Happy Birthday Paul Weller; how The Modfather influenced Cool Britannia, Arctic Monkeys and Oasis

One of Britain’s style icons celebrates his 65th birthday today, with musicians old and new sending their well wishes to ‘The Modfather,’ Paul Weller. The highly influential musician, who at one stage was compared to David Bowie in terms of British musicians with long, varied careers, has been an endearing figure both musically and in terms of fashion - leading a wave of British entertainers to adopt the style that Weller exuded, be it as a member of The Jam or his time as a member of The Style Council. Take a search on Google for example, and you’ll no doubt be met with as many articles Paul Weller has undertaken for GQ Men and Esquire as much as you would interviews about his latest albums. Part of the pantheon of British musicians such as Ian Brown and Tim Burgess, Weller’s carefully crafted fashion choices mirrored the musical output throughout his varied career; skinny tie and dinner jacket akin to the new wave movements while a member of the Jam and the casual, haute-couture look during the Style Council to indicate a less frantic, more reserved sound the band undertook.

We need only look at Arctic Monkeys’ lead singer, Alex Turner, and his side project The Last Shadow Puppets, who along with Miles Kane drew a lot of inspiration from The Style Council in terms of their sound and presentation. ‘Miracle Aligner’ pretty much summed up how profound of an influence Weller was towards that project, with the sharp dressed pair offset with how they were wearing fashionable brands.

It also helped Weller’s position as an elder statesmen of what we would eventually call ‘Cool Britannia’ that he would use his platform as a respected member of the British music scene to name check up-and-coming acts, given them as much of a sign of approval as Oasis did for the likes of Inspiral Carpets or telling us to remember the magic of The Stone Roses. 

The sometimes frosty Noel Gallagher has frequently spoken of his enjoyment of Paul Weller’s music, even going as far as to say that the reason he picked up a guitar was due to Paul Weller and The Jam. “Paul Weller, he’s in it for the only pure reasons,” Noel explained. “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 f***ing dude” the musician said during an interview on Lars Ulrich’s Apple Music show.

Those are sentiments that The Modfather has reciprocated numerous times himself, including an interview with website SongFacts, where the birthday boy said “Noel played guitar on ‘The Attic’ and bass on ‘When Your Garden’s Overgrown.’ I brought him in because you just know you’re going to get something good out of him.” He went one further when interviewed by The Washington Times in 2005, calling Noel “[...] one of my best friends, actually. Definitely.”