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.
Piccadilly Trail
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No questions stopped at and nothin' saved
From my scarcity of presence to my rarely seen bed
I took you in hopin' that you'd be a friend
Now I'm so scared of the weeks ahead
What I dreamed of I saw in you
I needed someone that I could trust too
From the etchin' of daybreak to the canvas of moonlight
And now, I'm so scared that your reveal what's mine
The trail, you led me down
Betrayal, you let me down
The trail, I'm so ashamed of you
Now, I'm so scared of the weeks ahead
From the silence
I'm lost here in my lonely room
Tears are what brought you
Now you brought gloom
In the fadin' light of sun
I hear my empty heart bloom
Can you ever explain
Your need to cause me pain?
I hear the whispers in the Soho Cafes
The poison gossip of the 10 'P' arcades
Of looks and the stares of those who know
Now their hateful eyes are the one's I close
And I'm so scared of the years ahead
The trail, you led me down
Betrayal, you let me down
The trail, I'm so ashamed of you
Now, I'm so scared of the weeks ahead
The trail
The trail
The trail
...
In The Style Council's song "Piccadilly Trail," the lyrics describe a sense of betrayal and disappointment in someone the singer had high hopes for. The first verse begins with an acknowledgement that the singer did what was asked of them, but received no appreciation in return. The singer is apprehensive about the future and afraid of the time that awaits them with the person they had brought in hoping they could be friends. The second verse reveals that the singer had seen something in this person that they had hoped they could trust, but was proven wrong with their "callous lies." The singer is left feeling ashamed and scared of what happens next as they are lost in their lonely room. The lyrics highlight the disappointment of putting faith in someone who betrayed the singer's trust and left them feeling alone.
Line by Line Meaning
What you asked for is what I gave
I gave you everything you asked for, without hesitation or reservations.
No questions stopped at and nothin' saved
I didn't ask any questions or hold anything back, I gave freely.
From my scarcity of presence to my rarely seen bed
I didn't have much to offer besides my physical presence, and even that was rare.
I took you in hopin' that you'd be a friend
I welcomed you into my life with the hope of forming a close friendship.
Now I'm so scared of the weeks ahead
But now I'm afraid of what the future may hold, because of your actions.
What I dreamed of I saw in you
I saw everything I hoped for in you and believed that you were someone I could trust.
I needed someone that I could trust too
I needed someone I could rely on, just as much as they could rely on me.
But you smashed down all my faith with your callous lies
However, you destroyed all my trust with your insensitive, dishonest behavior.
From the etchin' of daybreak to the canvas of moonlight
From early morning until late at night, all the time.
And now, I'm so scared that your reveal what's mine
And now, I'm afraid that you'll expose my vulnerabilities and secrets.
The trail, you led me down
You led me down a path that caused me great pain and distress.
Betrayal, you let me down
Your betrayal disappointed and hurt me deeply.
The trail, I'm so ashamed of you
I feel immense shame and regret for trusting and relying on you.
From the silence
In the absence of sound or communication,
I'm lost here in my lonely room
I'm stuck here in my solitary space, feeling adrift and alone.
Tears are what brought you
I welcomed you into my life because I was vulnerable and emotional.
Now you brought gloom
But now, your presence has brought me nothing but sadness and misery.
In the fadin' light of sun
As the sun sets and the light fades,
I hear my empty heart bloom
I feel the emptiness in my heart grow and expand.
Can you ever explain
Can you ever provide a justification or explanation
Your need to cause me pain?
For why you feel the need to inflict suffering upon me?
I hear the whispers in the Soho Cafes
I hear rumors and gossip being spread about me in the trendy cafes of Soho.
The poison gossip of the 10 'P' arcades
The toxic rumors and lies being spread in the seedy underground arcades.
Of looks and the stares of those who know
Of the judging glances and stares of those who are aware of what happened.
Now their hateful eyes are the one's I close
Now, I close my eyes and can only see the hateful, judgmental eyes of others.
And I'm so scared of the years ahead
And I'm filled with terror and anxiety when I think about the future.
The trail
The path of destruction and pain you've caused.
The trail
The path that led to my downfall and suffering.
The trail
The one thing that fills me with regret, shame, and fear.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind