Everything about The Style Council totally explained
The Style Council were an
English musical group formed in 1983 by ex-
The Jam singer and guitarist
Paul Weller with keyboardist
Mick Talbot. The permanent lineup grew to include drummer
Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist
Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as
Tracie Young and
Tracey Thorn also collaborated with the group.
History
The band's early singles showed a diversity of musical styles. "
Speak Like a Child" (with its loud
soul-influenced style), the extended
funk of "Money-Go-Round", and the haunting
synth-
ballad "Long Hot Summer" all featured Talbot on
keyboards and
organ. Near the end of
1983, these singles were compiled on
Introducing The Style Council, a
mini-album initially released in
Japan, the
Netherlands, and the
United States only. The
Dutch version was heavily imported to the
United Kingdom.
In
1984, the
single "My Ever-Changing Moods", backed with the
Hammond organ instrumental "Mick's Company", reached #29 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the
United States. The song remains Weller's greatest success on the American charts (including his efforts in The Jam and as a solo artist), while the group reached the peak of its success in the United Kingdom with the
1985 album Our Favourite Shop.
To Weller's fans, the decision to split up
The Jam at the height of their commercial success was met with considerable controversy. Weller deliberately distanced himself from The Jam's sound and style, with his use of new musical arrangements and instruments in a much slicker, more heavily produced style. In the place of the
Bruce Foxton-
Rick Buckler rhythm section were drum and bass parts done entirely on
synthesisers. Along with this, the band's early persona — the donning of make-up and
New Romantic-style clothing, coupled with mysterious album
sleeve notes by 'The Cappuccino Kid' (a
pseudonym for
Paolo Hewitt, biographer of The Jam and friend of Weller), the use of
French lyrics and themes (reflected in the titles of their third single, the
1983 À Paris EP, which saw the duo posing in front of the
Eiffel Tower, and their debut
full-length LP, 1983's
Café Bleu), dabblings in
rap and, later,
dance music, and the
homoerotic imagery in the
video for the single "Long Hot Summer" — only served to further confuse and alienate loyal Jam fans.
Structurally, many of the band's early singles were not so far removed from The Jam's latter-day
soul-
pop efforts such as "
Town Called Malice" and "
Beat Surrender", but they were often criticised as overproduced, despite Weller's impressive
songwriting. Also, many observers saw even the early albums as indulgent and overly experimental;
Trouser Press called
Café Bleu "too schizophrenic to be a good album"
(External Link
). The criticism only grew as the band's career wore on, and Weller's star status in the United Kingdom plunged.
The Style Council took a more overtly political approach than The Jam in their
lyrics, with tracks such as "Walls Come Tumbling Down", "The Lodgers", and "Come To Milton Keynes" being deliberate attacks on '
middle England' and
Thatcherite principles prevalent in the
Eighties. Weller was also instrumental in the formation of
Red Wedge with
Billy Bragg. However, he later said that this began to detract from the music: "We were involved with a lot of political things going on at that time. I think after a while that overshadowed the music a bit"
(External Link).
In
1986, the band released a
live album,
Home and Abroad, and, in
1987, the album
The Cost of Loving was launched, followed later in the year by the upbeat non-album single "Wanted", which reached #20 in the United Kingdom. However, by the time
Confessions of a Pop Group was released a year later, the group's popularity had largely evaporated. A
greatest hits album, appropriately called
The Singular Adventures of The Style Council, was released internationally in
1989; it included the non-album single "Promised Land", which had reached #27 in the United Kingdom earlier that year.
The Style Council broke up in
1989, after recording a
house album that was rejected by their record label. The
cover of "Promised Land" (originally by
Joe Smooth) was the only release which surfaced from the
Modernism sessions at the time; however, the entire album was released in
1998, both independently and in a 5-CD
boxset,
The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council). After the split, Weller moved on to a more commercially successful
solo career (still featuring
Steve White on
drums, who had left The Style Council by the time
Confessions of a Pop Group was released, having only played on a few of its tracks), while Talbot and White released two albums as Talbot/White —
United States of Mind (
1995) and
Off The Beaten Track (
1996). More recently, Mick Talbot and Steve White have formed
The Players with
Damon Minchella and
Aziz Ibrahim.
All of The Style Council's UK releases (including singles,
12" maxis, albums,
compact discs and re-issues thereof) featured the work of
graphic designer Simon Halfon, who often collaborated with Weller to hone his ideas into a graphic form). Weller and Halfon began working together at the end of The Jam's career, and continue to work together to this day on Weller's solo material.
Discography
Albums
Studio
Live
Home and Abroad - (1986) #8 UK
Singles
1983 "Speak Like a Child / Party Chambers" - #4 UK
1983 "Money Go Round (Part 1) / Money Go Round (Part 2)" - #11 UK
1983 "A Paris EP (Long Hot Summer / Party Chambers / Paris Match / Le Depart)" - #3 UK
1983 "Money Go Round (Part 1) / Headstart For Happiness"(re-entry) - #74 UK
1983 "Solid Bond In Your Heart / It Just Came To Pieces In My Hands" - #11 UK
1984 "My Ever Changing Moods / Spring, Summer, Autumn / Mick's Company" - #5 UK
1984 "Groovin' EP (You're The Best Thing / Big Boss Groove)" - #5 UK
1984 "Shout to The Top! / Shout To The Top (instrumental) / The Piccadilly Trail / Ghosts Of Dachau" - #7 UK
1984 "Soul Deep" [Recordedas The Council Collective] - #24 UK
1985 "Walls Come Tumbling Down / Spin Driftin' / The Whole Point II / Bloodsports" - #6 UK
1985 "Come to Milton Keynes / Our Favorite Shop (club mix) / (When You) Call Me / The Lodgers (club mix)" - #23 UK
1985 "The Lodgers / Big Boss Groove (live) / Move On Up (live) / You're The Best Thing (live) / Money Go Round (live)Soul Deep (live) / Strength Of Your Nature (live)" - #13 UK
1986 "Have You Ever Had It Blue / Mr. Cool's Dream" - #14 UK
1987 "It Didn't Matter / All Year Round" - #9 UK
1987 "Waiting / Francoise / Francoise (Theme From Jerusalem) / Waiting (instrumental)" - #52 UK
1987 "Wanted / The Cost / The Cost of Loving" - #20 UK
1988 "Life At A Top People's Health Farm / Sweet Loving" - #28 UK
1988 "How She Threw It All Away / Love For The First Time / Long Hot Summer (89 mix) / I Do Like To Be B-Side The A-Side" - #41 UK
1989 "Promised Land / Can You Still Love Me?" - #27 UK
1989 "Long Hot Summer 89 (re-mix) / Everybody's On The Run?" - #48 UKFurther Information
Get more info on 'The Style Council'.
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