The band showed a diversity of musical styles. Singles "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 songs 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[citation needed]. 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.
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[citation needed]. 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".
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"
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, Confessions of a Pop Group, released a year later, sold poorly. This led to their record label Polydor rejecting their final album (Modernism: A New Decade), which was heavily influenced by the contemporary house scene. 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.
In 1989 members of The Style Council went under the name of King Truman to release a single on Acid Jazz titled "Like A Gun". This was unbeknown to Polydor and the single was pulled from the shops only 3 days prior to release. Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller said "The pair offered to make a single for my new label, which I'd just started with Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson as a side project. Mick and Paul took pseudonyms Truman King and Elliott Arnold." [1]
The Style Council broke up in 1989. 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 box set, The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council. After the split, Weller embarked on a 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). 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.
Since 2007, the song "Walls Come Tumbling Down" has been used as the theme song for the German TV series Dr. Psycho – Die Bösen, die Bullen, meine Frau und ich.
Confessions of a Pop-Group
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Told when to sit don't know where you stand
Too busy recreating the past
To live in the future.
Poor relations to Uncle Sam - bears no relation to the country man
Too busy being someone else to be who you really are.
Shitty plastic prefab town
Too busy hating others to even love your own.
Bobbies on the beat again - beating blacks for blues again.
It's one way to get involved in the community.
Love me, love my jeans
I must buy shares in Heinz baked beans
Too busy buying up, selling out, selling off.
3,2,1, in others terms - win a life sentence and a queen mum perm
The individuals that state, in a state of seige.
Do pop and press and mix, do tits and news stew
The next one in the poor house could be you
To busy saying "thank you" to say what for?
No time to spare - "spare me a dime"?
The Great Depression is organised crime
Their confessions are written in your blood.
Kiss your ass an' dreams goodbye
Come back when you've learnt to cry
To busy try'na be strong to see how weak you are.
Wave your flags and waive your fate
The freedom you claim is the one you hate
The victory you seek will never come.
Brutal views through brutal eyes
See no future, hear no lies
Speak no truth to me or the people I love.
When I grow up I want to be
All the things you've never been
And your opinion will count for none.
The Style Council's song, Confessions of a Pop-Group, is a commentary on the emptiness and superficiality of the pop world and society itself. The lyrics take a critical view of the rat race and the ways in which people conform to societal norms and values, at the expense of their individuality and authenticity. The song speaks of cheap and tacky bullshit land, where people are told when to sit and don't know where they stand. They are too busy recreating the past to live in the future, and too busy being someone else to be who they really are.
The song paints a bleak picture of society, with references to the brutality of the police beating blacks for blues again, and the mindless obsession with consumerism, where people are too busy buying up, selling out, and selling off. The references to the Great Depression and the organized crime that underpins it highlights the powerlessness of the individual in a society that is rigged against them. Ultimately, the song suggests that true freedom and individuality can only be found by rejecting the values of a society that seeks to control us and by striving to be all the things that we've never been.
Overall, Confessions of a Pop-Group is a powerful and insightful social commentary that challenges listeners to question their own values and the society they live in.
Line by Line Meaning
Cheap and tacky bullshit land
Referring to the pop-group industry and its shallow, superficial culture.
Told when to sit don't know where you stand
Pop-groups are expected to follow the rules, with little control over their own direction and vision.
Too busy recreating the past
Many pop-groups avoid innovation and new ideas in favor of recycling the past and playing it safe.
To live in the future.
The author believes that pop-groups can only make an impact by being progressive and embracing the future.
Poor relations to Uncle Sam - bears no relation to the country man
The author expresses disdain for pop-groups that attempt to be Americanized at the expense of their own heritage.
Too busy being someone else to be who you really are.
Pop-groups often resort to archetypes and imitations when they would be better served by carving out their own unique identity.
Shitty plastic prefab town
The author sees the world of pop-groups as artificial, constructed without authenticity or meaning.
Mind where you walk when the sun goes down
The author warns that the pop-group scene can be dangerous, with unseen risks lurking around every corner.
Too busy hating others to even love your own.
The author laments that many pop-groups seem to be engaged in constant conflict and criticism, rather than building up their own community.
Bobbies on the beat again - beating blacks for blues again.
The author condemns police brutality, particularly against black people who love blues music.
It's one way to get involved in the community.
The author suggests that some people in positions of authority use violence rather than more constructive methods for engaging with their community.
Love me, love my jeans
The author criticizes the commercialism of the pop-group industry, with bands pushing corporate brands on their fans.
I must buy shares in Heinz baked beans
The author mocks the obsession with consumerism and commodity culture that pervades the pop-group scene.
Too busy buying up, selling out, selling off.
The author is dismayed that pop-groups are preoccupied with making money rather than making art or changing the world with their music.
3,2,1, in others terms - win a life sentence and a queen mum perm
The author suggests that becoming a pop-star can lead to a life of imprisonment and conformity, with no freedom to truly express oneself.
The individuals that state, in a state of seige.
The author sees pop-groups as trapped in a system that limits their creativity and power.
Do pop and press and mix, do tits and news stew
The author accuses pop-groups of pandering to lowest common denominator sensibilities, with a 'sex sells' mentality.
The next one in the poor house could be you
The author warns that chasing fame and fortune through pop-music is an uncertain and risky path leading to poverty and obscurity.
To busy saying "thank you" to say what for?
The author finds it absurd that pop-groups constantly express gratitude but don't seem to question what they themselves are contributing.
No time to spare - "spare me a dime"?
The author sarcastically critiques the lack of time and resources for pop-groups struggling to make end meet.
The Great Depression is organised crime
The author contends that the system is rigged for the pop-group industry, and that this systemic oppression functions like a form of organized crime.
Their confessions are written in your blood
The author implies that pop-groups are often coerced into speaking out in ways that are harmful, selling out ideals for the sake of fame or personal gain.
Kiss your ass an' dreams goodbye
The author has a cynical view of the pop-group industry, suggesting that success is often only possible by betraying your dreams and principles.
Come back when you've learnt to cry
The author is critical of pop-groups that act tough and avoid vulnerability, instead encouraging them to embrace their emotions and be authentic.
To busy try'na be strong to see how weak you are.
The author suggests that pop-groups are so focused on appearing strong and in control that they fail to recognize their own frailties or limitations.
Wave your flags and waive your fate
The author sees pop-groups as trying to make a statement or asserting their freedom, but ultimately becoming complicit in their own oppression.
The freedom you claim is the one you hate
The author believes that pop-groups have an unclear and hypocritical view of freedom, and that their desire to break free of constraints only leads to more confinement.
The victory you seek will never come.
The author is pessimistic about pop-groups being able to achieve any meaningful change or victory within the current system.
Brutal views through brutal eyes
The author suggests that many in the industry have a harsh and cold view of the world, with little empathy or compassion.
See no future, hear no lies
The author is critical of pop-groups that are unable or unwilling to see beyond their own narrow world view or lies they are told.
Speak no truth to me or the people I love.
The author decries the lack of honesty and authenticity in pop-music, wishing for artists that speak their convictions and share their hearts.
When I grow up I want to be
The author suggests that the pop-group industry has lost its way, and that it would be better to look forward to a new generation of artists who can be more visionary.
All the things you've never been
The author believes that the pop-group industry is stagnant and needs new blood and new ideas to move forward.
And your opinion will count for none.
The author dismisses the current industry and its conventions, stating that soon an entirely new paradigm will emerge that does not take into account the old ways of the past.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind