As the leader of
the Jam,
Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the
punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged 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 worshipped 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, and entered 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 the United States and canceled his North American tour. Of course, he was doing so well in the England 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
Britpop 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 roots-oriented, '60s 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. The covers record Studio 150 appeared in 2004.
As Is Now arrived in October of 2005 on Yep Roc. The live album
Catch-Flame! followed in 2006. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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