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.
Waiting on a Connection
The Style Council Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They always think the worst anyway
And if I'm wrong I'll pay the price
It's a cost that I don't count as sacrifice
I'm gonna love you anyway
I don't care what people say
I'm gonna love you come what may
I don't care what people say
An opinion held is such demand
But I'd much sooner hold your hand
It's a question of priority
And I think that you would still be here for me
I'd be a fool to bow to their advice
As if their wish were my command
And I would be a fool to say goodbye
To the love that lies waiting, now
The Style Council's song, Waiting on a Connection, is a love song that speaks to the power of prioritizing love over other people's opinions. The first verse begins with the singer making it clear that they don't care about what others say or think about their love interest. They acknowledge that people will always think the worst, but this won't deter them from loving and being with their partner. They're willing to pay the price for their love, but they don't see it as a sacrifice because their love is worth it. The chorus reinforces the singer's resolve to love their partner regardless of what others say.
The second verse delves deeper into the societal pressures that the singer faces. They understand that people's opinions hold a lot of weight and are in high demand, but they would rather hold their partner's hand than seek validation from society. Their partner is their priority, and they believe that they would still be there for them. The singer refutes the idea of bowing to other people's advice as if it were a command. They won't say goodbye to the love waiting for them, even if it means being a fool in other people's eyes.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't mind what people say,
The opinions of others do not affect me.
They always think the worst anyway
People tend to be negative.
And if I'm wrong I'll pay the price
I am responsible for my actions.
It's a cost that I don't count as sacrifice
The cost of my actions does not hinder my love for you.
I'm gonna love you anyway
My love for you is unconditional.
I don't care what people say
Others' opinions do not sway my feelings.
I'm gonna love you come what may
I will love you no matter what happens.
I don't care what people say
Their words do not change my love.
An opinion held is such demand
People hold their opinions in high regard.
But I'd much sooner hold your hand
I prioritize holding your hand over their opinions.
It's a question of priority
Setting priorities is important.
And I think that you would still be here for me
I believe you will support me despite their opinions.
I'd be a fool to bow to their advice
I would be foolish to follow their advice blindly.
As if their wish were my command
I do not obey their wishes as if they control me.
And I would be a fool to say goodbye
Leaving you would be foolish.
To the love that lies waiting, now
I should not ignore the love that is waiting for me now.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SoulStylistJukeBox
This isn't from the infamous July 4th RAH '89 gig is it?
modphil64
@SoulstylistJukebox don't know where it's from!