Once he split The Jam, vocalist and guitarist Paul Weller abandoned rage and Rickenbackers and formed The Style Council with keyboardist Mick Talbot, from London Mod band The Merton Parkas, and drummer Steve White. They returned to the Soul and Jazz Weller had visited in The Jam's final days, and their upbeat debut 'Speak Like A Child' (1983) married social commentary to brassy R and B. Their dreamy 'Long Hot Summer' from 1983's 'Paris Match' EP and 1984's Jazz-tinged Cafe Bleu (issued in a slightly different form as My Ever Changing Moods in the USA) underlined Weller's rejection of his Beatles/Small Faces roots. With keyboards, horns and harmonies replacing the trademark bluster, Paris Match and Cafe Blue were grounded in African-American music: soul, jazz, blues, R&B and (with less success) hip hop. Their debut gig was at 1983's May Day Show For Jobs And Peace in Liverpool. In 1984, they played with singer for Wham! D.C. Lee (now a Syle Councillor and later to be Weller's wife) at a striking miners' benefit in London. Paul Weller sang with Band Aid and the band made 'Soul Deep' as Council Collective in aid of the miners. Our Favourite Shop (1985) stretched Weller's musical vocabulary, and the group appeared at Live Aid and were involved with the ill-fated Red Wedge- a 1986 tour to raise awareness of England's Labour party among young voters. The negative press reaction dissuaded Weller from any further political involvement. After the live Home And Abroad in 1986, 1987's The Cost Of Loving continued the group's success, but began Weller's fall from grace with the music press, who condemned its earnest themes. The obscure short film JerUSalem (1987) drew a blank with press and fans, 1988's Musak-like Confessions Of A Pop Group was eclipsed by 1989's hits set The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council, then their label Polydor took exception to their latest direction- slick Chicago House- and refused to release Modernism: A New Decade (1989). They were dr
1 | Shout to the Top! | A Kick Up the '80s, Vol. 8: Shout to the Top |
2 | The Lodgers | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
3 | Walls Come Tumbling Down! | A Kick Up the '80s, Vol. 7: Young at Heart |
4 | Walls Come Tumbing Down | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
5 | Wanted | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
6 | How She Threw It All Away | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
7 | You're The Best Thing | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
8 | Life At A Top People's Health Farm | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
9 | Long Hot Summer (12 Inch Version) | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
10 | Waiting | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
11 | Shout To The Top! | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
12 | You´re the best thing | Moments in love |
13 | It Didn't Matter | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
14 | A Solid Bond In Your Heart | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
15 | Money Go Round (Parts 1 & 2) | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
16 | Promised Land | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
17 | Have You Ever Had It Blue (12 Inch Version) | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
18 | Speak Like A Child | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |
19 | My Ever Changing Moods (12 Inch Version) | The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council |