Paul Weller | Biography, News, Photos and Videos | Contactmusic.com Biography Paul Weller (born John William Weller, 25.5.1958) Paul Weller is an English singer / songwriter, who first found fame in the punk era, as the singer and guitarist in The Jam. Childhood: Paul Weller was born in Woking, England in a working class neighbourhood. He was brought up in Stanley Road; the street name was later used for the title of one of Weller's solo albums. Paul wanted to form a band from the age of around 10 and aged 12, he was given a guitar by his family and he learned to play along with the music that he listened to. At 14, he played his first gig with his friend Steve Brooks at the Walton Road Working Men's Club. The Jam: The Jam played in the lunch hour at their school and the interest shown by the female pupils made Weller realise that a career in music could be quite a tantalizing prospect! The band, with Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler alongside Brookes and Weller, continued to play around Surrey and London, managed by Weller's father.

Their popularity grew; notable when they were booked to play at the Red Cow in Hammersmith, with queues forming around the block to see them play. In 1977, Polydor Records signed the Jam for £6,000. Later that year, they appeared on Top of the Pops, the show that Paul Weller used to watch avidly as a child. Although they rose to fame at the same time that the punk scene was popularized, The Jam were never a part of the London clique and were more akin to the 'new-wave' style of bands that followed punk bands like The Sex Pistols. The Clash was one London band that did take notice of The Jam though, and took them on their White Riot tour in 1977. Eventually, the Jam outsold The Clash in terms of UK singles sales and went on to be the more successful of the two bands. The Jam's first venture into the UK Top 40 was 'In The City', released in May 1977. 'Eton Rifles' was the first of their singles to reach the Top 10, reaching number three in 1979. The next year, 'Going Underground' reached number one.

This achievement was followed with 'Start!' and 'Town Called Malice.' In 1982, it was announced that The Jam would be splitting up. 'Beat Surrender', their fourth number one, was their last ever single. Their final concert, at the Brighton Centre, was a sell-out. The Style Council: Weller formed The Style Council in 1983, with keyboardist Mick Talbot and Steve White, who has continued to play with Weller ever since. Weller's new band was not as commercially successful as The Jam, yet Paul Weller's public profile continued to grow. Weller appeared on the charity record, Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' (he was filmed miming Bono's part on Top of the Pops, as the U2 singer was unavailable) and The Style Council played at the huge Live Aid event at Wembley in 1985. The Style Council's popularity in the UK began to decrease throughout the 1980s and in 1989, their record label refused to release their fifth album, Modernism: A New Decade. Later that year, Weller broke up the band.

Solo career: A few years after The Style Council split, Paul Weller returned, with Steve White, firstly as The Paul Weller Movement, then simply as Paul Weller. He became a frontrunner of the 1990's 'Britpop' movement, along with the likes of Blur and Oasis. His first solo album was Paul Weller. The album's follow-up, Wild Wood, is considered by many to be one of Weller's finest moments and Stanley Road, his third solo outing, became the biggest selling album of his career. 'The Changingman', a single from the album, reached number seven in the UK singles charts. Next up, the Heavy Soul album, reached number two in the album charts and in 2000, Weller released Heliocentric. At the time, there were rumours that this would be his final studio album but two years later, he released the number one album, Illumination. 'It's Written In the Stars', taken from the album, was a top 10 single. In 2004, Weller released Studio 150, a covers album, followed a year later by As Is Now.

In 2008, Weller's new album, 22 Dreams will be released. Biography by Contactmusic.com Paul Weller , singer songwriter, Noel Gallagher , singer song-writer - Celebrities arrive at the BBC Radio 4 Maida Vale Studios at Maida Vale Studios - London, United Kingdom - Wednesday 11th May 2016 Paul Weller on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music. Biography As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers ranging from his mod revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983.

As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience -- by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the U.K., where he had previously been worshiped as a demigod. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council's, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums that were both critically acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans who had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career. Weller's climb back to the top of the charts was not easy.

After Polydor rejected the Style Council's fifth, house-influenced album in 1989, Weller broke up the group and lost both his record contract and his publishing deal. Over the next two years, he was in seclusion as he revamped his music. In 1991, he formed the Paul Weller Movement and released "Into Tomorrow" on his own independent label, Freedom High Records. A soulful, gritty neo-psychedelic song that represented a clear break from the Style Council, "Into Tomorrow" reached the U.K. Top 40 that spring, and he supported the single with an international tour, where he worked out the material that comprised his eponymous 1992 solo debut. Recorded with producer Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller was a joyous, soulful return to form that was recorded with several members of the Young Disciples, former Blow Monkey Dr. Robert, and Weller's then-wife, Dee C. Lee. The album debuted at number eight on the U.K. charts, and was received with positive reviews. Wild Wood, Weller's second solo album, confirmed that the success of his solo debut was no fluke.

Recorded with Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock, Wild Wood was a more eclectic and ambitious effort than its predecessor, and it was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, entering the charts at number two upon its fall 1993 release. The album would win the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection the following year. Weller supported the album with an extensive tour that featured Cradock as the group's leader; the guitarist's exposure on Wild Wood helped him successfully relaunch Ocean Colour Scene in 1995. At the end of the tour, Weller released the live album Live Wood late in 1994. Preceded by "The Changingman," which became his 17th Top Ten hit, 1995's Stanley Road was his most successful album since the Jam, entering the charts at number one and eventually selling nearly a million copies in the U.K. By this point, Weller decided to stop attempting to break into the United States market and canceled his North American tour. Of course, he was doing so well in the England that he didn't need to set his sights outside of the U.K.

Stanley Road may have been greeted with mixed reviews, but Weller had been re-elevated to his status as an idol, with the press claiming that he was the father of the thriving Brit-pop movement, and artists like Noel Gallagher of Oasis singing his praises. In fact, while neither artist released a new album in 1996, Weller's and Gallagher's influence was felt throughout the British music scene, as '60s roots-oriented bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, and Kula Shaker became the most popular groups in the U.K. Weller returned in the summer of 1997 with Heavy Soul. Modern Classics: Greatest Hits followed a year later. Heliocentric -- which at the time of its release he claimed was his final studio effort -- appeared in the spring of 2000. The live record Days of Speed followed in 2001, and he released his sixth studio album, Illumination, in 2002. A collection of covers called Studio 150 appeared in 2004, followed by an all-new studio release, As Is Now, in October of 2005 on Yep Roc.

Released in 2006, Catch-Flame! Live at the Alexandra Palace preceded Yep Roc’s mammoth Hit Parade box set. It was followed in 2008 by 22 Dreams, a two-disc studio epic that managed to touch on all of Weller's myriad influences. His tenth solo album, Wake Up the Nation, was released in 2010 and it proved another success, earning a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. Weller's next album, Sonik Kicks, arrived in the spring of 2012; it debuted at number one in the U.K. and was eventually certified silver. The summer of 2014 brought More Modern Classics, a second solo hits compilation that rounded up the singles Weller released after Heavy Soul. The next spring, Weller returned with his twelfth solo album, Saturns Pattern. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Top Albums The Jam? They were a way of life | Music | The Guardian The Jam? They were a way of life As Paul Weller prepares to receive a Lifetime Achievement Brit, John Harris salutes a giant Raining on Glasto's parade ...

Paul Weller Share on Messenger Close In a couple of weeks the music industry will gather for the annual orgy of false bonhomie and poor-quality catering that is the Brit awards, whose ceremonial aspect will conclude with the presentation of a special statuette to Paul Weller . Long a proud absentee from such occasions, his presence this year was presumably secured thanks to the nature of his gong: the Outstanding Contribution to Music trophy, whose underlying logic seems to be back on track after last year's presentation to that reedy voiced part-timer Bob Geldof. All that said, given Weller's history of uneasy relations with the music business, there is likely to be a certain tension in the air. Always one to put blazing his own trail before the demands of commerce, his most celebrated act of wilful sabotage came in October 1982 - when, at the age of 24, he boldly announced that despite their place as one of Britain's most successful rock bands, he was parting with bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler and splitting up the Jam.

"I'd hate us to end up old and embarrassing like so many other groups," read his official statement, which presumably failed to raise the spirits of the people at Polydor Records. Up in the Leeds suburb of Garforth, meanwhile, a 15-year-old named David Lines decided to commemorate the news by loading his collection of Jam memorabilia into an incinerator, and watching as posters, T-shirts and badges went up in smoke. "There was such a sense of loss," he says now, his voice audibly quivering at the memory. "It was like a funeral. I was so young - I hadn't followed any other groups, and I had no idea that he was going to come back with the Style Council; I thought that was it. So I burned everything." Lines, as outlined in his just-published memoir The Modfather: My Life With Paul Weller - a reminiscence of the 1970s and 1980s, rendered in the cosy style of Radio 4's Home Truths - was not the only one to be so poleaxed. I can clearly remember my own take on events: the article in Smash Hits headlined "Breaking up is hard to do ...

but the Jam have done it"; the realisation that, at 12 years old, I was still too young to go and see any of their farewell concerts; the burning anger that came from being denied the chance to watch their valedictory TV performance on the Tube because a neighbour was having a bonfire party. I also recall a sense of bafflement that such a fixed part of my life should suddenly not be there: with their logo scratched into all those desks at school, their lyrics patiently memorised by me and my friends, and Paul Weller established as a reliable guide to just about everything, how could the Jam just disappear? It's not something that's yet made its way into the accepted version of rock history, but between their decisive breakthrough in 1979 and that final, wonderfully brutal act of what is now known as "moving on", the cult of the Jam was an immovable part of Britain's cultural map.

Superficially, it may have all been about white socks, bowling shoes and a mercifully brief mod revival, but something altogether more interesting was afoot; particularly in Britain's small towns and suburbs, their songs became a kind of folk music, treasured by exactly the people that Paul Weller - a working-class native of suburban Surrey - had a habit of writing about. In such songs as Saturday's Kids, Town Called Malice, Man in the Corner Shop and That's Entertainment, there lies a kind of poetically rendered social history, written just as the postwar consensus was shoved aside by the arrival of Thatcherism. If you want to understand the mixture of worry, confusion and national sclerosis that defined the years between 1978 and 1982, this is a pretty good place to start. If all this has long been ignored, at least part of the explanation lies in the Jam's anomalous place within punk rock, and the fact that music writers have usually ranked them below the short-lived Sex Pistols and the absurdly over-romanticised Clash (who, during the time they were together, never had a top 10 UK hit).

"There was a real snobbery about the Jam," says Adrian Thrills, the one-time NME writer who became an early devotee when he was a teenage escapee from Stevenage. "They were the black sheep - never part of the hip London elite, who had a strong kind of fashionista element. That was something Weller was always very aware of, like he says in that song Sounds From the Street [from 1977's In the City]: 'I know I come from Woking/ And you say I'm a fraud/ But my heart is in the city where it belongs.' Having said that, I don't think he wanted in on any of that. He saw those bands becoming rock stars, and he took the anti-star aspect of punk very seriously.

It guided him." A half-hour conversation with Thrills hurls forth all kinds of very telling memories: accompanying the band on early tours that took them to such unlikely destinations as Dunstable, Crawley, Malvern, Falkirk and Barrow-in-Furness; beholding an audience that, relative to those drawn to more doctrinaire punk groups, contained "more regular kids - and a lot of people of 14 and 15"; and realising, as Weller's compositional talent came into its own, that his leavening of punk-ish aggression with both sensitivity and a keen sense of place made the Jam unique. "They did become huge," he says, "but there was a real dialogue between the band and their fans. And it transcended what the Pistols and the Clash had done, didn't it? Those bands were singing about Britain, but they weren't singing about their audience." The Jam's golden period began with 1978's All Mod Cons album, though their first collision with the upper reaches of the singles chart came the following year, when a single entitled The Eton Rifles reached number three.

It still sounds spine-tingling: inspired by the infamous occasion when protesters on a nationwide right-to-work march were jeered by hostile pupils from the public school, and suffused with a sense of bitter resignation. With the Tories back in power, Weller used the imagined scenario of a climactic ruck between toffs and proles to sound notice of an inevitable defeat: "All that rugby puts hairs on your chest/ What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?" By now, the Jam's impact had gone way beyond their core crowds. The writer and novelist DJ Taylor was then a student at St John's College Oxford, addicted to the Jam since sighting them on ITV at the age of 16, and coming to the conclusion that they were "a sort of panacea to all these short-haired gits in Day-Glo trousers". "I can remember watching them doing The Eton Rifles on Top of the Pops in the college TV room," he recalls, "and a girl called Kathy Shipsey, who'd been to a convent school, turned to the bloke sitting next to her and said, 'Hamish - you were at Eton.

What on earth are these chappies going on about?' I thought, 'This really is saying something. If Kathy Shipsey is worried about these guttersnipes from Woking, they're getting it right.' That song was bang-on for late 1979. And the lyrics are absolutely cracking: 'Sup up your beer and collect your fags/ There's a row going on, down near Slough ..." Those lines, I suggest, sound like something by Philip Larkin. "They do!" Taylor agrees, sounding every bit as excited as he was in 1979. "They really do. There was a kind of buried literary consciousness that Weller had picked up from somewhere. When You're Young was another example: 'The world is your oyster, but your future's a clam.' Wonderful! In the context of a three-minute pop song, he was doing incredible things with language." When success brought interviewers queuing to ask Weller about his cultural appetites, this aspect came even further to the fore. George Orwell was a much-cited touchstone, along with the 1960s Mersey poets (Roger McGough, Brian Patten and particularly Adrian Henri).

In 1980, by way of signalling his new-found attachment to a world-view that was leftist, very English, and deeply romantic, the back cover of Sound Affects featured an extract from Shelley's The Mask of Anarchy. This, it was fair to say, was not the kind of thing that most rock groups tended to do. Up in West Yorkshire, David Lines had long since taken the hint. "Weller started talking about Orwell, so I read absolutely everything," he says. "The same went for Colin MacInnes. There was one time I got bollocked in class and as punishment the teacher asked me to write an essay about a book I was reading. I'd read a Weller interview in Smash Hits where he'd talked about Hugh McDiarmid, the Scottish socialist poet, and ordered a book by him from the local library. So the next day, I brought in 1,000 words on Hugh McDiarmid. And, of course, the teacher just wouldn't believe that I'd been reading this. I was sent home to get the book: there it was, on the kitchen table.

That was all because of Paul Weller." The accent on self-improvement was only heightened during the first phase of Weller's post-Jam enterprise, the Style Council, whose tangle of often esoteric reference points - jazz, socialism, French cigarettes - left many of his audience trying desperately to keep up. Impressed by his new group's claims to be "New Europeans", I foolishly took both French and German O-level (and dropped the latter within weeks); in his book, David Lines recalls obediently switching from Silk Cut to Gitanes and "spending the next six months peeling bits of tobacco - and skin - from my bottom lip". Despite such travails, a lot of us hung on: until around 1987, the Council were more popular than some retrospective accounts suggest, though the days of that perfect bond between audience and group had gone, chiefly at Weller's behest. Like so many supposed generational spokesmen - apart from the dependably hubristic Bono - he eventually turned out to be deeply uneasy about everything the role implied.

That, of course, partly explains his solo incarnation: stripped-back, bluffly unaffected, back in love with the rock'n'roll that predated the books and poems and politics - and still the focus of a popular affection that dates back nearly three decades. "The Jam charted a very true course," says Thrills, "and they never lost the faith of that hardcore audience. Even now, you see it at Weller gigs - that loyalty. A lot of people who go to watch him play are the same people who were at those shows 20 years ago. Not many people manage that." So it is that, just for a change, those usually overheated Brits tributes to a supposed "outstanding contribution" might just about ring true. As well as songs from his present, Weller is apparently all but guaranteed to play at least one Jam song; in such unsung towns as Barrow, Crawley, Dunstable and Garforth, the cheers will presumably be deafening. · The Modfather: My Life With Paul Weller, by David Lines, is published by William Heinemann at £10.99. A new CD edition of the Jam anthology Snap!

is released by Polydor on February 13 Paul Weller | New Music And Songs | Paul Weller About Paul Weller As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers ranging from his mod revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience -- by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the U.K., where he had previously been worshiped as a demigod. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council's, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain.

By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums that were both critically acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans who had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career. Weller's climb back to the top of the charts was not easy. After Polydor rejected the Style Council's fifth, house-influenced album in 1989, Weller broke up the group and lost both his record contract and his publishing deal. Over the next two years, he was in seclusion as he revamped his music. In 1991, he formed the Paul Weller Movement and released "Into Tomorrow" on his own independent label, Freedom High Records. A soulful, gritty neo-psychedelic song that represented a clear break from the Style Council, "Into Tomorrow" reached the U.K. Top 40 that spring, and he supported the single with an international tour, where he worked out the material that comprised his eponymous 1992 solo debut.

Recorded with producer Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller was a joyous, soulful return to form that was recorded with several members of the Young Disciples, former Blow Monkey Dr. Robert, and Weller's then-wife, Dee C. Lee. The album debuted at number eight on the U.K. charts, and was received with positive reviews. Wild Wood, Weller's second solo album, confirmed that the success of his solo debut was no fluke. Recorded with Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock, Wild Wood was a more eclectic and ambitious effort than its predecessor, and it was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, entering the charts at number two upon its fall 1993 release. The album would win the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection the following year. Weller supported the album with an extensive tour that featured Cradock as the group's leader; the guitarist's exposure on Wild Wood helped him successfully relaunch Ocean Colour Scene in 1995. At the end of the tour, Weller released the live album Live Wood late in 1994.

Preceded by "The Changingman," which became his 17th Top Ten hit, 1995's Stanley Road was his most successful album since the Jam, entering the charts at number one and eventually selling nearly a million copies in the U.K. By this point, Weller decided to stop attempting to break into the United States market and canceled his North American tour. Of course, he was doing so well in the England that he didn't need to set his sights outside of the U.K. Stanley Road may have been greeted with mixed reviews, but Weller had been re-elevated to his status as an idol, with the press claiming that he was the father of the thriving Brit-pop movement, and artists like Noel Gallagher of Oasis singing his praises. In fact, while neither artist released a new album in 1996, Weller's and Gallagher's influence was felt throughout the British music scene, as '60s roots-oriented bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, and Kula Shaker became the most popular groups in the U.K. Weller returned in the summer of 1997 with Heavy Soul. Modern Classics: Greatest Hits followed a year later.

Heliocentric -- which at the time of its release he claimed was his final studio effort -- appeared in the spring of 2000. The live record Days of Speed followed in 2001, and he released his sixth studio album, Illumination, in 2002. A collection of covers called Studio 150 appeared in 2004, followed by an all-new studio release, As Is Now, in October of 2005 on Yep Roc. Released in 2006, Catch-Flame! Live at the Alexandra Palace preceded Yep Roc’s mammoth Hit Parade box set. It was followed in 2008 by 22 Dreams, a two-disc studio epic that managed to touch on all of Weller's myriad influences. His tenth solo album, Wake Up the Nation, was released in 2010 and it proved another success, earning a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. Weller's next album, Sonik Kicks, arrived in the spring of 2012; it debuted at number one in the U.K. and was eventually certified silver.

The summer of 2014 brought More Modern Classics, a second solo hits compilation that rounded up the singles Weller released after Heavy Soul. The next spring, Weller returned with his twelfth solo album, Saturns Pattern. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi Paul Weller · 2017 Tour Dates and Concert Tickets | Thrillcall Track Artist for New Show Alerts John William "Paul" Weller, Jr. (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/new wave/mod revival band The Jam. He had further success with the blue-eyed soul music of The Style Council (1983–... John William "Paul" Weller, Jr. (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/new wave/mod revival band The Jam. He had further success with the blue-eyed soul music of The Style Council (1983–89), before establishing himself as a solo artist in 1991.

Despite widespread critical recognition as a singer, lyricist, and guitarist, Weller has remained a national, rather than international, star and much of his songwriting is rooted in British culture. He is also the principal figure of the 1970s and 1980s mod revival, and is often referred to as The Modfather. The Daily Telegraph said of Weller: "Apart from David Bowie, it's hard to think of any British solo artist who's had as varied, long-lasting and determinedly forward-looking a career." The BBC described Weller in 2007 as "one of the most revered music writers and performers of the past 30 years". In 2012, he was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life. He has received four Brit Awards, winning the award for Best British Male twice, and the 2006 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

Early life (1958–75) Weller was born on 25 May 1958 in Woking, Surrey, England, to John and Ann Weller (née Craddock). Although born John William Weller, he became known as Paul by his parents. His father worked as a taxi driver and a builder and his mother was a part-time cleaner. Weller started his education at Maybury County First School in 1963. His love of music began with The Beatles, then The Who and Small Faces. By the time Weller was eleven and moving up to Sheerwater County Secondary school, music was the biggest part of his life, and he had started playing the guitar. Weller's musical vocation was confirmed after seeing Status Quo in concert in 1972. He formed the first incarnation of The Jam in the same year, playing bass guitar with his best friends Steve Brookes (lead guitar) and Dave Waller (rhythm guitar). Weller's father, acting as 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 Brookes. Brookes left the band in 1976, and Weller and Foxton decided they would swap guitar roles, with Weller now the guitarist. The Jam (1976–82) 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 mould of the new wave bands who came later, and being from just outside London rather than the city itself, they were never really part of the tightly-knit punk clique. Nonetheless, it was The Clash who 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 in May 1977.

Although every subsequent single had a placing within the Top 40, it was not until the band released the political "The Eton Rifles" that they would break into the Top 10, hitting the No. 3 spot in November 1979. The increasing popularity of their blend of Weller's barbed lyrics with pop melodies eventually led to their first number one single, "Going Underground", in March 1980. They became the only band other than the Beatles to perform both sides of the same single ("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 as singles in the UK – 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 wanted to explore a more soulful, melodic style of music with a broader instrumentation, and in consequence in 1982 he announced that The Jam would disband at the end of that year. The action came as a surprise to Foxton and Buckler who both felt that the band was still a creative formation with scope to develop further professionally, but Weller was determined to end the band and move on. 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 (1983–89) At the beginning of 1983, Weller teamed up 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 The Style Council song "Paris Match". Many of The Style Council's early singles performed well in the charts, and Weller would also experience 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 called The Council Collective to make a record, "Soul Deep", to raise money for striking miners, and the family of David Wilkie. 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 that 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 would be widely available. Solo career Early solo career (1990–95) In 1989, Weller found himself without a band and without a recording deal for the first time since he was 17. 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. The album's major single, "The Changingman", was also a big hit, taking Weller to No. 7 in the UK singles charts. Another single, the ballad "You Do Something To Me", was his second consecutive Top 10 single and reached No. 9 in the UK. Weller found himself heavily associated with the emerging Britpop movement that gave rise to such bands as Oasis, Pulp and Blur.

Noel Gallagher (of Oasis) is credited as guest guitarist on the Stanley Road album track "I Walk on Gilded Splinters". Weller also returned the favour, appearing as a guest guitarist and backing vocalist on Oasis' hit song "Champagne Supernova". 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 No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart, and the album reached No. 2. Success in the charts also came from compilations: "Best Of" albums by The Jam and The Style Council charted, and in 1998 his own solo collection Modern Classics was a substantial success. In 2000, while living in Send, Surrey, he released his fifth solo studio album, Heliocentric.

Once again finding himself without a record contract, Weller's Days of Speed worldwide tour provided him with the opportunity to view his works as one back catalogue, giving rise to a second successful live album in 2001. Days of Speed contained live acoustic versions from the world tour of the same name, including some of his best-known songs from his solo career and the back catalogues of his The Jam and The Style Council days. There were rumours at the time that Heliocentric would be Weller's final studio effort, but these proved unfounded when he released the No. 1 hit album Illumination in September 2002. Co-produced by Noonday Underground's Simon Dine, it was 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". In 2002, Weller collaborated with Terry Callier on the single "Brother to Brother", which featured on Callier's album Speak Your Peace.

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 their Scorpio Rising album. 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" as well as covers of songs by Gil Scott-Heron, Rose Royce and Gordon Lightfoot, amongst others. Weller's 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's classic "Town Called Malice".

In June 2006, another double live album titled Catch-Flame!, featuring 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, The 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. In 2007 Weller was guest vocalist on the album issue by the folk musical project The Imagined Village. Critical success (2008–present) The double album 22 Dreams was released on 2 June 2008, with "Echoes Round The Sun" as the lead single.

Weller had parted company with his existing band before the recording this album, replacing everyone except guitarist Steve Cradock with 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 influences including jazz, folk and tango as well as the pop-soul more associated with his Style Council days. Weller also featured on two songs from The Moons' album "Life on Earth", playing piano on "Wondering" and lead guitar on "Last Night on Earth". Weller was the surprise recipient of the 2009 BRIT award for "Best Male Solo Artist", which resulted in controversy when it was discovered that 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, Weller received the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards. His 2010 album, Wake Up the Nation, was released in April to critical acclaim, and was subsequently nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The album also marked his first collaboration with The Jam's bassist Bruce Foxton in 28 years. In May 2010, Weller was presented with the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award, saying "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 8 November 2012, Weller announced that he would release the Dragonfly EP on 17 December 2012, a limited edition vinyl run of 3000 copies.

On 22 November 2011, Weller announced his eleventh studio album "Sonik Kicks", which was released on 19 March 2012. Weller provided vocals on The Moons' 2012 single Something Soon. In December 2012, Weller headlined the Crisis charity gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, where he performed with Emeli Sande, Miles Kane and Bradley Wiggins. On 23 March 2013, Paul Weller played drums on stage with Damon Albarn, Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon, playing the Blur track "Tender". This was played as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts curated by Noel Gallagher. His current band line-up consists of Steve Cradock, Andy Lewis, Andy Crofts, Steve Pilgrim and Ben Gordelier. In 2014, Weller wrote Let Me In for Olly Murs's fourth album Never Been Better. In May 2015, Weller revealed dates for a West Coast Tour of the USA to promote the Saturn's Pattern album. The tour was scheduled to run from 9 June to 9 October.

Personal life Soon after the formation of The Style Council, 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. Weller became involved with Samantha Stock whilst he was recording at the Manor studios in the mid-1990s. They have two children together: Jesamine (born 2000) and Stevie Mac (born 2005). In October 2008, Stock and Weller broke up and Weller moved in with Hannah Andrews, a backing singer on his 22 Dreams album, who has also toured with his band. They married in September 2010 on the Italian island of Capri. The couple have twin boys, John Paul and Bowie, who were born on 14 January 2012.

In 2014, Weller won £10,000 in damages from Associated Newspapers after "plainly voyeuristic" photographs of his family out shopping were published on Mail Online. 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. Solo discography The Jam | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine The Jam were the most popular band to emerge from the initial wave of British punk rock in 1977; along with the Sex Pistols , the Clash , and the Buzzcocks , the Jam had the most impact on pop music. While they could barely get noticed in America, the trio became genuine superstars in Britain, with an impressive string of Top Ten singles in the late '70s and early '80s. The Jam could never have a hit in America because they were thoroughly and defiantly British. Under the direction of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Paul Weller , the trio spearheaded a revival of mid-'60s mod groups, in the style of the Who and the Small Faces .

Like the mod bands, the group dressed stylishly, worshipped American R&B, and played it loud and rough. By the time of the group's third album, Weller 's songwriting had grown substantially, as he was beginning to write social commentaries and pop songs in the vein of the Kinks . Both his political songs and his romantic songs were steeped in British culture, filled with references and slang in the lyrics, as well as musical allusions. Furthermore, as the Jam grew more popular and musically accessible, Weller became more insistent and stubborn about his beliefs, supporting leftist causes and adhering to the pop aesthetics of '60s British rock without ever succumbing to hippie values. Paradoxically, that meant even when their music became more pop than punk, they never abandoned the punk values -- if anything, Weller stuck to the strident independent ethics of 1977 more than any other punk band just by simply refusing to change. Weller formed the Jam with drummer Rick Buckler , bassist Bruce Foxton , and guitarist Steve Brookes while they were still in school in 1975; Brookes quickly left the band and they remained a trio for the rest of their career.

For the next year, the band played gigs around London, building a local following. In February 1977, the group signed a record contract with Polydor Records; two months later, they released their debut single, "In the City," which reached the U.K. Top 40. The following month, the group released their debut album, also called In the City . Recorded in just 11 days, the album featured a combinations of R&B covers and Weller originals, all of which sounded a bit like faster, more ragged versions of the Who 's early records. Their second single, "All Around the World," nearly broke into the British Top Ten and the group embarked on a successful British tour. During the summer of 1977, they recorded their second album, This Is the Modern World , which was released toward the end of the year. "The Modern World" made it into the Top 40 in November, just as the Jam were beginning their first American tour. Although it was brief, the tour was not successful, leaving bitter memories of the U.S. in the minds of the band.

This Is the Modern World peaked in the British charts at number 22, yet it received criticism for repeating the sound of the debut. The band began a headlining tour of the U.K., yet it was derailed shortly after it started when the group got into a nasty fight with a bunch of rugby players in a Leeds hotel. Weller broke several bones and was charged with assault, although the Leeds Crown Court would eventually acquit him. The Jam departed for another American tour in March of 1978 and it was yet another unsuccessful tour, as they opened for Blue Öyster Cult . It did nothing to win new American fans, yet their star continued to rise in Britain. Bands copying the group's mod look and sound popped up across Britain and the Jam itself performed at the Reading Festival in August. All Mod Cons , released late in 1978, marked a turning point in the Jam's career, illustrating that Weller 's songwriting was becoming more melodic, complex, and lyrically incisive, resembling Ray Davies more than Pete Townshend . Even as their sound became more pop-oriented, the group lost none of their tightly controlled energy.

All Mod Cons was a major success, peaking at number six on the U.K. charts, even if it didn't make a dent in the U.S. Every one of the band's singles were now charting in the Top 20, with the driving "Eton Rifles" becoming their first Top Ten in November 1979, charting at number three. Setting Sons , released at the end of 1979, climbed to number four in the U.K. and marked their first charting album in the U.S., hitting number 137 in spring of 1980. At that time, the Jam had become full-fledged rock stars in Britain, with their new "Going Underground" single entering the charts at number one. During the summer, the band recorded their fifth album, with the "Taxman"-inspired "Start" released as a teaser single in August; "Start" became their second straight number one. Its accompanying album, the ambitious Sound Affects , hit number two in the U.K. at the end of the year; it was also the band's high-water mark in the U.S., peaking at number 72.

"That's Entertainment," one of the standout tracks from Sound Affects , charted at number 21 in the U.K. as an import single, confirming the band's enormous popularity. "Funeral Pyre," the band's summer 1981 single, showed signs that Weller was becoming fascinated with American soul and R&B, as did the punchy, horn-driven "Absolute Beginners," which hit number four in the fall of the year. As the Jam were recording their sixth album, Weller suffered a nervous breakdown, which prompted him to stop drinking. In February 1982, the first single from the new sessions -- the double A-sided "Town Called Malice"/"Precious" -- became their third number one single and the band became the first group since the Beatles to play two songs on BBC's Top of the Pops. The Gift , released in March of 1982, showcased the band's soul infatuation and became the group's first number one album in the U.K. "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero" hit number eight in July, becoming the group's second import single to make the U.K. charts.

Although the Jam was at the height of its popularity, Weller was becoming frustrated with the trio's sound and made the decision to disband the group. On the heels of the number two hit "The Bitterest Pill," the Jam announced their breakup in October of 1982. The band played a farewell tour in the fall and their final single, "Beat Surrender," entered the charts at number one. Dig the New Breed , a compilation of live tracks, charted at number two in December of 1982. All 16 of the group's singles were re-released by Polydor in the U.K. at the beginning of 1983; all of them recharted simultaneously. Bruce Foxton released a solo album, Touch Sensitive , and Rick Buckler played with the Time UK ; neither of the efforts were as noteworthy as the Jam biography the two wrote in the early '90s, which contained many vicious attacks on Weller . Immediately after the breakup of the Jam, Weller formed the Style Council with Mick Talbot , a member of the Jam -inspired mod revival band the Merton Parkas .

After a handful of initial hits, the Style Council proved to be a disappointment and Weller fell out of favor, both critically and commercially. At the end of the decade he disbanded the group and went solo in the early '90s; his solo albums were both artistic and popular successes, returning him to the spotlight in the U.K. The legacy of the Jam is apparent in nearly every British guitar pop band of the '80s and '90s, from the Smiths to Blur and Oasis . More than any other group, the Jam kept the tradition of three-minute, hook-driven British guitar pop alive through the '70s and '80s, providing a blueprint for generations of bands to come. The Jam | New Music And Songs | The Jam About The Jam The Jam were the most popular band to emerge from the initial wave of British punk rock in 1977; along with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks, the Jam had the most impact on pop music. While they could barely get noticed in America, the trio became genuine superstars in Britain, with an impressive string of Top Ten singles in the late '70s and early '80s.

The Jam could never have a hit in America because they were thoroughly and defiantly British. Under the direction of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Paul Weller, the trio spearheaded a revival of mid-'60s mod groups, in the style of the Who and the Small Faces. Like the mod bands, the group dressed stylishly, worshipped American R&B, and played it loud and rough. By the time of the group's third album, Weller's songwriting had grown substantially, as he was beginning to write social commentaries and pop songs in the vein of the Kinks. Both his political songs and his romantic songs were steeped in British culture, filled with references and slang in the lyrics, as well as musical allusions. Furthermore, as the Jam grew more popular and musically accessible, Weller became more insistent and stubborn about his beliefs, supporting leftist causes and adhering to the pop aesthetics of '60s British rock without ever succumbing to hippie values.

Paradoxically, that meant even when their music became more pop than punk, they never abandoned the punk values -- if anything, Weller stuck to the strident independent ethics of 1977 more than any other punk band just by simply refusing to change. Weller formed the Jam with drummer Rick Buckler, bassist Bruce Foxton, and guitarist Steve Brookes while they were still in school in 1975; Brookes quickly left the band and they remained a trio for the rest of their career. For the next year, the band played gigs around London, building a local following. In February 1977, the group signed a record contract with Polydor Records; two months later, they released their debut single, "In the City," which reached the U.K. Top 40. The following month, the group released their debut album, also called In the City. Recorded in just 11 days, the album featured a combinations of R&B covers and Weller originals, all of which sounded a bit like faster, more ragged versions of the Who's early records.

Their second single, "All Around the World," nearly broke into the British Top Ten and the group embarked on a successful British tour. During the summer of 1977, they recorded their second album, This Is the Modern World, which was released toward the end of the year. "The Modern World" made it into the Top 40 in November, just as the Jam were beginning their first American tour. Although it was brief, the tour was not successful, leaving bitter memories of the U.S. in the minds of the band. This Is the Modern World peaked in the British charts at number 22, yet it received criticism for repeating the sound of the debut. The band began a headlining tour of the U.K., yet it was derailed shortly after it started when the group got into a nasty fight with a bunch of rugby players in a Leeds hotel. Weller broke several bones and was charged with assault, although the Leeds Crown Court would eventually acquit him. The Jam departed for another American tour in March of 1978 and it was yet another unsuccessful tour, as they opened for Blue Öyster Cult. It did nothing to win new American fans, yet their star continued to rise in Britain.

Bands copying the group's mod look and sound popped up across Britain and the Jam itself performed at the Reading Festival in August. All Mod Cons, released late in 1978, marked a turning point in the Jam's career, illustrating that Weller's songwriting was becoming more melodic, complex, and lyrically incisive, resembling Ray Davies more than Pete Townshend. Even as their sound became more pop-oriented, the group lost none of their tightly controlled energy. All Mod Cons was a major success, peaking at number six on the U.K. charts, even if it didn't make a dent in the U.S. Every one of the band's singles were now charting in the Top 20, with the driving "Eton Rifles" becoming their first Top Ten in November 1979, charting at number three. Setting Sons, released at the end of 1979, climbed to number four in the U.K. and marked their first charting album in the U.S., hitting number 137 in spring of 1980.

At that time, the Jam had become full-fledged rock stars in Britain, with their new "Going Underground" single entering the charts at number one. During the summer, the band recorded their fifth album, with the "Taxman"-inspired "Start" released as a teaser single in August; "Start" became their second straight number one. Its accompanying album, the ambitious Sound Affects, hit number two in the U.K. at the end of the year; it was also the band's high-water mark in the U.S., peaking at number 72. "That's Entertainment," one of the standout tracks from Sound Affects, charted at number 21 in the U.K. as an import single, confirming the band's enormous popularity. "Funeral Pyre," the band's summer 1981 single, showed signs that Weller was becoming fascinated with American soul and R&B, as did the punchy, horn-driven "Absolute Beginners," which hit number four in the fall of the year. As the Jam were recording their sixth album, Weller suffered a nervous breakdown, which prompted him to stop drinking.

In February 1982, the first single from the new sessions -- the double A-sided "Town Called Malice"/"Precious" -- became their third number one single and the band became the first group since the Beatles to play two songs on BBC's Top of the Pops. The Gift, released in March of 1982, showcased the band's soul infatuation and became the group's first number one album in the U.K. "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero" hit number eight in July, becoming the group's second import single to make the U.K. charts. Although the Jam was at the height of its popularity, Weller was becoming frustrated with the trio's sound and made the decision to disband the group. On the heels of the number two hit "The Bitterest Pill," the Jam announced their breakup in October of 1982. The band played a farewell tour in the fall and their final single, "Beat Surrender," entered the charts at number one. Dig the New Breed, a compilation of live tracks, charted at number two in December of 1982.

All 16 of the group's singles were re-released by Polydor in the U.K. at the beginning of 1983; all of them recharted simultaneously. Bruce Foxton released a solo album, Touch Sensitive, and Rick Buckler played with the Time UK; neither of the efforts were as noteworthy as the Jam biography the two wrote in the early '90s, which contained many vicious attacks on Weller. Immediately after the breakup of the Jam, Weller formed the Style Council with Mick Talbot, a member of the Jam-inspired mod revival band the Merton Parkas. After a handful of initial hits, the Style Council proved to be a disappointment and Weller fell out of favor, both critically and commercially. At the end of the decade he disbanded the group and went solo in the early '90s; his solo albums were both artistic and popular successes, returning him to the spotlight in the U.K. The legacy of the Jam is apparent in nearly every British guitar pop band of the '80s and '90s, from the Smiths to Blur and Oasis.

More than any other group, the Jam kept the tradition of three-minute, hook-driven British guitar pop alive through the '70s and '80s, providing a blueprint for generations of bands to come. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Question: Which group did Paul Weller form after The Jam
Answer: Style Council