NEWS
EVENTS
Why you should know who Paul Weller is
Indie | Wednesday 20th May 2015 | Carl
Mod-legend Paul Weller released Saturns Pattern on Monday, his 12th LP since 1992. Considered one of the most important pop-rock musicians in the UK, the man who celebrates his 57th birthday next Monday still has the sound that makes him so special.
Here are 5 things you should know about him:
1 - Saturns Pattern is more than a simple dive into pop-rock
The production is excellent and every element that makes Weller unique is there. The record is a melting-pot of psychedelic ballads mixed with garage-rock sounds, the guitars are strummed with power. Space-music sounds are also continuously present on this ear bashing LP that will rock you all summer long. Have a listen here:
2 - Paul Weller always listens to good music
Weller's stated influences range widely and include The Beatles, Dr Feelgood, The Kinks, The Who and Small Faces. But he also listens to lots of 1960s and 1970s Northern Soul, a music and dance movement that emerged independtly in Northern England, the English Midlands, Scotland and Wales in the late 1960s from the British mod scene. Here is a sample: Chuck Wood - 'Seven Days Too Long' (1967).
3 - Paul Weller gets bored very easily
He maintains that he couldn't do what a lot of other music groups do and play the same stuff all the time year after year. As he gets bored easily, it gives him a strong hunger to change and reinvent himself by writing new melodies, different lyrics and new songs. Paul Weller makes music that doesnt meet with today's trends but starts them. For the last 20 years or so he has worked with a solid group of musicians both playing live and in the studio with him to keep him fresh.
4 - Paul Weller cares about his family and knows where he comes from
Born in Surrey in 1958 to a father who was a bricklayer/scaffolder/taxi driver and a mother who was a part-time cleaner, Weller started playing at 12. Weller's dad John landed them gigs, sticking with his son as manager for about 30 years until he was diagnosed with dementia in 2006 and died three years later. This is what Weller said about his father after he passed away, "He was a great dad, you know, always very encouraging and enthusiastic. Whatever I was into, he would always help. He got us our first gig around the corner from where I used to live, in a little working men's club. There were only six people there so it was our baptism. He was just one of those dads who tried to give as much to his kids as he could."
5 - Paul Weller is a inventor and a hard worker. His goal is to manage every project with passion
To him, the Jam were a good band. However, the Style Council (the band he formed after the Jam) were better. He doesn't fear misinterpretation or people who don't agree with his point of view, as he always make his projects become excellent. Like an inventor, he is always challenging himself. He wasn't successful for all of his career but he improved, and he managed to take his writting as close to excellence as possible. To him there is only one way to grow: "You can't stick in your little comfort zone".
Now you know why Paul Weller is the 'Modfather'.
