Paul Weller (born
John William Weller on 25 May 1958) is an
English singer-songwriter.
Starting with the mod/punk-rock 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, a fact reaffirmed by his awarding of the 2009 BRIT award for Best Male Solo Artist.
He 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.
Early years 1958–1976
Weller was born on 25 May 1958 in
Sheerwater, 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 his first group, ‘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 clubs. 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 Brooks. In 1976 Brookes left the band and Weller and Foxton decided they would swap guitar roles, with Weller now the lead singer.
Career
‘The Jam’: 1976–1982
Although ‘The Jam’ emerged at the same time as
punk rock bands such as
The Clash,
The Damned, and the
Sex Pistols, ‘The Jam’ better fitted the mold of the so-called '
new wave' bands who came later. Also, being from just outside of
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 lyrics led, in March 1980, to their first number one single, "Going Underground". Originally, "Going Underground" was supposed to be a double A side with the psychedelic "Dreams of Children", but a mistake at a French pressing plant meant "Going Underground" was given 'A' status on the label.
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 feat would later also be equalled by Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and The Ramones. ‘The Jam’ even had one single, "That's Entertainment", reach No. 21 in the UK singles chart despite not even being released in that country - it got there purely on the strength of the huge number of people buying import sales of the German single release. Weller, however, was eager to explore a more soulful, melodic style with a broader instrumention.
In 1982, Weller announced that ‘The Jam’ would disband at the end of the year. 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.
The Style Council: 1983–1989
At the beginning of 1983, Weller collaborated with keyboard player
Mick Talbot 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 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’, having a number one 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 itself began to slide, 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, . 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
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 to reconsider his musical direction, 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 Wild Wood, an album hailed by fans and critics as one of Weller's finest..
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. 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. Two other hits were "Broken Stones" (#20) and new version of 1994 single "Out Of The Sinking" (#16).
The Modfather: 1996–2004
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 Chart, 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 Jam and 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.
Critical success: 2005–present
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 particularly well received critically and 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.
The double album 22 Dreams was released on 2 June 2008 with "Echoes Round The Sun" as the lead single. Before recording this album, Weller had decided to part company with his existing band, resulting in the replacement of everyone except 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. In November 2008 the box set Weller at the BBC was released in various formats, most notably as a 4-CD set and as a download which included multiple bonus tracks. A DVD, Weller at the BBC, was also released. The DVD contained more than 30 tracks, none of which were included in the various audio formats.
After winning a BRIT award at the 2009 ceremony, there was controversy at the bookmakers when it was discovered a suspiciously high number of bets had been placed for Weller to win the "Best Male Solo Artist" award, for which James Morrison was T4's favourite. It was reported that they had lost £100,000 in the event, and that as a result would not be taking bets for the awards in the future.
Weller confirmed a 2009 UK tour, over November and December, which will start in Derby and end in Cambridge.
Paul appears on Dot Allison's 2009 album titled, Room 7½. He co-wrote and duets on the song, "Love's Got Me Crazy."
On 24 February 2010, Paul received the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards.
Personal life
Soon after the formation of
The Style Council, Weller and
Dee C. Lee, Style Council's
backing singer, began a romantic relationship. The couple married in 1988 and
divorced in 1994. 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, daughter Jesamine and Stevie Mac named in homage, for the Small Faces band members. In October 2008 they broke up and Weller moved in with a backing singer on his 22 Dreams album, who has toured with his band, Hannah Andrews. The pair were married in September 2010.
On April 24, 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.
Influences
Weller has stated a wide range of influences throughout his musical career, frequently listing
Small Faces,
'The Beatles',
'The Kinks',
'The Who' and
1960s and
1970s soul music.
During the Britpop explosion in the mid-1990s a number of fledging 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.
References in literature
Paul Weller was the theme of a book,
The Modfather, in which David Lines documented his life growing up in
Garforth,
Leeds, and his adolescent obsession with Paul Weller.
Discography
Albums
Paul Weller - (1992) #8 UK
Wild Wood - (1993) #2 UK (Platinum)
Stanley Road - (1995) #1 UK (4 × Platinum)
Heavy Soul - (1997) #2 UK (Gold)
Heliocentric - (2000) #2 UK (Silver)
Illumination - (2002) #1 UK (Gold)
Studio 150 - (2004) #2 UK (Silver)
As Is Now - (2005) #4 UK (Gold)
22 Dreams - (2008) #1 UK (Silver)
Wake Up the Nation - (2010) #2 UK (Gold)
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
Paul Weller dot Com (Paul Weller's official website)
The Jam (official website as run by Rick Buckler)
The Moons (official website)
Category:1958 births
Category:Living people
Category:The Jam members
Category:The Style Council members
Category:English rock singers
Category:English male singers
Category:English singer-songwriters
Category:English guitarists
Category:Mod revival
Category:English punk rock singers
Category:English socialists
Category:People from Woking
Category:BRIT Award winners
![Paris Match - Street sound take1 [2008.08.22]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110417184336im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VgCWvK1UIHE/0.jpg "Paris Match - Street sound take1 [2008.08.22]")
