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 Whole Point II
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The jewels that gleam from a beckoning sea
The rising shrieks that come from below me
The rushing winds of age and time
To close my eyes and feel the fall
To not resist unto the pull
Oh, it's easy, so, so easy
The tiny scent that breezes past me
The promise that all could be mine
Just lose myself and make it easy
But I'm not prepared to live the lie
To shut my mouth and just say yes
To make a vow and then confess
It's so easy, much too easy
And all the power that I possess
My faith alone shall stand the test
To live my life as I see best
Without dark glasses a rose is picked
It's not easy, not so easy
The Style Council's song "Whole Point II" is a poetic reflection upon the struggle between the natural desire for ease and the internal knowledge that true fulfillment is found in living an authentic life. The opening stanza creates a vivid image of a beckoning sea with harbor lights that shine before the singer, and the rushing winds of time and age behind. The idea of being pulled towards ease and comfort, represented by the beauty in front, while the harshness of life pressures from behind is further developed in the second stanza. The singer contemplates surrendering to the temptation of taking an easy path, represented by the tiny scent that breezes past, but acknowledges that doing so would be to live a lie.
In the final stanza, the singer recognizes that the power to live a fulfilling life lies within, and that it is ultimately up to them to take responsibility for their own happiness. Rather than putting on dark glasses to avoid the more challenging aspects of life, the singer resolves to take the rose, thorns and all, recognizing that true beauty and fulfillment come from facing the difficulties and living authentically. The message of the song is ultimately one of self-reflection and personal responsibility, urging listeners to resist the easy path and embrace the challenges that lead to true happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Harbor lights that shine before me
I am drawn towards the bright, shining lights of the harbor
The jewels that gleam from a beckoning sea
The alluring sea reflects the gleaming jewels, tempting me towards it
The rising shrieks that come from below me
The screaming sounds of the depths beneath me fill me with unease
The rushing winds of age and time
The fast passage of time, that cannot be controlled, overwhelms me
To close my eyes and feel the fall
I want to let go and fall, free from any resistance
To not resist unto the pull
I don't want to fight the force that pulls me towards something
Oh, it's easy, so, so easy
It's tempting to just give in, because it seems easy, but it's not the right choice
The tiny scent that breezes past me
A fleeting, delicate fragrance passes by me, tempting me towards it
The promise that all could be mine
It seems like I could have everything I want if I make certain choices
Just lose myself and make it easy
It's tempting to let go and lose myself in what's easy
But I'm not prepared to live the lie
I don't want to live a life that's not truly mine
To shut my mouth and just say yes
It's tempting to just agree and not speak up against what's wrong
To make a vow and then confess
I don't want to make empty promises that I can't keep
It's so easy, much too easy
It's too easy to make choices that aren't truly mine, but I won't be happy with them
And all the power that I possess
I have some power over my own life and decisions
My faith alone shall stand the test
I believe that my faith in myself will be enough to withstand any challenges
To live my life as I see best
I want to live my life based on my own choices and my own views
Without dark glasses a rose is picked
I want to see things clearly and not be fooled by illusions
It's not easy, not so easy
Making the right choices for myself is not always easy, but it's worth it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cappuccinokid6772
The Style Council,probably the best pop group in the world 🌐
If the neighbours complain about the noise, turn it up! 🍻
@nicodio2709
Weller's jazz guitar chops really shine on this tune. Beautiful chords.
@stjohnperse17
Probably the best song I ever heard (and I've heard many, many of them)
@Rex69Rutherford
BRO! You are a true musical connoisseur
@andrewclayton8502
Utter class 😁
@MarcoAntonio-je2kt
Beautiful.
@andyhetherington9236
Another one of my favs
@nigelfelixcheongde2980
Paul was digging the Balaeric beat here.
@keithwellerlounge74
Is that a xylophone solo?! Amazing.
@bigtodd6609
It's a keyboard with xylophone sound