Paul Weller: Dancing Through The Fire by Dan Jennings
Out Now
Richard Houghton, founder of Spenwood Books, editor of a number of music books and occasional guest writer for LTW reviews Dan Jennings’ authorised oral history of Paul Weller
Paul Weller will probably never write his autobiography. That’s partly because he is a musician who has never rested on his laurels but continues to write and perform songs and isn’t prone to looking backwards, but also because this Weller-sanctioned book pretty much does the job for him.
Dan Jennings started out with a podcast called Desperately Seeking Paul Weller (a clever riff on the legendary ’80s movie title) and managed to track down over 150 people who had some connection with Paul (including myself, as the co-author of a book on The Jam). Some of the interviews that he carried out, excerpts from which feature in this book, are with people very close to Weller indeed. This includes his recently deceased mother, his sister, his studio engineer, and both Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, his former bandmates in The Jam.
The upshot of this is that, were this an unauthorised oral history, you would be thinking, ‘This is as good as it gets.’ But the reason that the book exists at all is because Dan, having completed those 100-plus interviews, was able to get an interview with the Modfather himself. So this is indeed an authorised oral history, and it was Paul who suggested to Dan that he should turn it into a book.
What follows, therefore, is a 700-page history of Paul Weller, beginning with childhood reminiscences, his time in The Jam, his time with The Style Council and his various solo projects since. What is particularly impressive is the way in which Dan has managed to interweave the different stories from the different contributors. It makes the reader feel that they are sitting in the room with the people as they speak about how Paul Weller’s life and music has touched theirs.
The absence of John Weller, Paul’s father, is notable, not least because his role in promoting The Jam in the very early days was considerable. The absence is no fault of Dan’s, as Mr Weller Senior passed away in 2009, long before the podcast or the book were conceived. And, sadly, Rick Buckler passed away before the book was published, as did Paul’s mother.
If you’re a Weller fan, this is as close to a complete history of Paul Weller as you are going to get. If it’s not already on your bookshelf or on your Christmas list, it should be.
Dan Jennings will be appearing at Louder Than Words on Saturday 15 November at 6.15pm, in conversation with Nicky Weller. Tickets available here
~
Richard Houghton can be found on Facebook and via the Spenwood Books website
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
Leave a Reply