They formed in 1982 when Paul Weller abruptly broke up the Jam (at the time, the most successful band in Britain) because he considered them unsuitable for the new musical directions he wanted to explore. Indeed, the Style Council's sound is a major departure from the Jam's Punk Rock style, and is heavily rooted in soul and jazz music. The band was also far more overly political than the Jam ever were, with various songs being a Take That! at middle-class England and Thatcherite policies of the 1980s.
The band released their debut album in 1984. In 1985, they released their second album, Café Bleu, generally considered their finest work, and also performed several of their hits at Live Aid.
Their third album came out in 1987, and showed a shift in sound towards American R&B music, inspired by JamAndLewis. For Confessions of a Pop Group in 1988, Weller decided to expand his ambitions and produced a 57-minute long album with split halves (one of classical compositions and jazz ballads and one of funk), extended suites and even more vicious lyrics. This proved too experimental to the band's fanbase, and the album flopped, to the extent that their record company refused to release their next album.
The band disbanded in 1989, after which Paul Weller moved on to a solo career, but briefly reformed for one-off concerts in 1990 and 2019. Their final album was eventually released in 1998.
Discography:
- Café Bleu (North America title: My Ever Changing Moods) (1984)
- Our Favourite Shop (North America title: Internationalists) (1985)
- The Cost of Loving (1987)
- Confessions of a Pop Group (1988)
- Modernism: A New Decade (1998)
We're gonna trope to the top, trope:
- Aborted Arc: Their 1989 Greatest Hits Album The Singular Adventures of the Style Council was subtitled Greatest Hits Vol. 1. As the band broke up within a year of its release, there was never a Volume 2.
- As the Good Book Says...: "Walls Come Tumbling Down" mentions that "like Jericho, yes, the walls came a-tumbling down!". This is a reference to Joshua's Israelite army destroying Jericho when he ordered them to shout.
- B-Side: "Blood Sports" on the "Walls Come Tumbling Down!" single.
- Charity Motivation Song: They released a single titled "Soul Deep" to raise money for striking miners. The song featured Vaughn Toulouse, Dee C. Lee, Leonardo Chignoli of Animal Nightlife, Junior Giscombe and Jimmy Ruffin and was released under the name The Council Collective.
- Cover Version: The Singular Adventures of the Style Council contains one new track, a cover of "Promised Land" by Joe Smooth. This was intended as a showcase of the deep house style that was going to feature on their next album, but Polydor Records refused to release it. The Cost of Loving also includes a cover of "Angel" by Anita Baker, a singer whose style had been a major influence on the album.
- Dolled-Up Installment: "A Solid Bond in Your Heart" was originally written, and a demo recorded, while Paul Weller was a member of the Jam. It was planned to be their final single.
- Epic Rocking: Confessions of a Pop Group has two examples. The title track is 9:26, and there is a three-piece suite called "The Gardener of Eden" which runs to 10:29.
- Genre Mashup: Just look at the list of genres Wikipedia lists: Rock, New Wave, synthpop, Sophisti-Pop, deep house, Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz, Funk. And they leave out rap, acid jazz, and many others. And every time they do something new, it is epic. Can you say nearly 8 minute long funk songs?
- Genre Shift: After he broke up The Jam and turned to Motown soul with the Style Council. To a lot of The Jam fans, it was more like a 👁 This example contains a TRIVIA entry. It should be moved to the TRIVIA tab.
Creator's Oddball at first. - Heat Wave: In spite of the title, "Long Hot Summer" isn't explicitly about this. Coincidentally, when the song reached the UK top 5 charts in the (northern) summer of 1983, Britain experienced its hottest summer to date.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Mick's Blessings" is a minute and 15 seconds long.
- Parental Love Song: "A Woman's Song" is about a mother comforting her baby, after having almost everything taken away from her and only sees consolation in said baby and his/her future.
- Protest Song:
- "Walls Come Tumbling Down!", "The Lodgers" and "Come to Milton Keynes" were all towards Margaret Thatcher.
- "Blood Sports" is against hunting animals.
- The Something Song: "A Woman's Song".
- Title-Only Chorus: "Shout to the Top".
