My Ever Changing Moods - Style Council, 1984
Daylight turns to moonlight - and I'm at my best Bitter turns to sugar - some call a passive tune Teardrops turn to children - who've never had the time The cool before the warm |
Another distinctly 80s sound came from the rather laid back Style Council. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Paul Weller (ex of The Jam), and Keyboardist Mick Talbot. Signing with the record label Polydor, the lineup was rounded off with drums by Steve White, and vocals from Weller's wife, Dee C. Lee. Paul Weller took his new band in a different direction from The Jam, preferring a more overtly political message. Songs such as Walls Come Tumbling Down, The Lodgers, and Come To Milton Keynes were direct attacks on the conservative politics of the Margaret Thatcher era. The 1983 album, Cafe Bleu went as far as a number entitled Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse... but I preferred songs like Long Hot Summer and My Ever Changing Moods. In 1989, Weller and Talbot recorded the single Like A Gun for the Acid Jazz label. They did this without Polydor's knowledge, preferring to use the pseudonyms Truman King and Elliott Arnold. Polydor executives soon caught on, and the records were pulled from the stores. Later that year, the Style Council broke up, and Paul Weller went on to a successful solo career. |