Paul Weller Fan Podcast

In this episode, Paul Dowling - director of marketing at Go! Discs in the early ‘90s - tells the story of how he helped Paul Weller find a new home and a fresh start after The Style Council and Polydor rejected him.

A teenage Jam fan who witnessed the band’s energy first-hand, Paul started work in an indie record shop job before moving in marketing within the record industry and then landing at Go! Discs just as the labe...

In this conversation, John Reed - music journalist, a former Research Editor of Record Collector magazine, Director of Catalogue at Cherry Red, and author of Paul Weller: My Ever Changing Moods - takes us on a journey through the many stages of Weller’s remarkable career. Growing up entrenched in the Mod revival and drawn into The Jam’s world as a teenager, John became the “kid at school who liked The Jam,” ...

In this conversation, Jun Sato - International A&R at Pony Canyon, Japan - shares the remarkable story of how he helped get Paul Weller’s solo career off the ground when everyone else had written him off. In the early 1990s, as the UK industry dismissed Weller as an ‘80s has-been, Jun trusted his own taste, his love of British blue-eyed soul, and a very special demo cassette that landed on his desk. He quickly negot...

In this conversation for my book, Richard Ogden - former Head of International Marketing and later Managing Director at Polydor Records - shares the inside track on the extraordinary career of Paul Weller from a label perspective. Already immersed in the music industry when The Jam exploded in 1977, Richard’s role took off in the early '80s, working directly with Polydor’s most important acts as the sound of British pop...

In this conversation for my book, John Lewis - respected music journalist and critic - shares a fan’s journey that became a professional one. He recalls being a teenager during The Jam’s “imperial phase,” with a mod next-door neighbour and a copy of Snap! on repeat, and traces his path to writing in-depth features, retrospectives, and Q&As for Uncut, Time Out, the Metro, and more. Over the years, John ha...

In this episode, recorded for my book, Jim Cook shares his inside perspective from his years as Head of A&R at Polydor Records (1975-1984) during one of British music’s most exciting eras.

As the man who signed The Jam and oversaw their rise, Jim reflects on the real-life stories behind the deals, the challenges of the music business in the punk and new wave era, and what it was like to work alongside one of the sharp...

In this episode, Erica Echenberg, one of the pioneering female photographers of the UK punk explosion, joins the podcast to share vivid memories from the very heart of late ‘70s London. Starting in 1976, Erica was everywhere - camera in hand at legendary venues like the Roxy and the Nashville, capturing the wild energy of acts like The Damned, Generation X, and, crucially, an emerging band called The Jam.

Known for going ...

Craig McLean joins the podcast to share his reflections on interviewing Paul Weller across several pivotal moments, offering an insider’s look at a music icon through the eyes of a veteran journalist. With bylines for The Face, The Word, The Observer, and The Telegraph, Craig has had rare, in-depth access to Weller - riding tour buses, joining late-night escapades, and catching candid conversations that reveal the wit, vulner...

This podcast episode is living proof that sometimes your teenage music heroes really do come full circle. Richard Engler grew up in Manchester, a diehard Jam fan who could recite Paul Weller’s lyrics and remember the row and seat number of his first gig. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Richard found himself working directly with Weller as Marketing Director at V2 Records - helping to steer the campaign for the Studio 15...

Jamie Telford joins the podcast to take us behind the scenes of The Jam’s frenetic final days. As a Scottish musician brought in on keyboards for their last run of shows and the farewell single 'Beat Surrender,' Jamie experienced firsthand the thrill of playing with one of the UK’s biggest bands just as internal tensions and creative restlessness threatened to pull them apart. He shares candid stories of wild gigs, back...

Detail Magazine - Guest Editor, Paul Weller ... the full story from Claire Mahoney.

In this special episode, we explore Paul Weller’s personal take on modernism.

If you’ve followed this podcast from the beginning, you’ll know it started back in 2020 with one simple ambition: to interview Paul Weller. That ambition became Desperately Seeking Paul, and after 180 episodes, we finally reached that goal. What beg...

In this episode, Miles Leonard - a respected record executive, tastemaker, and lifelong music fan - shares rare insight into his years at the helm of Parlophone Records and his close working relationship with Paul Weller during the mid-2010s.

Miles was Director of A&R between April 1995 and May 2003, before stepping up to chairman - a role he held until 2012 when he was made Chairman of Parlophone & Warner Records. He left t...

In this episode, Sean O’Hagan - composer, producer, and frontman of The High Llamas - shares his perspective on working with Paul Weller, and explores the curiosity, eclecticism, and collaboration that continue to drive both musicians.

As the arranger behind the lush strings of 'Sleep of the Serene' and 'By the Waters' on Paul’s celebrated Sonik Kicks album, Sean offers rare insights into the creative process ...

In this episode, I’m joined by Roger Pilling, who offers an intimate window into Paul Weller’s formative years - sharing memories from their early friendship at Sheerwater School right through to the pivotal moments that would define Paul Weller’s life and career.

As one of Paul’s earliest confidants, before The Jam and the limelight, Roger’s perspective brings to life the world Weller grew up in: ...

In this episode, recording and mixing engineer Joeri Saal shares a behind-the-scenes perspective on working with Paul Weller during the creation of the Studio 150 and As Is Now albums - capturing the collaborative Amsterdam sessions and the transition to mixing Weller’s original material.

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In this episode, Dutch jazz icon Benjamin Herman shares how his lifelong journey in music - and his creative outlook as a musician and bandleader - was profoundly shaped by working with Paul Weller.

From contributing horns and arrangements on Weller’s Studio 150 and As Is Now albums to joining his touring band, Benjamin describes how these collaborations and time spent on the road deeply influenced his own...

In this episode, recorded for my book, Paul Lester -now editor of Record Collector and longtime music journalist - reflects on his career, his encounters with Paul Weller, and the makings of his celebrated Uncut Magazine cover story, 'Paul Weller: Up Close and Personal - Last Man Standing' (December 1998).

We discuss the enduring influence of meaningful, passionate music journalism.

Paul Weller’s restless creativity and ref...

In this episode, Acid Jazz records co-owner, Dean Rudland shares his lifelong musical journey and personal relationship with the world of Paul Weller

From being pulled into music by The Beatles and The Jam, through finding his own identity in Mod, to eventually working with and around the Weller orbit, Dean gives an insider’s perspective on cultural movements - and Paul Weller’s unique gift for making fans feel part of s...

Percussionist Joe Beckett share his stories from inside a pivotal, often-overlooked chapter in Paul Weller’s career: the Paul Weller Movement. Joe recalls the unique circumstances that landed him in the band, from chance club gigs to a spontaneous audition at Solid Bond Studios, and the creative camaraderie that followed.

He takes us on the road in 1990, from a packed Dingwalls debut surrounded by mods and scooters, across...