Noel Gallagher reveals his favourite Paul Weller songs
Around two decades after Paul Weller found success fronting The Jam, Noel Gallagher followed a similar trajectory of songwriting eminence as the frontman of Oasis, later following his nose into a prosperous solo career. Gallagher’s influences are a myriad, including The Beatles, Sex Pistols and The Stone Roses, but Weller holds a solid place in his heart, too.
According to Liam Gallagher, his brother’s decision to disband Oasis and pursue a solo career in 2009 was partially influenced by Weller. “Our Kid having little meetings with Paul Weller,” he said at the time. “‘How did you get out of The Jam?’ And with Johnny Marr. ‘How did you get out of one of the biggest bands in the country?’ It was all marked out, and dickhead here walked right into it, which is fine. There’s no time limit on the truth coming out. People are clocking it now anyway.”
From his early hits with The Jam through his pop-conscious days with The Style Council to his solo eminence with albums like Stanley Road, Weller’s career laid a blueprint for subsequent artists partial to the indie and mod revival scenes. Gallagher’s sideburns and his love for musicians like Steve Marriott and Ray Davies should be enough to attest to his mod inclinations.
Gallagher, who has been involved in various tributes to Marriott and Davies in the past, now honours the ‘Modfather’, Paul Weller, with a new playlist created in association with BBC 6 Music. The discerning tracklist runs for approximately two hours, interspersed with “anecdotes and impressions”.
The playlist caption reveals that Gallagher celebrated Weler’s vast oeuvre, with material from “The Jam to recent releases interspersed with personal recollections.” The feature also includes “highlights from The Jam recorded live during what Noel Gallagher describes as their ‘imperious phase’ at the Rainbow Theatre in 1979 and the Golders Green Hippodrome in 1981.”
In a past interview, Gallagher explained his admiration for the Jam frontman. “Paul Weller he’s in it for the only pure reasons,” he said. “He’s in it for the music, the gigs, the clothes, and he still wants to be the guy. He’s such an inspiring dude, when I’m in the studio with him either working on his stuff or my stuff, it’s a lesson in free expression. He’s been a constant in my life since 1979 and just a fucking dude.”
In return, Weller has detailed his love for Galagher’s songwriting knack on several occasions. “I don’t really need to talk about what a great songwriter he is because everyone knows that,” Weller told the NME in 2018. “But, for me, he’s got better. I think his songs now have got a different sort of depth to them; lyrically as well. Especially the new one. I really like the words on it. He’s got his own thing together.”
Noel Gallagher’s favourite Paul Weller songs:
- The Jam – ‘Start!’
- The Jam – ‘That’s Entertainment’
- The Jam – ‘A Town Called Malice’
- The Jam – ‘Shopping’
- The Jam – ‘No One In The World’
- The Style Council – ‘Speak Like A Child’
- The Style Council – ‘My Ever Changing Moods’
- The Style Council – ‘Shout To The Top’
- The Style Council – ‘It Just Came To Pieces In My Hand’
- The Paul Weller Movement – ‘Into Tomorrow’
- Paul Weller – ‘Wild Wood’
- Paul Weller – ‘Broken Stones’
- Paul Weller – ‘Push It Along’
- Paul Weller – ‘Have You Made Up Your Mind’
- Paul Weller – ‘White Horses’
- The Jam – ‘It’s Too Bad (Live at Rainbow Theatre, 19 Dec 1979)’
- The Jam – ‘Thick As Thieves (Live at Rainbow Theatre, 19 Dec 1979)’
- The Jam – ‘Away From The Numbers (Live at Rainbow Theatre, 19 Dec 1979)’
- The Jam – ‘Butterfly Collector (Live at Rainbow Theatre, 19 Dec 1979)’
- The Jam – ‘The Gift – Golders Green Hippodrome 1981’
- The Jam – ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight – Golders Green Hippodrome 1981’
- The Jam – ‘Pretty Green – Golders Green Hippodrome 1981’
- The Jam – ‘Circus – Golders Green Hippodrome 1981’
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