Paul Weller: 'I'm just more comfortable in my own skin'

Sep 26 2008 by Andy Welch

Paul Weller in concert _320

THOSE of a certain age would have first clapped eyes on Paul Weller performing his debut single, In The City, on Top Of The Pops, aged just 18.

That was 1977, and punk was in full swing. Noisy, skinny youths were every- where, but there was some- thing special about this part- icular angry young man.

Weller had more to say than merely taking a swipe at the Monarchy, as the Sex Pistols did that same year, and The Jam’s songs would go on to tackle small-town mentalities, the mundanity of nine-to-five jobs, and various other universal themes of love and life.

Wrapped in timeless pop melodies and an energetic mass of guitar, bass and drums, Weller’s songs came from the suburbs south of London but spoke to the everyman all over the country – so much so that, by the time he controversially disbanded The Jam at the height of their fame in 1982, they’d become one of the biggest- selling and passionately supported British groups since The Beatles.

Catching him on stage in London this summer, just weeks after his 50th birthday, and it seemed as though little had changed.

Weller may have filled out from that scrawny teen of ’77, and he also sports the sort of suntan you get on a holiday only a millionaire rock star can afford, but he has lost none of the aggression that made him stand out 30 years ago.

What would the teenage Weller make of the 50-year- old version?

"I had no vision or concept of being 50 whatsoever," he says, smiling. "When I was 18, I thought life stopped after 25.

"I don’t suppose I ever really thought about that sort of thing, and I’ve never had chance to stop and think since, I’ve just kept on going.

"The next landmark is 60," he adds, with a faint look of horror. "If the next decade goes as quickly as the last, it’ll be here before I know it."

After Weller folded The Jam, he formed The Style Council. A Mod to the core, he’d always worn his influences on his sleeve while in the former band – The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Beatles and The Who – but The Style Council saw him experiment with more Continental music and themes; French house, funk, soul and jazz.

The band broke up in the late 80s when their label refused to release house music experiment, Modernism: A New Decade.

Then came the solo career, and a few years where Paul steadfastly ignored fan requests at live shows to play hits from his illustrious back-catalogue.

It may have infuriated his loyal followers at the time, but the decision paid off and made people take his solo music more seriously.

When he finally decided to dust down some classics for 2001 live acoustic album Days Of Speed, the reaction was understandably one of mild hysteria.