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.
The Paris Match
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Style Council's song, "The Paris Match," is a melancholic and wistful ballad that speaks of the singer's longing for a lost love. The lyrics are filled with imagery of empty streets, skies, and nights, which reflect the emptiness and despair the singer feels. He spends his days wandering aimlessly, from cafes to bars, trying to forget his lost love.
He wishes he knew where his love is because she has clouded his mind, and he is all out of time. The singer's mind is filled with memories of his love and the gift she gave him, which is the desire that started his fire. He speaks of not wanting to feel so confined and that he feels like he's wasting his time. He enjoys feeling sad in a natural way and is biding his time until he can be with his love once again.
The song's melancholic tone and lyrics paint a vivid picture of the singer's longing and heartbreak. It speaks to the universal feeling of loss and the longing for someone or something we once had. The Paris Match is a beautiful and evocative song that showcases the Style Council's songwriting and musical talents.
Line by Line Meaning
Empty hours
I have nothing to do with my time.
Spent combing the street
I wander aimlessly during the day and night.
In daytime showers
I roam the streets even in the rain.
They've become my beat;
Wandering has become my daily routine.
As I walk from cafe to bar
I visit various places to distract myself.
I wish I knew where you are;
I miss someone dearly and wish I knew their whereabouts.
Because you've clouded my mind
Thoughts of this person consume my mind.
And now I'm all out of time
I have spent so much time thinking about this person that I now have none left.
Empty skies say try to forget
The empty sky suggests that I should forget about this person.
Better advice is to have no regrets;
It is better to live without regrets than to dwell on what could have been.
As I tread the boulevard floor
I continue to walk the streets.
Will I see once more;
I hope to see this person again one day.
Because you've clouded my mind
This person is still constantly on my mind.
'Till then I'm biding my time
Until then, I am waiting for a chance to see them again.
I'm only sad in a natural way
Feeling sad is a natural way to feel in my situation.
And I enjoy sometimes feeling this way
Sometimes, feeling sad is cathartic and enjoyable.
The gift you gave is desire
This person gave me the gift of desire.
The match that started my fire
Their influence sparked the fire of my desire.
Empty nights with nothing to do
I have nothing to do during the night.
I sit and think, every thought is for you;
I spend my nights thinking about this person exclusively.
I get so restless and bored
My lack of activity makes me restless and bored.
So I go out once more;
I continue to wander the streets as a way to distract myself.
I hate to feel so confined
I don't like feeling trapped and aimless.
I feel like I'm wasting my time
I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything by wandering aimlessly.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind