Thank you for kicking of the first night of your brand new UK tour here. Does Brighton have a special place in Weller’s heart?
Of course it has! Lots of reasons, I used to come down as a kid, my Dad was born here and, of course, The Jam’s last gig was here in 1982. The first time I ever saw skinheads was in Brighton back in 68/69, seeing these kids dressed in these brilliant clothes and I thought, ‘Wow’. And there’s the whole mod thing of course.
So you must have been to Jump the Gun, the great mod clothes shop.
Yeah I went there last time I was here.
You mentioned during the gig about the lack of record shops in general and in Brighton.
There aren’t many of them anymore is there? Thank god there are still some independent ones. Sales are down generally for everyone but that’s just the way it is – compared to how it used to be anyway. I wouldn’t rely on my living selling records you know what I mean? The live thing is still going strong for sure though.
Well what about in the studio? Are you embracing the use of new technologies there or are you more of an analogue gearhead?
I haven’t got a clue how to work any of it, whether I maybe old school or new school, but we do use both to try and get the best from both worlds. Whether I like it or not that’s how things are now. I do know how to put the kettle on!
How are you seeing changes in today’s culture and society since you were a nipper? Conservatives are back, and there’s a recession going on. It must have a sense of nostalgia?
Yeah, totally and if you live long enough you get to see things go in cycles. In terms of music, generally speaking there is always gonna be talent around but I find it very hard to find it these days. The radio is quite shocking and so constrained with playlists, so it’s hard to hear anything that’s cutting edge and it’s generally a waste of a good medium. There’s an awful lot of shit as well, like the whole X Factor stuff. I’m waiting for the next musical revolution to come along really. I’m not saying I’m going to be leading it, I’m there as a punter for it. It would be nice to see some new bands come along and mash it all down and start again really. I think that’s good for everyone – its good to have a spring clean sometimes, but were just not getting right now. I’m not hearing it.
Well it’s great to see you having a cracking band like the The Bees with you on tour. So who’s on your iPod now or CD player?
I really like Erland And The Carnival and I like the Wild Beasts. The Bees man are great, yeah. Its great proper organic music.
So how come at the gig you were all wearing black? Usually you’re all suited and booted.
I didn’t even think about it. I saw the rest of the band wearing black so I thought I’d join them that’s all.
Well it’s just that a lot of lads and lasses who came to see you are dressed up in the mod attire. I guess they look at you as a symbol reflecting their ideologies of that culture. Does this make you feel like you have a responsibility to carry?
Well, I carry it on because that’s how I want to dress. I don’t feel any responsibility for it what so ever. I dress for myself and if other people dig it then great, but I’ll never feel any responsibility for it.
We’re got a few questions from fans via our Facebook page if you wouldn’t mind answering them.
Firstly, from Richard Ward, ‘What would your ideal Sunday Roast consist of, Mr Weller?’
Normal things, Chicken, roast potatoes, things like that.
Leno Goldstein has got a few: ‘Did you get stick from your punk peers for guesting on ‘Peter Gabriel 3′ in 1980?’
No not at all, not that I recall mate no. Peter was in the studio next to us in the townhouse when we were doing an album and he just simply asked me to pop in and do a bit of guitar on his album.
Another from Leno, ‘Do you still listen to house music like in the latter days of the Style Council?’
I do now and again, I’ve still got my records from that time and I still love them. When I hear new stuff these days, I don’t feel it’s moved on at all. Its still the same thing it was 20 years ago or so but I don’t see it that its progressed, but instead, perhaps become a bit more sanitised. I occasionally drag them out the wardrobe and play them yeah.
And one more from Leno. ‘Is it true you once had a beard until Elvis Costello laughed at it?’
[Laughs] No mate, it was the other way round. Elvis had the beard and I used to take the piss out of them. I can’t even grow a beard!
What’s the future got for you? Where would you like to explore musically?
We’ve started work on the next album already. We’ve done around ten or eleven tracks so far and were gonna try and finish it off in the New Year. I think the sound of the band is naturally evolving really and we’ve moved on somewhere else. It follows on from ‘Wake Up The Nation’. They’re good tunes and the lyrics are really good and perhaps a bit more experimental but with good melodies. It’s still your basic drums and guitars and all that, with some use of synths. It sounds really colourful and little psychedelic in some places. Its being produced by Simon Dine again.
Paul Weller’s new album ‘Wake Up The Nation’ is available in all major and independent record shops.
INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY MATTHEW HODSON
