Paul Weller Fan Podcast

Episode 168: Sam Molnar talks Wake Up Woking, Wild Wood at Woking Hospice and a 50 year friendship...  On this episode of the podcast, we chat to Sam Molnar and hear his incredible connections with Paul Weller from The Jam to now... We'll discover how he's become Sammy Carpet to the Weller family... how he created Wake Up Woking and an incredible homecoming gig in 2010... which featured live musi...

Episode 167: Keiko Egawa... Super-fan stories from Tokyo to London and beyond... On this episode of my Paul Weller Fan Podcast , I am joined by Keiko Egawa - a Japanese super-fan who has been to hundreds of gigs over the past 40+ years - seeing The Jam sixty-nine times, The Style Council sixty plus and Paul Weller solo over one-hundred and fifty times... We'll hear her story from discovering The J...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I am joined by music journalist Adrian Thrills. Adrian became a fan of The Jam from 1976 - pre-Polydor record deal - seeing them at the 100 Club, upstairs at Ronnie Scotts, The Marquee, Red Cow in Hammersmith and at many more gigs... Together with his friend, Shane McGowan, Adrian did one of the very first interviews with the band for own 48 Thrills...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we hear the incredible story of Reaction - a Mod-influenced band from Burton-on-Trent, formed in November 1980 by Bruno Gallone . It was a real delight to hear Bruno's incredible story from creating the band before he could even play an instrument to their first gig a few weeks later at the Guild Street Mod night in Burton.... What came next sounds t...

With the 40th anniversary of the release of Introducing The Style Council (Sept 1983), it seemed fitting to spend an episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast revelling in the enduring magic of this iconic band. To commemorate this milestone, we have the privilege of diving into the heartfelt stories of two unwavering super-fans, Brenda Taylor and Karen McBride . Their journey into the world of The S...

Episode 163 - Billy Sullivan - Singer, Songwriter & Musician talks Paper Dreams Solo Debut, The Spitfires supporting Paul Weller, a love of The Jam and more. My special guest on this episode of Desperately Seeking Paul - The Paul Weller Fan Podcast is the hugely talented singer, songwriter and musician - Billy Sullivan. His story takes us from a love of music as a child through to the formatio...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , I am joined by the award-winning stand-up comedian, broadcaster and podcaster, Ian Stone . A huge fan of The Jam and Paul Weller since discovering the band in 1977 via John Peel's late night show on Radio One, Ian published his first book in 2020 – To Be Someone – a memoir about one teenager’s obsession with The Jam … Paul Weller commented “I really...

In the realm of music enthusiasts and vinyl collectors, few names command as much respect and admiration as Keb Darge . The legendary out-spoken Scotsman has left an indelible mark on the world of music with has an uncanny ability to unearth rare and forgotten musical treasures. Over the past 40-plus years, he has been heavily involved in the northern soul, deep funk, rockabilly, and sixties garag...

In the dynamic world of music, a few trailblazers stand out, reshaping the industry with their audacious ideas and unshakeable passion. Andy Macdonald - the maverick behind the Go Discs and Independiente record labels - is undeniably one such luminary. With a knack for spotting raw talent and an unwavering commitment to artistic authenticity, Andy is one of the most successful UK independent music...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , I chat with Bob Manton and 'Just Jeff' Shadbolt from Purple Hearts . Formed in 1978, they were a mod-influenced band that blended elements of post-punk, new wave, and mod revival, creating a distinct and energetic sound that resonated with a wide audience beyond the confines of the mod scene. We talk about their discovery of The Jam as punk loving t...

Part of the music industry for nearly 50 years, Kevin Metcalfe takes a break from enjoying his recent retirement to join me on this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast . Kevin is an industry legend. A sound mastering engineer with an impressive repertoire of all kinds of artists and all types of musical styles under his belt. This fella has played a key role on hundreds, if not thousands, of si...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I am joined by songwriter, musician Chris Free . He was one half of the duo A Craze who were signed to Paul Weller’s Respond record label in the early 1980s. We chat about his love of punk including The Jam and The Clash and his first band The Users, to meeting Lucy Barron, forming A Craze and getting signed to the project. The band played on the Res...

On this episode of the podcast, we take a journey from The Jam to Paul Weller Solo via two super-fans... and a wonderful love story... David Rowe , and his partner, Jo White , have been to around 450 live shows and have some incredible stories and connections over the past 45 years... including joining the merchandise team for The Style Council and Paul Weller Solo!. David met Jo at school in St....

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , I am joined by another hugely talented individual in the world of music - Engineer, producer, mixer and editor, Fiona Cruickshank . One of the few people to feature on our series, who is involved in more music releases each year than Mr Weller ! She has been working in studios for over a decade now and is more in demand than ever - even getting a we...

On this episode of  The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , recorded at the Here Comes The Weekend event in Woking, I chat to another huge talent to join this incredible musical journey.  Steve Nichol. He’s a Multi-instrumentalist, Producer, Songwriter… who just happens to one of the founders of influential eighties Brit Soul flag bearers Loose Ends… It was a joy to hear his memories of a year spe...

It was a real honour to be asked to MC and interview guests at the recent Here Comes The Weekend event in Woking, and the first day was a 40th anniversary celebration of The Style Council. Yes, it really has been 4 whole decades since the reveal of a new venture from a fella called Paul Weller who had been in a pretty small band called The Jam… and an absolute wizard on the keys… Mick Talbot… The...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , I am joined by David Quantick - a writer whose work spans over 4 decades now. He joined NME as a staff writer in 1983. We dig in to stories of The Jam, The Style Council and Paul Weller Solo... and David's connections to the man and his music... He also just happens to be a hugely successful comedy writer and screenwriter for some of the most outsta...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I am joined by Scottish author, David F. Ross . David is an architect by day, and a hilarious social-media commentator, author and enabler by night. His debut novel  The Last Days of Disco inspired by The Jam 's 1979 classic album - Setting Sons - became an international best-seller in 2015... "The Jam were my first favourite band, and you never...

As we celebrate 150 episodes of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast , what better way to mark the occasion than an episode with elusive producer, Brendan Lynch . From working with The Style Council as an engineer towards the end of their life-cycle (Modernism/Promised Land/King Truman) to co-producing a series of outstanding solo album releases with Paul Weller . We're talking that Paul Weller debut solo...

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I am joined singer-songwriter-musician-producer-sound artist, Gwenno AKA Gwenno Saunders . She is another of those incredible talents to have entered Paul Weller's orbit - first as somebody whose music he has regularly recommended, and then as a remixer for one of his songs from On Sunset in 2020. Her creations are things of beauty - sung in Cornish...

This episode of the podcast was recorded live in front of a 'studio' audience at The Water Rats, London... In the realm of music photography, there are certain individuals who possess a unique ability to capture the essence of a band, conveying their spirit through the lens. One such luminary is Peter Anderson , a photographer renowned for his collaboration with The Style Council . Peter attended...

Drumming is often the rhythmic heartbeat that propels music forward, and within the realm of influential drummers, Bev Bevan 's name shines brightly. Known for his exceptional talent, he has not only left an indelible mark on the music industry but has also inspired countless drummers around the world. What an honour it is to have Bev join me on this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast as we di...

This episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast was recorded live at London's iconic The Water Rats venue. My special guest, Mod Author and DJ, Paul 'Smiler' Anderson  shared stories from The Jam to now. Kicking off with how it was The Jam that ignited a lifelong passion for all things Mod. We also dig in to three of his incredible books. Kicking off with Mods: The New Religion which was publishe...

On this episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we hear from Sarah Jane Morris - a singer-songwriter who has been sharing her musical talents with us for over 40 years now. An artist who straddles rock, blues, jazz and soul and is in possession of a stunning four octave vocal range that'll blow your mind. Her connections to Paul Weller date back to the mid-80s, when she was part of The Commun...

Episode 144: Mark Cooper... Co-creator and founding producer of 'Later... with Jools Holland' and the annual Hootenanny plus Record Mirror Magazine Music Journalist and more... My podcast guest on Episode 144 has a completely unique story from music journalist in the time of The Jam to co-creator of a music TV show that has featured Paul Weller more than any other artist. Mark Cooper is another st...