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.
Spring Summer Autumn
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For as surely as spring will come
Bringing freshness to order's dance
Until the ices melt away, then we will live again
I will try, I will succeed to train my sights upon the deep
And wait for summer's bloom to come
Bringing warmth to the frozen hearts
I will search, I will find and grow again, the parts that died
Like the changes that autumn brings
We need the courage to go ahead
And not cling on to the past, then we can live again
The Style Council's song "Spring Summer Autumn" is a soulful reflection on the cyclical nature of life: growth, faded bloom, rejuvenation. In the first verse, the singer pledges to learn from his past and use his pain as a source of strength. The imagery of spring and freshness expresses a sense of renewal and rebirth, as the order of nature's dance begins anew. The melting of ice represents the thawing of a once-cold heart, ready for new experiences and emotions.
The second verse sees the singer continuing down his path of self-improvement, with the hopeful anticipation of summertime. Summer represents warmth and comfort, and the image of a "frozen heart" thawing is a powerful metaphor for emotional connection and growth. As the sky fills with love, the singer imagines the promise of living again, renewed by the transformative power of self-improvement.
The final verse brings a focus on autumn, with its changing colors and the natural cycle of life and death. The singer acknowledges that growth sometimes requires letting go of the past, and summoning the courage to move on. The message of the song encourages us to embrace change, to release what no longer serves us, and to find hope and beauty in the inevitable cycles of life.
Line by Line Meaning
I will learn, I will grow and for my pain, my strength shall show
I am willing to learn and develop throughout my life, and as a result of the hardships I face, my abilities will become even stronger.
For as surely as spring will come
Just as surely as the season of spring arrives each year,
Bringing freshness to order's dance
bringing a renewed sense of vitality to the natural world and the cycle of life.
Until the ices melt away, then we will live again
until the metaphorical frozen obstacles in our lives disappear, we cannot truly live or thrive.
I will try, I will succeed to train my sights upon the deep
I am determined to try my best and achieve success by focusing on the most profound aspects of life.
And wait for summer's bloom to come
I must wait for the season of summer, when new growth is stimulated, to arrive before I can make further progress.
Bringing warmth to the frozen hearts
Summer will bring a renewed sense of joy and love to those who feel emotionally frozen or distant.
Until the skies are filled with love, then we will live again
Only when the world is filled with love and happiness can we experience true fulfillment and purposeful living.
I will search, I will find and grow again, the parts that died
I will actively seek to find and restore the aspects of my life that have died or become stagnant.
Like the changes that autumn brings
Just as the season of autumn brings about significant changes in nature and the world around us,
We need the courage to go ahead
we must have the bravery to move forward and face whatever challenges lie ahead of us.
And not cling on to the past, then we can live again
We cannot cling on to the past and its associated pain if we hope to live a fulfilling life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@KuroMicra
One of TSC finest thanks. And it's a B side. Such is Weller's legacy!
@myrrhinegrossi2744
Great song
@mediasurfer
🥲