Universal Music will release a new compilation from The Style Council. The collection will tie in with an all-new TSC documentary that is scheduled to air on SkyArts in the UK, also in the month of October. The physical music release will be available as a 2CD set, as well as a traditional black vinyl and coloured vinyl triple LP set. The release date is October 30.
When Paul Weller announced The Style Council’s arrival in March 1983, he’d come a very long way. In fact, at the age of just 24, he was already a musical veteran with six albums and nine Top 10 singles under his belt with The Jam. As their leader he had become a deity-like figure and for his fans, The Jam’s split was unimaginable.
But creatively restless and of inquisitive mind, Paul jettisoned them at their height to form a collective with an eventual core line-up of Paul with Mick Talbot, Dee C Lee and Steve White.
In a quest for new sounds, the group travelled to realms previously unchartered for a pop group incorporating musical influences as wide ranging as Blue Note jazz and Chicago soul, Claude Debussy and Erik Satie, Chicago House and Jacques Brel.
At the same time, as battle lines were drawn in a decade under Margaret Thatcher culminating in the miner’s strike of 1984-85, Paul’s lyrics spoke with the language of the activist and his state of the nation addresses were both fierce and eloquent. Over four albums and 17 singles, The Style Council made a stand and became the standard bearers of progressive soulful pop and social comment.
The Style Council was emblematic of its creator. Paul Weller, smart, fearless, audacious, with a social conscience and totally unafraid to push the possibilities of pop.
This is their story…
“We set out to have fun, document the times and at the same time we wanted to elevate pop to an art form – I think we did that.” Paul Weller
LP TRACKLIST
Disc 1
A1. Headstart for Happiness
A2. Long Hot Summer
A3. My Ever-Changing Moods
A4. Walls Come Tumbling Down!
A5. Party Chambers
B1. Wanted (or Waiter, There’s…)
B2. Shout to the Top!
B3. It Just Came to Pieces in My Hands
B4. Come to Milton Keynes
B5. Why I Went Missing
B6. Waiting
Disc 2
A1. Ghosts Of Dachau
A2. Down in the Seine
A3. The Paris Match
A4. Life at a Top People’s Health Farm
A5. Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (Extended version)
B1. Speak Like a Child
B2. The Lodgers (Or She Was Only…)
B3. Money Go Round
B4. You’re the Best Thing
B5. How She Threw It All Away
Disc 3
A1. A Man of Great Promise
A2. The Piccadilly Trail
A3. A Solid Bond in Your Heart
A4. Sweet Loving Ways
A5. Promised Land
A6. It Didn’t Matter
B1. Have You Ever Had It Blue
B2. Spin’ Drifting
B3. Here’s One That Got Away
B4. Changing of the Guard
B5. My Ever-Changing Moods (Demo)
CD Tracklist
Disc One:
Headstart for Happiness
Long Hot Summer
My Ever-Changing Moods
Walls Come Tumbling Down!
Party Chambers
Wanted (or Waiter, There’s…)
Shout to the Top!
It Just Came to Pieces in My Hands
Come to Milton Keynes
Why I Went Missing
Waiting
Ghosts Of Dachau
Down in the Seine
The Paris Match
Boy Who Cried Wolf
Life at a Top People’s Health Farm
Homebreakers
Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (Extended version)
Disc Two:
Speak Like a Child
The Lodgers (Or She Was Only…)
Money Go Round
You’re the Best Thing
How She Threw It All Away
A Man of Great Promise
The Piccadilly Trail
A Solid Bond in Your Heart
All Gone Away
Sweet Loving Ways
Promised Land
Have You Ever Had It Blue
It Didn’t Matter
Spin’ Drifting
Here’s One That Got Away
A Woman’s Song
Changing of the Guard
My Ever-Changing Moods (Demo)
Shout To The Top (Instrumental)
Paul Weller News! 