Paul Weller by Paolo Hewitt

Author:Paolo Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446497753
Publisher: Transworld

TWENTY-SEVEN

Headstart For Happiness (Café Bleu, 1984)

Paul and Clichés

WITH HIS SONG Ghosts, Paul hit upon a new lyrical approach, one that homed in on the personal and forsook the social and the political. He continued to develop this approach in The Style Council, in songs such as Strength Of Your Nature, and in the second version of this song, Headstart, in which his added words extol the value of thinking positively (and in doing so reveal a crucial aspect of his continued success).

There are two versions of this song: the original acoustic version, which appeared as the B side to Money Go Round, and this version, made with a full band. (It is interesting to note how many times Paul revisited his songs during this period, a musical trait which disappeared, on record at least, from the mid 1980s onwards.) In the new version, Paul added verses that seek to inspire people, to tell each and every one that inside them is the potential to realize their dreams. All you need is confidence.

Weller was unique among our little gang in that way: although besieged with doubt on many occasions, he was always far more confident and sure of himself than his friends. The way he dressed, the assured way in which he carried himself, his little mannerisms, all this reflected a confidence that was always there to be called upon in times of crisis. Sometimes, the confidence turned to arrogance. Here he is as a young buck in 1977, talking about meeting John Entwistle of The Who for the first time: ‘I thought him really ordinary and boring so I gave him my autograph and went home …’

On the other hand, Paul recognized what a vital asset he had been blessed with, and he generously tried to spread it to others. One thinks here of his quote to Smash Hits, that he is not special because he is Paul Weller from The Jam and has had number one hit records, he is special because he is human and therefore ‘anyone can potentially feel this way’. Or one recalls the way he was forever trying to encourage people he thought had promise; two admirable traits which seemed to have dimmed with the years. One of Paul’s great needs at this stage in his career was to break the myth of the pop star, to demystify the process so that the pop star is no different to, say, the hairdresser – the establishment of a level playing field, in other words, a position all socialists seek. (He would persist with this notion in later years, but from a selfish point of view, not a political one. See Everything Has A Price To Pay.)

Although most of his contemporaries in the songwriting field are affected by shyness, it is vital that the musician who seeks to stay the course has a great sense of belief in himself, otherwise he is dead meat. Paul’s parents may have mollycoddled him, but their love also gave him that

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