GuilFest 2006. The 3 Day Guildford Music Festival on 14th, 15th and 16th July 2006

About the bands
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Artist: Paul Weller
Genre: Rock
Performing: 16th July 2005 / BBC Radio2 Main Stage
Website Address: [www.paulweller.com] ,
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He was the reluctant spokesperson for a generation as the lead singer in The Jam, turned us on to Bluenote Jazz and cappuccinos via the Style Council and as a solo artist since 1991 has dabbled in everything from experimental funk and psychedelic jazz to acoustic folk and pastoral soul rock. His recording legacy is peerless – six albums with The Jam and four number 1 singles, four LPs with The Style Council plus an un-sued ambitious soulful garage house project ‘A Decade Of Modernism’, six on his own including one offs as The Council Collective, King Truman and The Smoking Mojo Filters.

2002’s ‘Illumination’, his last album, saw Weller experiment with Simon Dine of Noonday Underground culminating in the Top 20 single, ‘Its Written In The Stars’.

This, Studio 150’ is its astonishing follow up – a 12 track LP made up entirely of cover versions ranging from the household famous – the disco groove of Thinking Of You’ by Sister Sledge – to the wilfully obscure – the northern soul of Nolan Porter’s If I Could Only Be Sure’ – taking in such diverse cuts as Neil Young’s Birds and Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watch Tower’ along the way.

Of course Weller is no stranger to the cover version – The Jam released their cover of the Kinks’ David Watts’ as a single. They also tackled The Who’s So Sad About Us’ and Disguises’ and Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up’. The Style Council covered Anita Baker’s Angel’ and Joe Smooth’s Promised Land’ and as a solo artist Weller’s B Sides are literally littered with them – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s Ohio’, Traffic’s Feelin’ Alright, Etta James’ I’d Rather Go Blind’ – so why an LP full of them?

“I’d been talking about recording a covers album for a very long time.” He explains. “Initially I had the idea to record a selection that resembled a compilation tape that you’d give to a friend of all your favourite songs. But I was worried that there would be too many disperate and diverse sounds that just wouldn’t hang together so instead I decided to cover songs that weren’t particulily my favourite but ones I could reinterpret, play around with and make my own”

Paul Weller – for the full biography visit [www.paulweller.com]