Paul Weller

John William Weller born 25 May 1958 better known as Paul Weller is an English singersongwriter and musician Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam alongside Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler The band gained significant critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom and were the most influential band of the mod revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s Following the dissolution of the Jam at the end of 1982 Weller formed the Style Council with Mick Talbot where he explored a wide variety of other musical styles including pop jazz soul hip hop folk and classical Although initially successful the bands popularity declined in the late 1980s leading them to break up in 1989 Weller began a solo career in the early 1990s slowly reestablishing his commercial standing across his first four solo albums Paul Weller 1992 Wild Wood 1993 Stanley Road 1995 and Heavy Soul 1997 Although Weller has received international critical recognition as a singer lyricist and guitarist he is most famous in his native country as his songwriting is rooted in English society Many of his songs with the Jam had lyrics about working class life He was the principal figure of the 1970s and 1980s mod revival often referred to as the Modfather and an influence on many subsequent British alternative rock and Britpop artists such as Oasis He has received four Brit Awards including Best British Male three times and the 2006 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Weller licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia