1. Paul Weller was the principal figure of the 1970s and 1980s mod revival, often referred to as the Modfather, and an influence on many subsequent British alternative rock and Britpop artists, such as Oasis.
42 Facts About Paul Weller
1. 2.
Paul Weller has received four Brit Awards, including Best British Male three times, and the 2006 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
3.
Paul Weller was born on 25 May 1958 in Woking, Surrey, England, to John and Ann Paul Weller.
4.
Paul Weller's father worked as a taxi driver and a builder and his mother was a part-time cleaner.
5.
When Paul Weller was eleven he moved up to Sheerwater County Secondary school and had started playing the guitar.
6.
Paul Weller formed the first incarnation of the Jam, playing bass guitar with his school friends Steve Brookes, Dave Waller and Neil Harris, playing sets at school and their local youth club.
7.
Paul Weller's father, acting as their manager, began booking the four-piece into local working men's clubs, and the band began to forge a local reputation, playing a mixture of covers and songs written by Paul Weller and Brookes.
8.
Paul Weller became interested in 1960s mod subculture in late 1974, particularly after hearing "My Generation" by the Who.
9.
In 1983, Paul Weller teamed up with keyboardist Mick Talbot to form a new group called the Style Council.
10.
Free of the limited musical styles he felt imposed by the Jam, under the collective of the Style Council, Paul Weller was able to experiment with a wide range of music, including jazz, blue-eyed soul, and house; he brought in musicians and vocalists to produce a different sound on each track.
11.
In December 1984, Paul 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, a Welsh taxi driver who was killed during said strike.
12.
In 1989, Paul Weller found himself without a band and without a recording contract for the first time since he was 17.
13.
Paul Weller found himself heavily associated with the emerging Britpop movement.
14.
Paul Weller appears on Noonday Underground's second studio album called Surface Noise, singing on the track "I'll Walk Right On".
15.
In 2002, Paul Weller collaborated with Terry Callier on the single "Brother to Brother", which featured on Callier's ninth studio album Speak Your Peace.
16.
Paul Weller was offered appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 birthday honours, but rejected the offer.
17.
In 2007, Paul Weller was a guest vocalist on the song "John Barleycorn" by the folk music project the Imagined Village, with Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy being credited as main artists.
18.
Paul 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 keyboards and Steve Pilgrim of the Stands on drums.
19.
Paul Weller featured on two songs from the Moons' debut studio album Life on Earth, playing piano on "Wondering" and lead guitar on "Last Night on Earth".
20.
Paul Weller was the surprise recipient of the 2009 Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist, which resulted in controversy when it was discovered that a suspiciously high number of bets had been placed for Paul Weller to win the award, for which James Morrison was T4's favourite.
21.
On 24 February 2010, Paul Weller received the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards.
22.
On 19 March 2012 Paul Weller released his eleventh studio album Sonik Kicks.
23.
On 17 December 2012 Paul Weller released the Dragonfly EP, a limited edition vinyl run of 3000 copies.
24.
Paul Weller provided vocals on the Moons' 2012 single "Something Soon".
25.
In December 2012, Paul Weller headlined the Crisis charity gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, where he performed with Emeli Sande, Miles Kane and Bradley Wiggins.
26.
On 23 March 2013, Paul Weller played drums on stage with Damon Albarn, Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon, playing the Blur track "Tender".
27.
In 2014, Paul Weller wrote "Let Me In" with Olly Murs for Murs's fourth studio album Never Been Better.
28.
In 2015, Paul Weller made a West Coast tour of the US to promote his Saturns Pattern studio album.
29.
Paul Weller joins the Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney in having the distinction.
30.
On 15 May 2021, Paul Weller recorded live symphonic renditions of songs from his catalogue at the Barbican Centre in London with Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
31.
On 28 October 2022, Paul Weller released a B-sides and rarities album Will of the People.
32.
Paul Weller collaborated on the songs with Richard Fearless, Young Fathers, Straightface and Stone Foundation.
33.
In early 2024, Paul Weller announced that his next studio album, 66, would be released in May, the day before his 66th birthday.
34.
Paul Weller made his feature film debut in Steve McQueen's historical war drama Blitz, released in 2024.
35.
Paul Weller has worked various literary influences into his work, such as George Orwell's work together with a short story written by Paul Weller's friend Dave Waller, providing inspiration for the Jam's fourth studio album Setting Sons.
36.
Paul Weller has cited Geoffrey Ashe's Camelot and the Vision of Albion, Orwell and Percy Bysshe Shelley as sources of inspiration for the Jam's fifth studio album Sound Affects.
37.
Paul Weller has embraced the influence of David Bowie, despite having once said that all but three of his records were "pish".
38.
Between the summer of 1977 and around August 1985, Paul Weller was in a relationship with Gill Price, a fashion designer from Bromley.
39.
Paul Weller appeared on the sleeve of the final Jam single, "Beat Surrender", and along with Weller's sister Nicky, she had a cameo in the music video for the Style Council's "My Ever Changing Moods".
40.
Paul Weller became involved with Samantha Stock whilst he was recording at the Manor studio; they had two children together.
41.
In October 2008, Stock and Paul Weller broke up and Paul Weller moved in with Hannah Andrews, a backing vocalist on his 22 Dreams studio album, who has toured with his band.
42.
In late 1984, Paul Weller took part in Band Aid and then put together his own benefit record for the UK miners' strike, which was called "Soul Deep" and credited to the Council Collective.