Paul Weller Fan Podcast

For this special episode, I bring you a conversation with Dee C. Lee - singer, songwriter and essential member of The Style Council. This chat was recorded in a riverside pub back in January 2025 for my book  Paul Weller: Dancing Through The Fire and Dee has been kind enough to let me share this as a podcast episode. What better timing than the release week for the new Café Bleu Deluxe Editio...

In this episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I talk to composer and arranger John Mealing , whose work helped define The Style Council’s orchestral and cinematic edge. John shares how he first connected with Paul Weller, starting with 'Shout To The Top', and goes deep into the making of Our Favourite Shop , The Cost of Loving and Confessions of a Pop Group - including strings, horns, live perfo...

My guest on this episode is Jon 'Mojo' Mills - founder and editor-in-chief of Shindig! magazine, lifelong mod, and someone whose life has been shaped, in very real ways, by the music of Paul Weller. Jon discovered The Jam at the age of ten, too young to see them live but old enough for the music, the look, and the ethos to completely take hold. From The Jam to The Style Council, through the solo y...

On this episode, I’m joined by the visionary Belfast musician, composer, producer, and DJ, David Holmes . From soundtracking iconic films to collaborating with giants of UK music, David’s career is one of creative restlessness and fearless activism... The biggest surprise is that it's taken this long for him to collaborate with Paul Weller! We’ll dive into his formative years discovering Paul Well...

On this episode, I am joined by a true musician’s musician whose artistry crosses borders and genres. Sheema Mukherjee is a sitar prodigy, composer, and band member with Transglobal Underground and The Imagined Village (where she first played with Paul Weller) - fusing her deep-rooted Indian classical tradition with cutting-edge British musical innovation. We talk about her family musical heritage...

When I started on the extra interviews for my book, Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire, back in July 2024, Journalist and author, Peter Watts was one of the first people that I chatted to. He has written for Uncut, the Guardian and Sunday Times, and has also written a book about the history of Denmark Street: London’s Street Of Sound. He has done some superb interviews with Paul Weller on many...

On this episode, I chat to Stuart Watts - a producer and director whose credits include acclaimed music documentaries for artists as varied as Paul Weller, Marc Bolan, Andrea Bocelli, Jeff Wayne, and Jeff Beck - along with legendary icons outside of music such as Muhammad Ali and Christopher Reeve. Stuart was the driving force behind  Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow , the 2006 documentary that, fo...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I’m joined by someone whose impact on British music and activism can’t be overstated - Tom Robinson. This conversation was originally recorded for my upcoming book,  Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire – The Authorised Oral History , and I’m delighted to share it with you now as a podcast episode. Tom first exploded onto the UK music scene wit...

In this episode of the podcast, I am joined by Ted Kessler - a music writer who’s lived out the ultimate fan’s journey with Paul Weller. As a London kid, he spent his pocket money on Jam singles and memorised the lyrics before he even owned the records. After moving to Paris, he’d receive the NME a week late, schooling himself on Weller, The Style Council, and British pop by long-distance. Years l...

My guest on this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast is one of the most inventive and distinctive guitarists of his generation - the co-founder and guitarist of Blur , a prolific solo artist, and a musician whose restless creativity has taken him from Britpop to freeform jazz, from noisy riffs to tender melodies. Graham Coxon has collaborated with Paul Weller on some fantastic projects over the...

In this episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I chat to Cat Santos and Sodge Adams , two of the creative minds behind Fifth Column , the pioneering screen-printing collective that helped define the look of Punk and Mod culture in late-1970s London. Fifth Column started when a group of friends decided to design and print - by hand - punk rock t-shirts for bands like X-Ray Spex , The Clash , The J...

Jonathan Ross has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting since the late 1980s. From his early days hosting Channel 4’s The Last Resort, he’s gone on to become one of the country’s most recognisable presenters, known for his sharp humour and genuine curiosity. Whether it’s chatting with global superstars on The Jonathan Ross Show, judging the wild antics on The Masked Singer, or sha...

My guest on this episode is Paul Moody - journalist, author, musician (his band is The Studio 68! ), and a man whose journey with Paul Weller’s music has spanned decades. From discovering The Jam as a teenager in North London, to interviewing Paul for the NME during the Stanley Road era, to the DVD interviews for As Is Now and writing sleeve notes for Wake Up the Nation ... We talk about the seism...

This week on The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I’m joined by Phil Bickley - founder of London menswear store Tonic and co-creator of the Paul Weller clothing label Real Stars Are Rare . Phil’s story is a fascinating mix of music, fashion, and friendship. We talk about how his admiration for The Style Council soundtracked his post-rave comedowns in the early ’90s, how Weller first walked into his shop a...

In this conversation for my Dancing Through the Fire book, I chat with Pippa Hall , whose time at Go! Discs saw her at the heart of Paul Weller’s solo resurgence. Pippa offers a fascinating insight into the inner workings of one of the UK’s most beloved record labels, describing the family atmosphere that made the label so special and the excitement of being part of Weller’s creative rebirth in th...

Singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams returns to the podcast to talk about her brand-new album Mystery Pa rk - a deeply personal and reflective record that includes a beautiful co-write with Paul Weller, 'Gossamer Wings'. Kathryn shares the story of how the song came together, from her initial “cringe” moment of writing at Paul to their eventual collaboration, which also saw Weller add Hammond organ...

We’re back! Focusing on Paul Weller’s new covers album,  Find El Dorado , with special guests sharing their stories and connections to the songs. Plus, exclusive episodes celebrating the release of my book –  Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire: The Authorised Oral History,  which has just been published! Find podcast show notes and sign up for regular information at PaulWellerFan...

Sir Lenny Henry is a British icon. For decades, he’s been a force in comedy, acting, writing, and activism. But what’s less discussed is his deep connection to music - and, in particular, his admiration for Paul Weller and The Jam, The Style Council, and Weller’s solo work. In another real 'pinch me' moment, I caught up with Lenny for my book, Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire - The Authorised...

Today is the day! Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire is officially out in the world - It’s in the shops, available to order online, people are sharing photos, and Paul himself has a copy in his hands, and he loves it! I can’t quite believe it. Thanks to everyone involved. What a ride and an honour. Find podcast show notes and sign up for regular information at PaulWellerFanPodcast.com Hosted on...

My guest on this episode is Tim Burgess - frontman of The Charlatans , solo artist, DJ, author, and the man behind the hugely popular Twitter Listening Parties. Long before his own band became one of the defining acts of the ’90s, Tim was a kid in the late ’70s flipping Jam singles at his dad’s youth club, soaking up every note of Paul Weller’s music. That teenage fandom never went away. In this e...

Nick Knight CBE is one of the most influential image makers of our time. As the founder of SHOWstudio and a visionary fashion photographer, his work with designers such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Yohji Yamamoto, and musicians including Björk, Lady Gaga and Kanye West, has defined modern culture. In this episode, Nick joins me to talk about his long creative relationship with Paul Well...

On this episode my guest is one of Britain’s most distinctive comedians, an award-winning stand-up, actor, writer, and the creator of the brilliant TV sitcom, Lead Balloon . Jack Dee has always had a sharp wit, a dry outlook, and as it turns out, a deep, long-standing admiration for both Paul Weller and his music. In this episode, a snippet of the interview recorded for my upcoming book, Jack shar...

On this episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I’m joined by singer-songwriter Amelia Coburn - an artist whose distinctive voice, storytelling flair, and genre-blurring style have won her fans far beyond the folk world. Amelia’s connection to Weller began with her wonderful ukulele cover of Down in the Tube Station at Midnight , which eventually caught Paul’s ear via Shindig! magazine’s John Mill...

Declan O'Rourke is my guest on this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast - another huge talent and always a delight to talk to. Warm, humorous, super-smart and clearly a huge talent. This time around we talk Find El Dorado and the opening song - a duet between Paul and Declan - a cover of Richie Havens’ 'Handouts in the Rain' - a song that is undeniably beautiful with the juxtaposition that it r...

This week’s guest on the Paul Weller Fan Podcast is Tony Harlow , one of the most influential figures in the modern music industry and the current Chairman & CEO of Warner Music UK. CEO of Richard Branson’s V2 Records during Paul Weller's time at the label, their professional paths have crossed again more recently, with Paul signing back with Warner's Parlophone label for Find El Dorado. Beyon...