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 we…
In direct association with the managerial team of Twisted Wheel, one of our favourite bloggers is running a contest for one week to win two tickets to see Paul Weller and Twisted Wheel at an upcoming Forest gig. Pop over to Yann's Cornershop Of The Man to answer a few questions about the band and enter for your chance to win. A previous winner was also granted backstage access to meet and greet Twisted Wheel. You can read his account of the night at the blog as well.
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