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.
Internationalists
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the whole wide world and all it bears
An' that your share is no less or more than
Your fellow sisters and brother man
Then take this knowledge and with it insist
Declare yourself, an internationalist
An' realize this struggle is also yours
An' that without the strength of us altogether
The world as it stands will remain forever
Then take this challenge and make it exist
Rise up as an internationalist
If your eyes see deeper than the color of skin
Then you must also see we are the same within
An' the rights you expect are the rights of all
Now it's up to you to lead the call
That liberty must come at the top of the list
Stand proud as an internationalist
If you see the mistake in having bosses at all
You will also see how they all must fall
For under this system there is no such thing
As the democracy our leaders would have us sing
No time for lies now as only truth must persist
Rise up now and declare yourself, an internationalist
The Style Council’s song “Internationalists” is a classic protest anthem that champions the idea of global solidarity and unity. The opening lines of the song, “If you believe you have an equal share in the whole wide world and all it bears,” suggest that the song’s central message is that all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or nationality, are entitled to their fair share of the world’s resources and opportunities. The song emphasizes the importance of recognizing our shared humanity and the need to work together to create a more just and equitable world.
The second verse of the song continues this theme by calling for people to recognize that the struggles of others are our own struggles, and that only by working together can we hope to make a meaningful difference in the world. The song speaks to the idea that we are all interconnected and that our fates are intertwined. The chorus of the song encourages listeners to “declare yourself an internationalist” and to stand in solidarity with people from all walks of life.
The final verse of the song takes aim at the notion of hierarchy and the idea that some people are superior to others. It suggests that a truly democratic society cannot exist as long as there are bosses and workers, and that we must work to dismantle this system of oppression. The song’s final message is a call to action, urging listeners to rise up and declare themselves as internationalists committed to creating a fairer and more just world.
Line by Line Meaning
If you believe you have an equal share
If you truly believe that you deserve an equal share of everything in the world,
In the whole wide world and all it bears
in every single aspect of the world and what it offers,
An' that your share is no less or more than
and that your entitlements are the same as those of
Your fellow sisters and brother man
every other man and woman on this earth,
Then take this knowledge and with it insist
you should hold onto this conviction and assert it,
Declare yourself, an internationalist
and proudly identify as an internationalist.
If you lay no blame at the feet of next door
If you don't point fingers at your neighbors and acknowledge that
An' realize this struggle is also yours
this fight for equality and dignity is something that affects you directly as well,
An' that without the strength of us altogether
and without collective power and cooperation from everyone,
The world as it stands will remain forever
the current state of the world will endure indefinitely,
Then take this challenge and make it exist
So, take it upon yourself to confront this challenge and make it a reality,
Rise up as an internationalist
rise up as someone who is committed to internationalism and global solidarity.
If your eyes see deeper than the color of skin
If you can look beyond the superficial differences in skin color and recognize that
Then you must also see we are the same within
as human beings, we share so much in common beneath the surface,
An' the rights you expect are the rights of all
so, the rights and freedoms that you demand for yourself must apply to all people,
Now it's up to you to lead the call
and it's your responsibility to be a leader and to call out for change when it is necessary,
That liberty must come at the top of the list
and above all else, personal freedom and liberty should be the top priority,
Stand proud as an internationalist
so, stand tall and confidently as someone who stands for internationalism and global unity.
If you see the mistake in having bosses at all
If you can recognize the inherent flaw in having people in power at all,
You will also see how they all must fall
then, you will also understand that this system of hierarchy and authority needs to be dismantled and abolished,
For under this system there is no such thing
because in this current system, there is no such thing as
As the democracy our leaders would have us sing
true democracy or representation that our leaders often claim to uphold,
No time for lies now as only truth must persist
so, there is no time for deception anymore, and only a commitment to truth and transparency will suffice,
Rise up now and declare yourself, an internationalist
It's time to stand up and declare yourself as an internationalist who is ready to fight for a fairer, more equitable future for everyone.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MICK TALBOT, PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind