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 Wholepoint of No Return
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That sons and girls go hand in land
From good stock and the best breeding
Paid for by the servile class
Who have been told all lie in state
To bow down forth and face their fate
Its so easy.
So, so easy
All righteousness did build thy arrow
To shoot it straight into their lies
Who would expect the mighty sparrow
Could rid our world of all their kind?
Rising up and taking back
The property of every man
Oh its easy.
So, so easy
Rising up to break this thing
From family trees the dukes do swing
Just one blow to scratch the itch
The laws made for and by the rich
It would be easy.
So, so easy.
The Style Council's song "Whole Point of No Return" is a political commentary on the class system and the power structures that benefit the wealthy in society. The lyrics critique the idea that certain individuals are born into privilege and entitled to rule over others, simply by virtue of their birth.
The first verse describes a ruling by "lords and ladies" that dictates who should inherit power and wealth. This decision is based on "good stock" and "best breeding," with the lower class being expected to accept their inferior position and serve their supposed betters. The lyrics suggest that this system is unjust and unsustainable, built upon lies and enforced by an unwilling underclass.
The second verse uses the metaphor of an arrow to describe the potential for rebellion against this status quo. The "mighty sparrow" in this context represents the oppressed masses, rising up and taking back what is rightfully theirs. The lyrics suggest that this upheaval would be "easy" to accomplish, implying that the power structures in place are fragile and reliant on the compliance of those lower down the social ladder.
The final verse amplifies this theme of upending the existing hierarchy, with the "family trees" of the dukes being targeted for destruction. The lyrics suggest that this task would only require "just one blow," and that the laws which benefit the wealthy are made solely for their benefit. The tone is one of defiance and empowerment, as the song's message encourages listeners to question the status quo and consider the possibility of revolution.
Line by Line Meaning
The lords and ladies pass a ruling
The ruling class decides what rules and laws are to be followed.
That sons and girls go hand in land
The ruling class decides who will marry and create aristocratic families.
From good stock and the best breeding
The ruling class believes that the aristocracy should only come from a certain type of breeding.
Paid for by the servile class
The working class pays for the privileges of the aristocracy.
Who have been told all lie in state
The working class is told to accept the status quo.
To bow down forth and face their fate
The working class is expected to accept their lower social status and not rebel.
Its so easy.
The ruling class believes it is easy to maintain their power and privileges.
All righteousness did build thy arrow
The oppressed have built up their righteous anger and resistance.
To shoot it straight into their lies
They use their anger and resistance to expose and challenge the lies of the ruling class.
Who would expect the mighty sparrow
The oppressed are seen as weak and insignificant, but they can still fight back.
Could rid our world of all their kind?
The oppressed can overthrow the ruling class and end their unjust system.
Rising up and taking back
The oppressed are rising up and taking back what is rightfully theirs.
The property of every man
The oppressed are fighting to own their own property and not be exploited by the ruling class.
Oh its easy.
Overthrowing the ruling class and taking back their own property is something that can and should be accomplished with ease.
Rising up to break this thing
The oppressed are fighting to smash the unjust social system that has oppressed them.
From family trees the dukes do swing
The aristocracy has maintained its social position and wealth through inheritance.
Just one blow to scratch the itch
Overthrowing the ruling class will only take one decisive action.
The laws made for and by the rich
The laws of the land are created to benefit and maintain the privileges of the ruling class.
It would be easy.
The oppressed believe that it is easy to overthrow the ruling class and create a fairer society.
So, so easy.
The oppressed are confident in their ability to overthrow the ruling class and create a better society.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lorrainekingsland5516
Loved this song when I was 18 years old. I’m 55 now and still think it’s relevant and I still love it
@imposs-up1hg
Amen.
@andyclarkson9267
@@imposs-up1hg Yes, me too!
@simonchaddock3694
And me 2 born 1967
@Black881966
From a 1966er my sentiments exactly
@jonathanhadley2555
The laws are made for & by the rich!
@darrelldoo4golf
Takes me right back to senior school: powerful, poignant, political. Beautiful. Xxxx
@yourutilityman
This song is more relevant now in the USA more than ever.
@adampoe2797
Exactly
@jonathanhadley2555
@Mark Andrade I concur, but not just the U.S!