![]() I can really hear that coming out, so from Latin and bossa nova to swing and a London attempt at a go-go influence with a rapper, and one of the best songs I think Paul’s ever written, ‘Headstart To Happiness’, all on one record. I remember there was a rap track with a guy called Dizzy Heights and the drum parts and the fills are really influenced by the go-go music of the time, Chuck Brown And The Soulsearchers and The Junkyard Gang. “We weren’t standing up as jazzers but the influences were really quite diverse. We felt that the modern jazz quartet combined classical music and swing and we kind of combined pop music and swing.” So your first album still feels unusual? It reminded me a lot of the music we were listening to, in things like ‘Dropping Bombs On The White House’, which was our attempt at doing a swing tune. Steve: “The thing that struck me listening back to the record was how many diverse influences there were on that first album especially. We’ve kind of remained friends over the years, which is lovely.” Paul and Dee have a relationship because they have children so they’re in touch all the time and Mick lives literally five minutes from me. ![]() Mick’s been playing on some of Paul’s stuff and before lockdown we had a lovely Sunday lunch with Dee, so we’re all still mates. “Not so much recently for obvious reasons but we’re all still very much in touch for various things. “I see Mick quite a bit and I see Paul quite a bit, I see Dee,” White tells NME. Lee, went on to make six albums in the 1980s and have numerous hits including ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down!’, ‘My Ever Changing Moods’, ‘You’re The Best Thing’ and others, all gathered onto this 37-track album. The band, completed by drummer Steve White and singer Dee C. ![]() There’s a colourful history to look back on.Ĭo-compiled by Paul Weller, the album and film look back to one of the most daring moves of the post-punk era, when Weller controversially split The Jam at the age of just 24 and formed a soul-pop band alongside Mick Talbot of Dexy’s Midnight Runners in 1983 – inspired by Blue Note jazz, northern soul, Latin grooves and Gallic pop. Support came from post punk new mod Scottish hipsters The Questions.As The Style Council release a new greatest hits album ‘Long Hot Summers: The Story Of The Style Council’, alongside a Sky Arts documentary on the band, drummer Steve White is in reflective mood. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this 1984 concert at the City Hall, but I also missed the power and passion of Weller’s previous mod combo. That was perhaps because I’d enjoyed seeing the Jam so much on several crazy occasions. For me, musically, well I felt it just didn’t quite work. They also spoke out against the corrosive issues of the day, even if it meant the threat of commercial suicide” (from the Paul Weller website). “They were socialists, vegetarian, didn’t drink, wore cool rain macs, colourful knitwear, expensive footwear and made some of the most brilliant modernist music ever. The ethic of The Style Council was sound and honourable, aiming to produce perfect blue-eyed soul, tinged with right-on politics and sharp, (sometimes too, and embarrassingly) cool style. Their single “My Ever Changing Moods” was in the chart at the time, giving them their fifth UK chart success. By March 1984, and the time of this concert, the Style Council had been in the UK singles charts on four occasions with “Speak Like a Child”, “Money Go Round (Part 1)”, “Long Hot Summer” and “A Solid Bond in Your Heart”. For me, the Style Council were musically the least successful of Paul Weller’s incarnations, sandwiched between the wonderful Jam, and his later, excellent solo work. I saw them perform three times at this headline concert in Newcastle City Hall in 1984, as part of the Red Wedge tour at the same venue, and at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium in 1985. Paul Weller formed the Style Council in 1983, along with his friend and keyboardist Mick Talbot, who was formerly of Dexys Midnight Runners and The Merton Parkas. The Style Council Newcastle City Hall 19th March 1984
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