 The Style Council song "Paris Match".
Many of the Style Council's early singles performed well in the charts, and Weller experienced his first success in North America, when "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're The Best Thing" entered the US Billboard Hot 100
. In Australia they were far more successful than The Jam, reaching the top of the charts in 1984 with "Shout To The Top".
Weller appeared on 1984's Band Aid
record "Do They Know It's Christmas?
" and was called upon to mime the absent Bono
's lyrics on Top of the Pops
. The Style Council were the second act to appear in the British half of Live Aid
at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
In December 1984, Weller put together his own charity ensemble, the Council Collective, to make a record, Soul Deep
, to raise money for striking miners
. The record featured The Style Council plus a number of other performers, notably Jimmy Ruffin
and Junior Giscombe. In spite of the song's political content, it still picked up BBC Radio 1
airplay and was performed on Top of the Pops, which led to the incongruous sight of lyrics such as "We can't afford to let the government win / It means death to the trade unions" being mimed amid the show's flashing lights and party atmosphere.
As the 1980s wore on, The Style Council's popularity in the UK began to slide, with the band achieving only one top ten single after 1985. The Style Council's death knell was sounded in 1989 when their record company refused to release their fifth and final studio album, the house-influenced Modernism: A New Decade
. With the rejection of this effort, Weller announced The Style Council had split, and although the final album did have a limited vinyl run, it was not until the 1998 retrospective CD box set The Complete Adventures of the Style Council that the album was widely available.
In 1989, Weller found himself for the first time since he was 17 without a band and without a recording deal. After taking time off throughout 1990, he returned to the road in 1991, touring as 'The Paul Weller Movement' with long-term drummer and friend Steve White. After a slow start playing small clubs with a mixture of Jam/Style Council classics as well as showcasing new material such as "Into Tomorrow", by the time of the release of his 1992 LP, Paul Weller
he had begun to re-establish himself as a leading British singer/songwriter. This self-titled album saw a return to a more jazz-guitar-focused sound, featuring samples
and a funk influence with shades of The Style Council sound. The album also featured a new producer, Brendan Lynch
. Tracks such as "Here's a New Thing" and "That Spiritual Feeling" were marketed among the emerging acid jazz
scene.
Buoyed by the positive commercial and critical success of his first solo album, Weller returned to the studio in 1993 with a renewed confidence. Accompanied by Steve White, guitarist Steve Cradock
, and bassist Damon Minchella
, the result of these sessions was the triumphant Mercury Music Prize-nominated Wild Wood
.
His 1995 album Stanley Road
took him back to the top of the British charts for the first time in a decade, and went on to become the best-selling album of his career. The album, named after the street in Woking where he had grown up, marked a return to the more guitar-based style of his earlier days. On the track "I Walk On Guilded Splinters", Noel Gallagher
(of Oasis
), is creditted guest guitarist.
Weller found himself heavily associated with the Britpop
movement that gave rise to such bands as Oasis, Pulp
and Blur
. Weller even appeared as a guest guitarist and backing vocalist on Oasis' hit song "Champagne Supernova
". The album's major single, "The Changingman", was also a big hit, taking Weller to #7 in the UK singles charts. Another single, the ballad "You Do Something To Me", was his second consecutive Top 10 single and reached #9 in the UK.
, and the album reached #2. Success in the charts also came from compilations: "best of" albums by The Jam and Style Council charted, and his own solo "best of" collection Modern Classics was a substantial success in 1998.
In 2000, while living in Send, Surrey
, he released his fifth solo studio album, Heliocentric. There were rumours at the time that this would be his final studio effort, but these proved unfounded when he released the No. 1 hit album Illumination
in September 2002 which was co-produced by Noonday Underground
's Simon Dine, preceded by yet another top 10 hit single "It's Written In The Stars". Weller also appears on the 2002 Noonday Underground album called Surface Noise, singing on the track "I'll Walk Right On". Between these two albums he had also released a second successful live album, 2001's Days Of Speed
, which contained live acoustic versions from his world tour of the same name. The LP included some of his best-known songs from his solo career and the back catalogues of his The Jam and The Style Council days. Weller had again found himself without a record contract and the tour provided him with the opportunity to view his works as one back catalogue.
In 2003, Weller teamed up with electronic rock duo Death in Vegas
on a cover of Gene Clark
's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" which featured on the album Scorpio Rising
.
In 2004 Weller released an album of covers entitled Studio 150
. It debuted at No. 2 in the UK charts and included Bob Dylan
's "All Along the Watchtower
" besides covers of songs by Gil Scott-Heron
, Rose Royce
, Gordon Lightfoot
, and others.
His 2005 album As Is Now
featured the singles "From The Floorboards Up", "Come On/Let's Go" and "Here's The Good News". The album was well-received, though critics noted that he was not moving his music forward stylistically, and it became his lowest-charting album since his 1992 debut
. In February 2006 it was announced that Weller would be the latest recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BRIT Awards
. Despite a tendency to shun such occasions, Weller accepted the award in person, and performed four songs at the ceremony, including The Jam classic "Town Called Malice".
In June 2006, a double live album titled Catch-Flame!
, with songs from both his solo work and his career with ‘The Jam’ and the Style Council, was released. In late 2006, the album Hit Parade
was released, which collected all the singles released by The Jam, Style Council and Weller during his solo career. Two versions of this album were released: a single disc with a selection from each stage of his career, and a four-disc limited edition, which included every single released and came with a 64-page booklet.
Weller was offered a CBE
in the 2006 birthday honours, but rejected the order.
was released on 2 June 2008 with "Echoes Round The Sun" as the lead single. Before recording this album, Weller had parted company with his existing band, resulting in the replacement of everyone except guitarist Steve Cradock
. As well as Cradock, the new band consisted of Andy Lewis on bass, Andy Crofts of The Moons
on keys and Steve Pilgrim
of The Stands on drums. This album saw Weller move in a more experimental direction, taking in a wide variety of inflences including jazz, folk, tango as well as pop-soul more associated with his Style Council days.
Weller was the surprise recipient of the 2009 BRIT award for "Best Male Solo Artist", which resulted in controversy when it was discovered a suspiciously high number of bets had been placed for Weller to win the award, for which James Morrison
was T4
's favourite. It was reported that the bookmakers had lost £100,000 in the event, and that as a result would not be taking bets for the awards in the future.
In 2009 Weller guested on Dot Allison
's 2009 album, Room 7½, co-writing "Love's Got Me Crazy". November and December also saw him on tour, playing shows across the country.
On 24 February 2010, Paul received the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards. His 2010 album, Wake Up the Nation
, released in April, was met with critical acclaim and subsequently nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The album also marked his first collaboration with The Jam
bassist Bruce Foxton
in 28 years. In May 2010 Weller was presented with the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement
award, stating "I've enjoyed the last 33 years I've been writing songs and hopefully, with God's good grace, I'll do some more."
On 22 November 2011, Weller announced his eleventh studio album "Sonik Kicks", which is due for release on 26 March 2012.
, Weller and Dee C. Lee
, The Style Council's backing singer, began a romantic relationship. The couple married in 1987 and divorced in 1998. They have two children Leah and Nathaniel (Natt), who is also a working musician and once appeared on stage with his father at Hammersmith Apollo
at age 12. Weller has another daughter, Dylan, by a short-lived relationship with a make-up artist called Lucy.
While he was recording at the Manor studios in the mid 1990s, he became involved with Samantha Stock. They have two children. In October 2008 they broke up and Weller moved in with Hannah Andrews, a backing singer on his 22 Dreams album, who has toured with his band. The pair married in September 2010 on the Italian
island of Capri
. The couple are expecting twins in early 2012.
On 24 April 2009, John Weller, Paul Weller's father and long-time manager since the days of The Jam, died from pneumonia
at the age of 77.
, Dr Feelgood, The Kinks
, The Who
, Small Faces and 1960s and 1970s soul music
.
explosion in the mid-1990s a number of fledgling bands, such as Oasis
, Ocean Colour Scene
and Blur
, cited Weller and The Jam
as a major influence. As a new generation of bands emerged, Weller was again noted as an influence by bands such as Hard-Fi
, Arctic Monkeys
, The Enemy
and The Rifles
.
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
(1976–1982), Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
(1983–1989). In 1991 he re-established himself as a successful solo artist, and continues to remain a respected singer, lyricist and guitarist.
Despite widespread critical recognition in most of all the United States, Weller has remained a national rather than an international star, and much of his songwriting is rooted in British culture
Culture of the United Kingdom
The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and its people. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power, and its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and...
. He is also the principal figure of the 1970s and 80s mod revival
Mod Revival
The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
and is often referred to as the Modfather.
Early years 1958–1976
Weller was born on 25 May 1958 in SheerwaterSheerwater
Sheerwater is a large housing estate in Woking, Surrey, England. It is located between West Byfleet and Woking .Sheerwater was designed as a new neighbourhood by the London County Council, with nearly 1,300 homes built in the early 1950s and over 5,000 people settling in the Borough....
, near Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey, England, to John and Ann Weller. He was initially known as John William Weller but later acquired the name Paul.
His father worked as a taxi driver and his mother was a part-time cleaner. In 1963 Weller started his education at Maybury County First School. His love of music started with The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, then The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and the Small Faces. By the time Weller was eleven and moving up to secondary school at Sheerwater County Secondary music was the biggest part of his life and he began playing the guitar.
In 1972 Weller formed the first incarnation of The Jam, playing bass guitar with his best friends Steve Brookes (lead guitar) and Dave Waller (rhythm guitar). Weller's father, their manager
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
, began booking the band into local working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
s. Joined by Rick Buckler
Rick Buckler
Rick Buckler , is the former drummer of The Jam, an English rock band that enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom from 1977 until disbanding in 1982...
on drums, and with Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...
soon replacing Waller on rhythm guitar, the four-piece band began to forge a local reputation playing a mixture of Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
and a number of compositions written by Weller and Brookes. In 1976 Brookes left the band and Weller and Foxton decided they would swap guitar roles, with Weller now the guitarist.
The Jam: 1976–1982
Although The Jam emerged at the same time as punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands such as The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, The Damned, and the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, The Jam better fitted the mould of the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
bands who came later. Also, being from just outside London rather than in it, they were never really part of the tightly-knit punk clique.
Nonetheless, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
emerged as one of the leading early advocates of the band, and were sufficiently impressed by The Jam to take them along as the support act on their White Riot tour of 1977. The Jam's first single "In the City" took them into the UK Top 40 for the first time in May 1977. Although every subsequent single had a placing within the Top 40, it would not be until the band released "The Eton Rifles
The Eton Rifles
"The Eton Rifles" was the only single to be released from the album Setting Sons by The Jam. Recorded at Townhouse studios and released on 3 November 1979, it became the band's first top ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at #3...
", with Weller's very political lyrics, that they broke into the Top 10, hitting the No. 3 spot in November 1979.
The increasing popularity of their blend of pop melodies and Weller's barbed lyrics led, in March 1980, to their first number one single, "Going Underground
Going Underground
"Going Underground" is the first British number-one chart single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It went straight in at number one, a rare feat at the time, and spent three weeks at the top...
".
They became the only band other than the Beatles to perform two songs ("Town Called Malice
Town Called Malice
"Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by The Jam from the album The Gift. It reached number one in the UK singles chart.-Song profile:It was a double A-side single release featuring "Precious" as the flip side...
" and "Precious
Precious (The Jam song)
"Precious" was a song composed by Paul Weller and performed by the British band The Jam.It appears on The Jam's 1982 album The Gift and also as a double A-Side single along with "Town Called Malice". It reached number one in the British music charts...
") on one edition of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. The Jam even had two singles, "That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero", reach No. 21 and No. 8 respectively in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
despite not even being released in that country – they got there purely on the strength of the huge number of people buying import sales of the German and Dutch single releases. The Jam still hold the record for the best selling import only singles in the UK charts. As the band's popularity increased, however, Weller became restless and eager to explore a more soulful, melodic style with a broader instrumentation.
In 1982, Weller announced that The Jam would disband at the end of the year. The announcement came as a shock to Foxton and Buckler, who felt that the band still had many years left. Their final single, "Beat Surrender
Beat Surrender
"Beat Surrender" was The Jam's final single released on 26 November 1982.It became the band's fourth #1 UK single for two weeks in December 1982. The 7" was backed by the B-side "Shopping"...
", became their fourth UK chart topper, going straight to No. 1 in its first week. Their farewell concerts at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
were multiple sell-outs; their final concert took place at the Brighton Centre on 11 December 1982.
The Style Council: 1983–1989
At the beginning of 1983, Weller collaborated with keyboard player Mick TalbotMick Talbot
Michael 'Mick' Talbot is a British keyboardist. He played with the late 1970s mod revivalists The Merton Parkas; Dexys Midnight Runners; The Bureau, and later with Paul Weller in The Style Council....
to form a new group called The Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
. Weller brought in Steve White to play drums, as well as singer Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee is an English pop singer.-Career:Lee was a backing vocalist for the pop group Wham! in the early 1980s, but she left the group to work as a solo artist and also to join Paul Weller's band, The Style Council...
, who had previously been a backing singer with Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
Free of the limited musical styles he felt imposed by The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
, under the collective of The Style Council Weller was able to experiment with a wide range of music, from pop and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
to soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, house and folk-styled ballads. The band was at the vanguard of a jazz/pop revival that would continue with the emergence of bands like Matt Bianco
Matt Bianco
Matt Bianco is a UK band that was formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid 1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music....
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, and Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
, whose members Tracey Thorn
Tracey Thorn
Tracey Anne Thorn is an English pop singer and songwriter. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl, which is currently on extended hiatus.-Personal life:...
and Ben Watt
Ben Watt
Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, DJ, and record producer, best known as one half of the duo, Everything but the Girl.-Family:...
contributed vocals and guitar to the 1984 The Style Council song "Paris Match".
Many of the Style Council's early singles performed well in the charts, and Weller experienced his first success in North America, when "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're The Best Thing" entered the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. In Australia they were far more successful than The Jam, reaching the top of the charts in 1984 with "Shout To The Top".
Weller appeared on 1984's Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
record "Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984....
" and was called upon to mime the absent Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
's lyrics on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. The Style Council were the second act to appear in the British half of Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
In December 1984, Weller put together his own charity ensemble, the Council Collective, to make a record, Soul Deep
Soul Deep
"Soul Deep" was the third single taken from Swedish pop duo Roxette's 1986 debut album Pearls of Passion. It was only released in a few European countries and Canada. The single peaked at #18 on the charts in Sweden, but failed to chart elsewhere....
, to raise money for striking miners
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
. The record featured The Style Council plus a number of other performers, notably Jimmy Ruffin
Jimmy Ruffin
Jimmy Ruffin is an American soul singer, and elder brother of the late David Ruffin of The Temptations. He had several hit records between the 1960s and 1980s, the most successful being "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted."-Life:...
and Junior Giscombe. In spite of the song's political content, it still picked up BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
airplay and was performed on Top of the Pops, which led to the incongruous sight of lyrics such as "We can't afford to let the government win / It means death to the trade unions" being mimed amid the show's flashing lights and party atmosphere.
As the 1980s wore on, The Style Council's popularity in the UK began to slide, with the band achieving only one top ten single after 1985. The Style Council's death knell was sounded in 1989 when their record company refused to release their fifth and final studio album, the house-influenced Modernism: A New Decade
Modernism: A New Decade
Modernism: A New Decade is an album by the band The Style Council. It represented a departure from the band's core genre of pop, to a new one; deep house, which was then being referred to as "garage" music by the UK press. However upon its completion in 1989, it was rejected by their label...
. With the rejection of this effort, Weller announced The Style Council had split, and although the final album did have a limited vinyl run, it was not until the 1998 retrospective CD box set The Complete Adventures of the Style Council that the album was widely available.
Early solo career: 1990–1995
Paul Weller (album)
Paul Weller is Paul Weller's first solo album, released in 1992.After disbanding The Style Council and leaving label Polydor in 1989, Weller formed The Paul Weller Movement in 1990, releasing a single, Into Tomorrow, on his own Freedom High record label, in October 1991...
he had begun to re-establish himself as a leading British singer/songwriter. This self-titled album saw a return to a more jazz-guitar-focused sound, featuring samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and a funk influence with shades of The Style Council sound. The album also featured a new producer, Brendan Lynch
Brendan Lynch
Brendan Lynch is a British music producer, who has produced for Paul Weller, Primal Scream, and The Rakes. He has also worked with the 22-20s, Carleen Anderson and Ocean Colour Scene...
. Tracks such as "Here's a New Thing" and "That Spiritual Feeling" were marketed among the emerging acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
scene.
Buoyed by the positive commercial and critical success of his first solo album, Weller returned to the studio in 1993 with a renewed confidence. Accompanied by Steve White, guitarist Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock is an English guitarist, most notable for playing in the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock is also the second guitarist in Paul Weller's band, having appeared on all of Weller's solo records following Weller's self titled debut album.He is a distinctive guitarist, who has a...
, and bassist Damon Minchella
Damon Minchella
Damon Minchella is an English bass guitarist, formerly with Ocean Colour Scene, which he left in 2003. He was a regular member of Paul Weller's backing band until 2008, is a member of the supergroup The Players and played for The Who during their performance at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park.He...
, the result of these sessions was the triumphant Mercury Music Prize-nominated Wild Wood
Wild Wood
Wild Wood was Paul Weller's second solo record, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 in the UK charts, and contained three UK hits: "Wild Wood", which reached #14 in the UK charts, "Sunflower", which reached #16 and "Hung Up", which reached #11.The original 1993 UK and European CD...
.
His 1995 album Stanley Road
Stanley Road
-Track listing:Disc 1#"The Changingman" #"Porcelain Gods"#"I Walk on Gilded Splinters" #"You Do Something to Me"#"Woodcutter's Son"#"Time Passes / Steam"#"Stanley Road"#"Broken Stones"#"Out of the Sinking"#"Pink on White Walls"...
took him back to the top of the British charts for the first time in a decade, and went on to become the best-selling album of his career. The album, named after the street in Woking where he had grown up, marked a return to the more guitar-based style of his earlier days. On the track "I Walk On Guilded Splinters", Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
(of Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
), is creditted guest guitarist.
Weller found himself heavily associated with the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
movement that gave rise to such bands as Oasis, Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
. Weller even appeared as a guest guitarist and backing vocalist on Oasis' hit song "Champagne Supernova
Champagne Supernova
"Champagne Supernova" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by guitarist Noel Gallagher. The seven-minute anthem is the closing track on the record-breaking album Morning Glory?...
". The album's major single, "The Changingman", was also a big hit, taking Weller to #7 in the UK singles charts. Another single, the ballad "You Do Something To Me", was his second consecutive Top 10 single and reached #9 in the UK.
The Modfather: 1996–2007
Heavy Soul, the follow-up to the million-selling Stanley Road saw Weller twist his sound again. The album was more raw than its predecessor; Weller was now frequently playing live in the studio in as few takes as possible. The first single, "Peacock Suit" reached #5 in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and the album reached #2. Success in the charts also came from compilations: "best of" albums by The Jam and Style Council charted, and his own solo "best of" collection Modern Classics was a substantial success in 1998.
In 2000, while living in Send, Surrey
Send, Surrey
Send is a village in the English county of Surrey. It reputedly got its name as a corruption of the word sand, which was extracted until the 1990s for construction and other purposes at pits nearby. Send is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is named Sande.-History:Send appears in...
, he released his fifth solo studio album, Heliocentric. There were rumours at the time that this would be his final studio effort, but these proved unfounded when he released the No. 1 hit album Illumination
Illumination (Paul Weller album)
Illumination is the sixth album by English singer-songwriter Paul Weller, released on 16 September 2002. "Call Me No.5" is a duet with Kelly Jones of Stereophonics, and "One X One" features Gem Archer on acoustic guitar and Noel Gallagher of Oasis on drums, percussion and bass.-Reception:Initial...
in September 2002 which was co-produced by Noonday Underground
Noonday Underground
Noonday Underground are a British band consisting of DJ Simon Dine and singer Daisy Martey. Dine had previously been a member of Adventures in Stereo. Martey was for a time the singer in Morcheeba. The band name came from a book about The Who...
's Simon Dine, preceded by yet another top 10 hit single "It's Written In The Stars". Weller also appears on the 2002 Noonday Underground album called Surface Noise, singing on the track "I'll Walk Right On". Between these two albums he had also released a second successful live album, 2001's Days Of Speed
Days Of Speed
Days of Speed is Paul Weller's second live album, released on 8 October 2001 in the UK and 2 July 2002 in the US. All songs were performed solo and acoustic from various venues around Europe.-Track listing:All tracks by Paul Weller...
, which contained live acoustic versions from his world tour of the same name. The LP included some of his best-known songs from his solo career and the back catalogues of his The Jam and The Style Council days. Weller had again found himself without a record contract and the tour provided him with the opportunity to view his works as one back catalogue.
In 2003, Weller teamed up with electronic rock duo Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
on a cover of Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" which featured on the album Scorpio Rising
Scorpio Rising (Death in Vegas album)
-Singles:* "Leather"/"Girls" and "XXX" * "Hands Around My Throat" * "Scorpio Rising"...
.
In 2004 Weller released an album of covers entitled Studio 150
Studio 150
Studio 150 is the seventh album by British artist Paul Weller. It comprises covers of songs by a variety of artists, and showcases Weller's myriad musical influences. It was named after the small Amsterdam studio in which it was recorded...
. It debuted at No. 2 in the UK charts and included Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
" besides covers of songs by Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
, Rose Royce
Rose Royce
Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
, Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
, and others.
His 2005 album As Is Now
As Is Now
As Is Now is Paul Weller's eighth studio album. Released in October 2005, it reached number 4 in the UK charts.The singles from the record were "From The Floorboards Up" , "Come On/Let's Go" , "Here's The Good News" and the "The As Is Now EP" which did not qualify for the charts and it had 4...
featured the singles "From The Floorboards Up", "Come On/Let's Go" and "Here's The Good News". The album was well-received, though critics noted that he was not moving his music forward stylistically, and it became his lowest-charting album since his 1992 debut
Paul Weller (album)
Paul Weller is Paul Weller's first solo album, released in 1992.After disbanding The Style Council and leaving label Polydor in 1989, Weller formed The Paul Weller Movement in 1990, releasing a single, Into Tomorrow, on his own Freedom High record label, in October 1991...
. In February 2006 it was announced that Weller would be the latest recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
. Despite a tendency to shun such occasions, Weller accepted the award in person, and performed four songs at the ceremony, including The Jam classic "Town Called Malice".
In June 2006, a double live album titled Catch-Flame!
Catch-Flame!
Catch-Flame! was recorded at London’s Alexandra Palace and is Paul Weller’s third solo live album. Recorded on 5 December – the last date of Weller’s 2005 UK tour – it features live versions of songs spanning his entire career, including those of The Jam and The Style Council.Five songs played at...
, with songs from both his solo work and his career with ‘The Jam’ and the Style Council, was released. In late 2006, the album Hit Parade
Hit Parade (Paul Weller album)
Hit Parade is a 2006 box set of Paul Weller's musical career. A single CD release and a double-disc DVD are also available.-Single disc:# The Jam – "Town Called Malice"# The Jam – "Going Underground"# The Style Council – "Shout to the Top!"...
was released, which collected all the singles released by The Jam, Style Council and Weller during his solo career. Two versions of this album were released: a single disc with a selection from each stage of his career, and a four-disc limited edition, which included every single released and came with a 64-page booklet.
Weller was offered a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in the 2006 birthday honours, but rejected the order.
Critical success: 2008–present
The double album 22 Dreams22 Dreams
22 Dreams is the ninth solo studio album by Paul Weller. It was released on June 2, 2008.The album was released on double LP and single CD, as well as a deluxe edition CD, featuring a bonus CD with outtakes and extra tracks. Oasis stars Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer feature on the album, as does...
was released on 2 June 2008 with "Echoes Round The Sun" as the lead single. Before recording this album, Weller had parted company with his existing band, resulting in the replacement of everyone except guitarist Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock is an English guitarist, most notable for playing in the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock is also the second guitarist in Paul Weller's band, having appeared on all of Weller's solo records following Weller's self titled debut album.He is a distinctive guitarist, who has a...
. As well as Cradock, the new band consisted of Andy Lewis on bass, Andy Crofts of The Moons
The Moons
The Moons are a British indie rock band who formed in Northampton in 2007 and comprise singer/guitarist/songwriter Andy Crofts, drummer Ben Gordelier, guitarist and backing vocalist James Edward Bagshaw, bassist Adam Leeds and keyboardist Tom Warmsley...
on keys and Steve Pilgrim
Steve Pilgrim (musician)
Steve Pilgrim is an English drummer and singer-songwriter from Liverpool, England. He was originally the drummer for The Stands playing on both the band's albums however he left before the band eventually split up...
of The Stands on drums. This album saw Weller move in a more experimental direction, taking in a wide variety of inflences including jazz, folk, tango as well as pop-soul more associated with his Style Council days.
Weller was the surprise recipient of the 2009 BRIT award for "Best Male Solo Artist", which resulted in controversy when it was discovered a suspiciously high number of bets had been placed for Weller to win the award, for which James Morrison
James Morrison (singer)
James Morrison is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rugby, Warwickshire. In 2006, his debut single "You Give Me Something" became a hit in Europe, Australia, and Japan, peaking in the top five in the UK and New Zealand. His debut album, Undiscovered, debuted at the...
was T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
's favourite. It was reported that the bookmakers had lost £100,000 in the event, and that as a result would not be taking bets for the awards in the future.
In 2009 Weller guested on Dot Allison
Dot Allison
Dot Allison is a Scottish singer and songwriter, who has made significant inroads in electronic music circles, most notably as a result of her tenure fronting the band One Dove in the early 1990s...
's 2009 album, Room 7½, co-writing "Love's Got Me Crazy". November and December also saw him on tour, playing shows across the country.
On 24 February 2010, Paul received the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards. His 2010 album, Wake Up the Nation
Wake Up the Nation
Wake Up the Nation is the tenth studio album from Paul Weller and was released April 19, 2010. It was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize....
, released in April, was met with critical acclaim and subsequently nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The album also marked his first collaboration with The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
bassist Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...
in 28 years. In May 2010 Weller was presented with the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
award, stating "I've enjoyed the last 33 years I've been writing songs and hopefully, with God's good grace, I'll do some more."
On 22 November 2011, Weller announced his eleventh studio album "Sonik Kicks", which is due for release on 26 March 2012.
Personal life
Soon after the formation of The Style CouncilThe Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
, Weller and Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee is an English pop singer.-Career:Lee was a backing vocalist for the pop group Wham! in the early 1980s, but she left the group to work as a solo artist and also to join Paul Weller's band, The Style Council...
, The Style Council's backing singer, began a romantic relationship. The couple married in 1987 and divorced in 1998. They have two children Leah and Nathaniel (Natt), who is also a working musician and once appeared on stage with his father at Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
at age 12. Weller has another daughter, Dylan, by a short-lived relationship with a make-up artist called Lucy.
While he was recording at the Manor studios in the mid 1990s, he became involved with Samantha Stock. They have two children. In October 2008 they broke up and Weller moved in with Hannah Andrews, a backing singer on his 22 Dreams album, who has toured with his band. The pair married in September 2010 on the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
island of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. The couple are expecting twins in early 2012.
On 24 April 2009, John Weller, Paul Weller's father and long-time manager since the days of The Jam, died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the age of 77.
Influences
Weller has stated a wide range of influences throughout his musical career, frequently listing The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Dr Feelgood, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Small Faces and 1960s and 1970s soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
.
Legacy
During the BritpopBritpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
explosion in the mid-1990s a number of fledgling bands, such as Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.-Early days :...
and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
, cited Weller and The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
as a major influence. As a new generation of bands emerged, Weller was again noted as an influence by bands such as Hard-Fi
HARD-Fi
Hard-Fi are an English indie rock band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003. The band's members are Richard Archer , Ross Phillips , Kai Stephens and Steve Kemp .They achieved chart success with their third single, "Hard to Beat" and then followed by other successful singles such as...
, Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, The Enemy
The Enemy (UK band)
The Enemy are an English rock band formed in Coventry in 2006, signed to Warner Music Group . In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in...
and The Rifles
The Rifles (band)
The Rifles are an English indie rock band from Chingford, London.Their debut album No Love Lost was released on 17 July 2006 and reached #26 in the UK charts...
.
Albums
- Paul WellerPaul Weller (album)Paul Weller is Paul Weller's first solo album, released in 1992.After disbanding The Style Council and leaving label Polydor in 1989, Weller formed The Paul Weller Movement in 1990, releasing a single, Into Tomorrow, on his own Freedom High record label, in October 1991...
– (1992) #8 UK - Wild WoodWild WoodWild Wood was Paul Weller's second solo record, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 in the UK charts, and contained three UK hits: "Wild Wood", which reached #14 in the UK charts, "Sunflower", which reached #16 and "Hung Up", which reached #11.The original 1993 UK and European CD...
– (1993) #2 UK (Platinum) - Stanley RoadStanley Road-Track listing:Disc 1#"The Changingman" #"Porcelain Gods"#"I Walk on Gilded Splinters" #"You Do Something to Me"#"Woodcutter's Son"#"Time Passes / Steam"#"Stanley Road"#"Broken Stones"#"Out of the Sinking"#"Pink on White Walls"...
– (1995) #1 UK (4 × Platinum) - Heavy Soul – (1997) #2 UK (Gold)
- Heliocentric – (2000) #2 UK (Silver)
- IlluminationIllumination (Paul Weller album)Illumination is the sixth album by English singer-songwriter Paul Weller, released on 16 September 2002. "Call Me No.5" is a duet with Kelly Jones of Stereophonics, and "One X One" features Gem Archer on acoustic guitar and Noel Gallagher of Oasis on drums, percussion and bass.-Reception:Initial...
– (2002) #1 UK (Gold) - Studio 150Studio 150Studio 150 is the seventh album by British artist Paul Weller. It comprises covers of songs by a variety of artists, and showcases Weller's myriad musical influences. It was named after the small Amsterdam studio in which it was recorded...
– (2004) #2 UK (Silver) - As Is NowAs Is NowAs Is Now is Paul Weller's eighth studio album. Released in October 2005, it reached number 4 in the UK charts.The singles from the record were "From The Floorboards Up" , "Come On/Let's Go" , "Here's The Good News" and the "The As Is Now EP" which did not qualify for the charts and it had 4...
– (2005) #4 UK (Gold) - 22 Dreams22 Dreams22 Dreams is the ninth solo studio album by Paul Weller. It was released on June 2, 2008.The album was released on double LP and single CD, as well as a deluxe edition CD, featuring a bonus CD with outtakes and extra tracks. Oasis stars Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer feature on the album, as does...
– (2008) #1 UK (Platinum) - Wake Up the NationWake Up the NationWake Up the Nation is the tenth studio album from Paul Weller and was released April 19, 2010. It was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize....
– (2010) #2 UK (Gold)
External links
- Paul Weller dot Com (Paul Weller's official website)
- The Moons (official website)