The Style Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Style Council | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  London, UK |
| Years active | 1983 – 1989 |
| Genres | Alternative Pop New Wave Synthpop |
| Labels | Polydor - UK, Australia, Canada Geffen - US |
| Members | Paul Weller Mick Talbot Dee C. Lee Steve White |
The Style Council were a British musical group formed in 1983 by ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller with keyboardist Mick Talbot. Both Weller and Talbot had played a significant part in the Mod Revival. The first couple of singles featured drummer Zeke Manyeka. Throughout the group's career Camille Hinds would play (credited) bass guitar, but he was not considered an official member. The Style Council also featured a singer called Tracie Young who had solo hits with "The House That Jack Built" and "Give It Some Emotion" on Weller's Respond label. Young can be heard providing emotive and solid backing vocals on "Boy Who Cried Wolf" (1984). The permanent lineup grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other musicians, including a horn section, were brought in as required.
Contents |
[edit] History
The band's early singles showed another level of Weller's songwriting ability and 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 of these also showcased Talbot's abilities on keyboards and organ. These singles were compiled on "Introducing The Style Council" towards the end of 1983. This was a mini-album released in Holland and Japan. The Dutch version was heavily imported to the UK.
In 1984, the single "My Ever-Changing Moods" B/W the joyous Hammond Organ instrumental "Mick's Company" reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, remains to this day Weller's greatest success on the American charts, while the group reached the peak of their success in the UK with the 1985 album Our Favourite Shop.
However, 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 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 beloved 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 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. Moreover, many observers saw even the early albums as indulgent and overly experimental; Trouser Press called Café Bleu "too schizophrenic to be a good album" [1]. The criticism only grew as the band's career wore on, and Weller's star status in the UK plunged.
The Style Council took a more overtly political approach than The Jam in their lyrics, with tracks such as "The Lodgers", and "Come To Milton Keynes" being deliberate attacks on "Middle England" and the Thatcherite principles which were prevalent in the '80s. Paul was also instrumental in the formation of Red Wedge with Billy Bragg. However, Paul has more recently expressed 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" [2].
The Style Council broke up after recording a house album, Modernism: A New Decade that was rejected by their record label. Paul moved on to a more commercially successful solo career (still featuring Steve White on drums) while Mick and Steve released two albums as Talbot/White -- United States of Mind (1995) and Off the Beaten Track (1996). More recently Mick and Steve have formed "The Players" with Damon Minchella (Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller) and Aziz Ibrahim (Ian Brown). Although Weller and Dee C. Lee had two children together, they are no longer married.
[edit] Trivia
Former brass player Stewart Prosser went on to a second career in merchant banking and is now Communications Director of Lehman Brothers Bank.
All of the Style Council's United Kingdom releases (this includes singles, 12" maxis, albums, compact discs and re-issues thereof) would feature the work of graphic designer Simon Halfon (often working with Mr. Weller and honing Weller's ideas into a conventional graphic usage). Through his work with the group and Weller solo, Mr. Halfon has distinguished himself for his encyclopaedic knowledge of 1960s design technique and his abilitiy to use it in more recent applications. 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.
Tears For Fears 1989 hit single "Sowing The Seeds of Love" contained the lyrics "Kick out the style, bring back the jam." This was in reference to Weller's move from The Jam to The Style Council.
[edit] Music Videos
- Shout to the Top
- My Ever Changing Moods
- Long Hot Summer
- Walls Come Tumbling Down
- You're the Best Thing
- Speak Like a Child
- Have You Ever Had It Blue?
- A Solid Bond In Your Heart
- Big Boss Groove
- Wanted
- Money Go Round
- Boy Who Cried Wolf
- The Lodgers
- Life At A Top Peoples Health Farm
- Promised Land
[edit] Albums
- Introducing The Style Council (1983) - Released only in Holland and Japan.
- Café Bleu (1984) UK #2
- My Ever Changing Moods (1984) - was a variation on the "Cafe Bleu" album initially released in North America by Geffen Records
- Our Favourite Shop (1985) UK #1
- Internationalists (1985) - the North American version of "Our Favourite Shop", again released by Geffen initially.
- Home and Abroad (1986) UK #8
- The Cost of Loving (1987) UK #2
- Confessions of a Pop Group (1988) UK #15
- Modernism: A New Decade (1989) (unreleased until 1998)
[edit] External links
- Biography at The All Music Guide
- The Complete Discography Of The Style Council at The Quasimodobell
- The Jam, The Style Council, Paul Weller: Italian web site
[edit] References
Munn, Iain (2006). Mr Cool's Dream. The Complete History Of The Style Council. Wholepoint Publications. ISBN 0-9551443-0-2.
