PAUL WELLER

Paul was born into a working class family on the 25th may 1958 and was given the birth name JOHN WILLIAM WELLER by parents John and Ann, but although the name was confirmed on Pauls birth certificate two months later shortly after John and Ann moved to 8 stanley rd(now made famous by one of Pauls albums)Ann decided she no longer wanted that name for her son and renamed him Paul.Both parents were besotted with their new son and so grew the special bond between father and son that still thrieves to this day.Paul was six when he first heard the beatles and after seeing them perform decided then at that young age that this was what he wanted to do.

Although Paul was besotted with the band as he grew he soon noticed that there was more to pop than The Beatles.In 1967, this back drop of marijuana and LSD blossomed into a style of pop which, at its best, boasted both melodic subleties and obscure lyrics which progressed beyond the traditional boy-meets-girl message.This is the music that filled the ears of a very impressionable young boy whose love affair with pop was just beginning.When he was eleven, Paul switched from maybury first school to sheerwater county secondary.The school brought Paul into contact with the first generation offspring of sheerwaters london-born population-which is why you wont hear a hint of Surrey accent in his voice, the other being his fathers gruff south london bark.Pauls taste for records was soon augmented by the growing obsession with clothes, he took on two paper rounds, one in the morning, one in the evening, to supplement his pocket money. By the end of the sixties fashion had kept pace with the rapidly changing face of music, and had splintered into many different styles, Like the mods, the skinheads and suedeheads adopted classic designs, but by mixing traditionally formal garments(smart suits,the crombie-style overcoat, Ben sherman button down shirts, brogues and loafers)with working mens attire(Dr Martens boots, straight legged jeans, sta-prest trousers, Fred perry T-shirts and Harrington or air Force jackets), they would create a whole new uniform.This was the look that paul was willing to adopt, but since most of these clothes werent available in Woking-at least not in Pauls size, he would have to save up for trips to Petticoat lane,Londons famous east end market, held every sunday.The teenage weller even made his school uniform something to be proud of, he didnt dress out of uniform nut used to adapt it, it was like, dark trousers but hed come in with pale grey sta-prest, and his tie would have a red line going through it or hed wear a lemon coloured shirt instead of white.He was a bit rebellious, he never wanted to conform, the boys in the years above him would go to paul for advice on fashion and clothes.

Paul wasnt the gregarious person his threads might have suggested, in fact he was a very shy and quiet young boy, would never speak unless he was spoken too, which some people mistook for arrogance rather than shyness.At the age of eleven paul started to go the Woking football club disco held on a tuesday night he loved to go there cause the music played there was what Paul loved(reggae and motown, even a little ska)it was there that he picked up the dance moves and style of dance that he loved to show off to friends, they thought it was great cause it was a style so different to that shown on the tv(Top of the pops).Paul met steve brookes in 1971 when his family moved to woking and the boys became inseparable, the pair learnt how to play the guitar, steve picking it up alot faster and more naturally than Paul, the pair would rehearse together after school in Pauls bedroom, even in those early days the boys would write their own songs Paul being the better song writer of the two, they would walk through the steets in the early hours of the morning barefoot for inspiration.After six months or so the duo were ready for their first proper show at the Albion pub opposite Woking station, although the boys were nervous it all went well and from that gig got another in Woking working mans club right next door to the weller household, so on a winters night in 1972 the two fourteen year olds played to the locals which consisted of eight songs(mostly beatles).From this night Paul was convinced that music was his true vocation in life and although his parents supported their son in every aspect of his life they were convinced it was a just a boyhood fantasy.Paul hated school by this point and hes report for 1972 stressed his under-achievement and lack of concentration, Paul decided it was time to form the band and added dave waller to take on the role of rhythm guitarist, now all they needed was a drummer, which is when they found Paul Richard Buckler, because the boys shared the same christian Buckler later decided to use his middle name Rick.The boys needed somewhere to rehearse, they were given permission to use the working mans club on odd occassions but it wasnt enough so Paul turned to one of the only teachers he liked.

John Avery gave the boys access to a semi-sound proofed room in the school to play in, John avery liked the boys and respected their enthusiasm and style, There was nothing extraordinary about the schools music room, there was a drum kit but the boys brought their own guitars, it was in one of these sessions that the boys came up with there band name, during a usual bit of banter between the boys, they were teasing dave about the way his mother would complain about the amount of time the boys were spending rehearsing, and dave would always reply"were only jammin mum or i gotta go jam with the lads"so hes mother replied you should name that band the jam cause its all i hear so when dave told the other boys it was agreed and the band THE JAM was made. It was around this time that John weller decided that his son was deadly serious about his music and the band so he started to find gigs for the boys and Anne weller would make the boys outfits, Pauls parents were so devoted to their son they were willing to sacrefice eveything to help the lad fullfill his dreams, John even had the phone disconnected at one point to pay for an amp that the boys desperately needed.John arranged a gig for the boys at Sheerwater Youth Club, this was the bands first gig using their new band name, so The Jam inaugurated their new line up in front of forty school mates, but the event didnt go well, their equipment packed up so the boys fled to the pub,partly from nerves and partly because they thought the whole evening had fallen through.When they finally returned they were in no fit state to perform,but after a barrage of verbal abuse from an incensed John, the boys stumbled onstage to slur their way through a shambolic set,but everything that could go wrong did, Daves guitar lead broke and the boys couldnt fix it,so paul took the lead out of his bass and grabbed the piano sitting at the side of the stage, brought it to the front of stage and started playing that instead of the bass, the other boys were amazed as they wasnt even aware that paul could play the piano, so the performance was saved and the evening was a great success for the boys.

Demo cassettes were run of to help John Weller secure The Jam some more gigs.By now pauls dad was actively hustling for the band,driving them to and from events in his taxi.John arranged some studio time for the boys just off the Finchley Road ,near Swiss Cottage, and it was around this time that Paul and Dave started to have disagreements about the type of songs they should be playing, Paul loved the ballards where as dave wanted the band to play more music like Elton Johns 'Saturday Nights All Right For Fighting', plus dave seemed to be the brunt of the other lads jokes and he wanted to concentrate more on his poetry so he left. Soon afterwards John Weller organised the trios first photo shoot with James R. Holl of Wokings Bermuda Studios, Weller, Buckler and Brookes posed, surly and pouting, with shoulder-lengh hair, but looked relatively smart in broad 'kipper' white ties, black teardrop collar shirts and hip-hugging bell bottoms- the idea of stage uniform was later retained with The Jams distinctive black and white attire. The shots were presumably designed to reassure local tenants, bingo hall owners and soon-to be married couples that The Jam were respectable young lads, who wouldnt sully an evening with heavy rock music or attract an unsavoury audience.On January 22, 1974 John Weller used his connections to secure The Jam an audition at Michaels, an insalubrious nightclub on the Goldworth Road, heading west out of the town centre.They were alaways in the market for any attraction which lured in more than the usual post-pub clientele and the boys were offered a long-standing Friday night residency upstairs.Dave Waller might not have been the most proficient guitarist but his absence was certainly felt now that the band were playing regular gigs.In May 1974 they held auditions above a Woking pub for a second guitar player.One of the hopefuls was Bruce Foxton, who was recommended by the Neil Harris.So now The Jam consisted of Paul Weller(bass guitar), Steve Brookes(lead guitar),Rick Buckler(drums) and Bruce Foxton(rhythm guitar).