For thirty years, John Weller managed the career of his son Paul, through the salad days and success of The Jam in the Seventies and early Eighties, the ups and downs of The Style Council and Paul’s re-emergence as a solo artist in the Nineties. Theirs was a unique father-son relationship in the music industry, built on John’s unwavering belief in Paul’s talent and shared values like hard work and pragmatism. John could be blunt, and once refused to have lunch in a record company’s executive dining room, remarking to the managing director: “I didn’t come here to eat, I came to do business.” But his bark was worse than his bite. John’s success was all the more remarkable since he started in his forties after years working in factories, on building sites and driving a taxi. When The Jam signed to Polydor in February 1977, for a £6,000 advance and a six per cent royalty rate, John admitted he didn’t have a bank account and asked for cash instead of a cheque. A&R man Chris Parry duly w...
Great pics..and thanks for the set list reminder.
ReplyDeleteI was there that night (first time i've caught Paul live)
For me it was magic, loved it - if anyone heard a guy shouting for 'Running On The Spot', it was me haha, No one else made any noise, so i thought bugger it, i'm goin too, and Paul glanced my way and grinned, made my night.
The version of 'Eaton Rifles' was corking (bar the fluffed intro)
Full credit to the new/tempory Rhythm section? They swung, and for me, were pretty bloody good, given time they will groove even more.
Was great to hear lots of new tracks, this gig was clearly a paid rehearsal for the band, but hey ho, i'm not complaining.
All in all, a bloody good night, bar a lot of dead pan people in the audience, but that's another story.
Great pics..and thanks for the set list reminder.
ReplyDeleteI was there that night (first time i've caught Paul live)
For me it was magic, loved it - if anyone heard a guy shouting for 'Running On The Spot', it was me haha, No one else made any noise, so i thought bugger it, i'm goin too, and Paul glanced my way and grinned, made my night.
The version of 'Eaton Rifles' was corking (bar the fluffed intro)
Full credit to the new/tempory Rhythm section? They swung, and for me, were pretty bloody good, given time they will groove even more.
Was great to hear lots of new tracks, this gig was clearly a paid rehearsal for the band, but hey ho, i'm not complaining.
All in all, a bloody good night, bar a lot of dead pan people in the audience, but that's another story.
Saw Weller in Cork and it was amazing! The crowd, and Weller, were well up for the gig and it rocked! Would love to see the setlist for that night, trying to remember everything he played!
ReplyDelete