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.
Life At A Top People's Health Farm
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brothers with his student friends plotting in the stables
They're preparing for power and how to win
I'm covered in Solaire and preparing to swim
"Old Iron! Old Iron!" - I heard the bobby shout
As he brought his friendly truncheon down with
with a God Almighty clout.
Mothers playing bingo, she's hoping for a big win
My cousins' greatest wish, is to one day buy a farm
And turn it into a health club with top people charm
"Any evening, any day" - I'm singing to myself
I'll pack up all my clothes and dough and piss off somewhere else.
My ol' man was a dust person until he got the shove
Now the iron heel he talked about is backed by the iron glove
Brothers bought new glasses, shaped like Leon Trotsky's
They look very nice on the mantlepiece, next to the Royal family
I'm laying back with the radio on, in time to hear the Archer's
An everyday tale of country folk mixed up in prostitution.
Like all good stories with a happy end, which I'll now give to you
Our cousins wish was granted and so his dream came true
His gas shares doubled, while his telecoms soared
Til he had enough money, to chair his own board
And thank you Margaret Thatcher, "may you never come to harm"
He now serves cocktails and lettuce at a Top Peoples Health Club Farm.
The Style Council's song Life at a Top Peoples Health Farm is a sarcastic commentary on the privileged lifestyle of the upper class. The lyrics paint a picture of various family members participating in activities typical of their social status, while the singer seems detached and disillusioned with the whole scene. The opening lines describe the father going down to the dog track, a common pastime for working-class individuals, while the brother plots for power with his university friends. The contrast between these two worlds is stark, and the song highlights the immense divide between the haves and have-nots.
The singer then describes the mother playing bingo, hoping for a big win, while she reads about the lives of the wealthy elite in the newspapers. The cousin's greatest wish is to buy a farm and turn it into a health club for the upper class, adding to the feeling of exclusivity and privilege. The lyrics "old Iron! Old Iron!" suggest a reference to the police, who enforce the law and maintain order, and the singer's use of the phrase "God almighty clout" adds to the theme of power and control.
The singer of the story seems to have a sense of detachment from the events unfolding around them. They sing to themselves, thinking about leaving and moving on to something else. The song seems to suggest that the life of privilege is vacuous and unfulfilling, and that the singer is searching for something more meaningful.
Line by Line Meaning
Dads gone down the dog track, Engels' laying cables
My father is at the greyhound racing, while Engels is busy working on his own Marxist theories
Brothers with his student friends plotting in the stables
My brother and his fellow students are hatching plans for revolution and change
They're preparing for power and how to win
They are getting ready to seize power and hold onto it using whatever means possible
I'm covered in Solaire and preparing to swim
I am applying sun cream and getting ready to go for a swim
"Old Iron! Old Iron!" - I heard the bobby shout
As he brought his friendly truncheon down with
with a God Almighty clout.
I heard the police officer shouting out "Stop!" as he hit someone with his baton
Mothers playing bingo, she's hoping for a big win
She buys the daily papers to see how 10% live
My mother is playing bingo and hoping to win a large sum of money. She is also reading the newspapers to see how the wealthy live
My cousins' greatest wish, is to one day buy a farm
And turn it into a health club with top people charm
My cousin dreams of buying a farm and transforming it into an exclusive health club for the wealthy and powerful
"Any evening, any day" - I'm singing to myself
I'll pack up all my clothes and dough and piss off somewhere else.
I am singing a tune to myself, thinking about leaving my current situation and starting afresh somewhere else
My ol' man was a dust person until he got the shove
Now the iron heel he talked about is backed by the iron glove
My father used to be a blue-collar worker before being laid off. Now, the oppression he spoke about is enforced even more harshly
Brothers bought new glasses, shaped like Leon Trotsky's
They look very nice on the mantlepiece, next to the Royal family
My brother purchased new glasses that resemble those worn by Leon Trotsky. They now sit on the mantelpiece alongside portraits of the British Royal family
I'm laying back with the radio on, in time to hear the Archer's
An everyday tale of country folk mixed up in prostitution.
I am reclining while listening to a radio program, which happens to be "The Archers," a fictional tale about English villagers who are involved in seedy activities
Like all good stories with a happy end, which I'll now give to you
Our cousins wish was granted and so his dream came true
His gas shares doubled, while his telecoms soared
Til he had enough money, to chair his own board
And thank you Margaret Thatcher, "may you never come to harm"
He now serves cocktails and lettuce at a Top Peoples Health Club Farm.
Like a fairytale, my cousin's wish came true. His investments in gas and telecommunications skyrocketed, allowing him to become a wealthy businessman, and he thanks Margaret Thatcher for this success. He now owns and operates a high-end health club for the elite, where he serves fancy cocktails and healthy salads.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind