The Style Council

The Style Council (read more)

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Once he split The Jam, vocalist and guitarist Paul Weller abandoned rage and Rickenbackers and formed The Style Council with keyboardist Mick Talbot, from London Mod band The Merton Parkas, and drummer Steve White. They returned to the Soul and Jazz Weller had visited in The Jam’s final days, and their upbeat debut ‘Speak Like A Child’ (1983) married social commentary to brassy R and B. Their dreamy ‘Long Hot Summer’ from 1983’s ‘Paris Match’ EP and 1984’s Jazz-tinged Cafe Bleu (issued in a slightly different form as My Ever Changing Moods in the USA) underlined Weller’s rejection of his Beatles/Small Faces roots. With keyboards, horns and harmonies replacing the trademark bluster, Paris Match and Cafe Blue were grounded in African-American music: soul, jazz, blues, R&B and (with less success) hip hop.

Their debut gig was at 1983’s May Day Show For Jobs And Peace in Liverpool. In 1984, they played with singer for Wham! D.C. Lee (now a Syle Councillor and Weller’s wife) at a striking miners’ benefit in London. Paul Weller sang with Band Aid and the band made ‘Soul Deep’ as Council Collective in aid of the miners.

Our Favourite Shop (1985) stretched Weller’s musical vocabulary, and the group appeared at Live Aid and were involved with the ill-fated Red Wedge- a 1986 tour to raise awareness of England’s Labour party among young voters. The negative press reaction dissuaded Weller from any further political involvement.

After the live Home And Abroad in 1986, 1987’s The Cost Of Loving continued the group’s success, but began Weller’s fall from grace with the music press, who condemned its earnest themes. (read more)

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Previews

Track	Time	Listeners	Download
Add this track to your playlist You're the Best Thing full track	5:35	12,017	Buy mp3
Add this track to your playlist Speak Like a Child full track	3:15	6,324	Buy mp3
Add this track to your playlist Walls Come Tumbling Down full track	3:24	4,825	Buy mp3
Add this track to your playlist The Whole Point of No Return full track	2:44	4,641	Buy mp3

The Singular Adventures of…

Café Bleu

Top Tracks, Last Week

–	1	Add this track to your playlist You're the Best Thing full track	276
–	2	Add this track to your playlist My Ever Changing Moods	267
–	3	Add this track to your playlist Shout To The Top	207
1	4	Add this track to your playlist Walls Come Tumbling Down full track	174
1	5	Add this track to your playlist Long Hot Summer	163
1	6	Add this track to your playlist Speak Like a Child full track	134
1	7	Add this track to your playlist The Paris Match	131
2	8	Add this track to your playlist Headstart for Happiness	119
–	9	Add this track to your playlist The Whole Point of No Return full track	105
5	10	Add this track to your playlist The Lodgers full track	69
1	11	Add this track to your playlist A Solid Bond in Your Heart full track	67
2	12	Add this track to your playlist Blue Cafe	61
–	13	Add this track to your playlist Come to Milton Keynes full track	58
18	14	Add this track to your playlist Walls Come Tumbling Down!	57
1	15	Add this track to your playlist Here's One That Got Away	55
13	16	Add this track to your playlist A Man of Great Promise full track	54
4	17	Add this track to your playlist How She Threw It All Away full track	51
2	17	Add this track to your playlist A Stones Throw Away full track	51
6	17	Add this track to your playlist All Gone Away full track	51
5	20	Add this track to your playlist It Didn't Matter full track	50

Number of listeners for the last week More top tracks…

Top Tracks, Last Six Months

–	1	Add this track to your playlist You're the Best Thing full track	3,786
–	2	Add this track to your playlist My Ever Changing Moods	3,181
–	3	Add this track to your playlist Shout To The Top	2,796
–	4	Add this track to your playlist Speak Like a Child full track	1,828
–	5	Add this track to your playlist Walls Come Tumbling Down full track	1,817
–	6	Add this track to your playlist Long Hot Summer	1,501
–	7	Add this track to your playlist Headstart for Happiness	1,440
–	8	Add this track to your playlist The Whole Point of No Return full track	1,301
–	9	Add this track to your playlist The Paris Match	1,183
1	10	Add this track to your playlist Here's One That Got Away	842
1	11	Add this track to your playlist Down in the Seine full track	819
1	12	Add this track to your playlist A Solid Bond in Your Heart full track	813
1	13	Add this track to your playlist Mick's Blessings	812
3	14	Add this track to your playlist Blue Cafe	811
–	15	Add this track to your playlist Come to Milton Keynes full track	787
4	16	Add this track to your playlist All Gone Away full track	742
3	17	Add this track to your playlist Homebreakers full track	733
1	18	Add this track to your playlist The Lodgers full track	721
3	19	Add this track to your playlist Boy Who Cried Wolf full track	690
2	20	Add this track to your playlist With Everything to Lose full track	668
–	21	Add this track to your playlist Walls Come Tumbling Down!	652
–	22	Add this track to your playlist A Stones Throw Away full track	647
1	23	Add this track to your playlist It Didn't Matter full track	640
–	24	Add this track to your playlist How She Threw It All Away full track	636
2	25	Add this track to your playlist Shout to the Top!	604
3	26	Add this track to your playlist Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse	596
3	27	Add this track to your playlist Me Ship Came In!	589
1	28	Add this track to your playlist It's a Very Deep Sea full track	578
5	29	Add this track to your playlist Waiting full track	577
3	30	Add this track to your playlist A Man of Great Promise full track	563
3	31	Add this track to your playlist Changing of the Guard full track	559
–	32	Add this track to your playlist Internationalists full track	552
2	33	Add this track to your playlist Luck full track	551
–	34	Add this track to your playlist Council Meetin'	546
1	35

The Style Council

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