The Style Council were an English musical group formed in 1983 by ex-The Ja… Read Full Bio ↴The Style Council were an English musical group formed in 1983 by ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent lineup grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn (Everything but the Girl) also collaborated with the group.

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.

Wanted
The Style Council Lyrics

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There's a girl in my office
She keeps on stopping
Right in front of my eyes
Though I try and try
I can't hide anymore
Letting my feelings speak for me

But when I try to speak

My tongue gets weak
I stay the lonely man I am

Why should it be
That my heart's under lock
And I can't find the key
Tell me, why should it seem
That I'm diving inside without making a try

Why oh, well I only want to be wanted

There's a girl in my dreams
Working nights on my scenes
Till she has me in little bits

There's a time and a place
But it moves at a pace
And I can't seem to keep in time

There's a word for the way
But no words can I say
So a lonely man I stay

Why should it be
I confess that it's hard
Turning hopes into dreams but
Why did I see
You cocoon yourself nights
Finding soup in your flies

Oh, I only to be wanted

Why should it be
That my heart's under lock
And I can't find the key
Tell me, why should it seem
That I'm diving inside without making a try

Why oh, well I only want to be wanted

Overall Meaning

The Style Council's song "Wanted" is a classic tale of unrequited love. The singer sees a girl in his office who keeps stopping right in front of his eyes, but despite his efforts, he can't hide his feelings anymore. He confesses that he wants to be wanted by her, but when he tries to speak to her, his tongue gets weak, and he remains a lonely man. He dreams of her, but he can't seem to find the right time or place to confess his love for her.

The lyrics convey a sense of frustration and longing, as the singer tries to find the courage to express his feelings, but he can't seem to find the words to do so. The repetition of "why should it be" in the chorus emphasizes the singer's confusion about why he can't seem to make a connection with the girl he desires. The song is a testament to the universal experience of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a girl in my office
There's someone who works with me

She keeps on stopping
She pauses frequently when near me

Right in front of my eyes
Directly in my line of sight

Though I try and try
Despite my attempts

I can't hide anymore
I can no longer conceal my feelings

Letting my feelings speak for me
Allowing my emotions to show without speaking about them aloud

But when I try to speak
When I attempt to communicate

My tongue gets weak
I become hesitant and fumble over my words

I stay the lonely man I am
I remain isolated and solitary

Why should it be
What's the reason for

That my heart's under lock
Why am I not able to express my feelings

And I can't find the key
Why can't I find a way to unlock my emotions

Tell me, why should it seem
Why does it appear

That I'm diving inside without making a try
That I'm immersing myself in emotions without making an effort to express them

Why oh, well I only want to be wanted
The only thing I desire is to be wanted by someone

There's a girl in my dreams
There's someone I dream about

Working nights on my scenes
She appears in my dreams and interacts with me

Till she has me in little bits
She captivates me and affects me in small ways

There's a time and a place
There's a specific moment and location for something

But it moves at a pace
But the moment passes quickly

And I can't seem to keep in time
I struggle to keep up with the pace of events

There's a word for the way
There's a specific word to describe how I feel

But no words can I say
I'm unable to express my emotions in words

So a lonely man I stay
So I continue to be alone

I confess that it's hard
I admit that it's difficult

Turning hopes into dreams but
Converting my hopes into dreams, yet

Why did I see
Why did I observe

You cocoon yourself nights
You keep to yourself at night

Finding soup in your flies
Cooking and eating alone

Oh, I only to be wanted
Oh, all I want is for someone to desire me

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MICK TALBOT, PAUL JOHN WELLER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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