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.
My Very Good Friend
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til I couldn't touch and I couldn't feel
Then you came along and pulled me up
Showed me all the things that I forgot
Don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let it fool, don't let it drop
I've not come this far, not to let it go
Here is the part that I want it to be
If you want to stay with me
Though your precious time is hard to share
It's enough for me to know you care
And when or if you decide to leave
Oh, believe me, I won't think bad of you
Don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let it fool, don't let it drop
I've not come this far, not to let it go
Now I have your love, I won't let it go
Here is the part that I want it to be
If you want to stay with me
You've made me feel
Like I always wanted to feel
You've made me whole again
We're not gonna lose it until the end
Don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let it fool, don't you let it drop
I've not come this far, not to let it go
Now I have your love, I won't let it go
Here is the part that I want it to be
If you want to stay with me
And just before I reach the end
Let me introduce my very good friend
The one who said they believe in me
When all else around has fallen in
Now don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let it fool, don't you let it drop
Here is the part that I want to be
If you want to stay with me
The Style Council's song "My Very Good Friend" talks about the transformative and redemptive power of love. The opening lines convey a sense of hopelessness and despair as the singer spirals downwards, unable to touch or feel anything. But then, a person comes along and helps them back up, reminding them of all the things they had forgotten. The rest of the song is a plea to hold onto this love and not let it go, from urging the partner not to stop or drop their commitment to introducing them as a very good friend who has believed in the singer when all else seemed lost.
Overall, the song seems to be about rediscovering oneself through the love and support of someone who cares deeply for you. The lyrics are simple but heartfelt, and the music adds to the sense of upliftment and hope that permeates the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Down and down I went in a spiral wheel
I was spiraling downwards until I hit rock bottom.
'Til I couldn't touch and I couldn't feel
I was so low that I couldn't feel anything anymore.
Then you came along and pulled me up
But then you came into my life and lifted me up.
Showed me all the things that I forgot
You reminded me of all the good things in life that I had forgotten.
Don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let our relationship slip away or come to an end.
Don't let it fool, don't let it drop
Don't let any misunderstandings or conflicts cause us to drift apart.
I've not come this far, not to let it go
I've come too far in life to let go of something as valuable as our relationship.
Now I have your love, I won't let it go
Now that I have your love, I will hold on to it tightly.
Though your precious time is hard to share
I know your time is valuable and it's not always easy to spend it with me.
It's enough for me to know you care
But knowing that you care about me is enough for me.
And when or if you decide to leave
Even if you decide to leave our relationship, I won't hold it against you.
Oh, believe me, I won't think bad of you
I will understand that you have your own reasons for leaving and I won't judge you for it.
You've made me feel
You have made me feel happy and fulfilled.
Like I always wanted to feel
You have fulfilled a deep desire that I have always had.
You've made me whole again
Your love and presence in my life have made me feel complete again.
We're not gonna lose it until the end
We will hold on to our relationship until the very end.
And just before I reach the end
As I near the end of this song and of my life.
Let me introduce my very good friend
I want to introduce my true friend who has been there for me through thick and thin.
The one who said they believe in me
The one who has always believed in me and my potential.
When all else around has fallen in
Even when everything else around me was falling apart.
Don't let it go, don't let it stop
Don't let our friendship fade away or come to an end.
Don't let it fool, don't you let it drop
Don't let any misunderstandings or disagreements cause us to drift apart.
Here is the part that I want to be
This is the part of my life that I want to treasure the most.
If you want to stay with me
If you want to continue to be my friend and support me through life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Hall
One of the Style Council's best songs but unreleased for some unfathomable reason. They really were chaotic in the way they managed their album releases. So many great songs thrown away.
paul weller
What an honor Neil, a record autographed by Paul the Mick, is priceless. Congratulations on the preciousness.
SoulStylistJukeBox
Those synths are VERY 1986!
RazSux
Thanks for the upload!
Michael Robinson
Fabulous stuff.......