– The Style Council – Live at De Meerveert, Amsterdam – October 31, 1983 – VPRO –
Tuesday with The Style Council, recorded live at De Meerveert in Amsterdam on October 31, 1983 and preserved for posterity by VPRO in Hilversum.
In case you forgot, or didn’t know in the first place, The Style Council were formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, former singer, songwriter and guitarist with The Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Bureau and the Merton Parkas. Weller started the project to escape the restrictions of The Jam, and to explore a more arty, European, jazzier direction, which encompassed pop, hip-hop, and soul.
The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller’s then-girlfriend, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young, Tracey Thorn (Everything but the Girl) and drummer/percussionist Steve Sidelnyk (who has played for Madonna, Seal and Richard Ashcroft) also performed and collaborated with the group. As with Weller’s previous band, most of the London-based group’s hits were in their homeland, where they scored seven top 10 hits.The band also had hit singles and albums in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s.
Too bad for us, because there was a lot of good music to be had, and Paul Weller has been one of the “go-to guys” as far as perfectly constructed music is concerned. Luckily for everyone we can play catch-up almost any time – with the preponderance of lps, CD’s, reissues and online sources available almost all the time, you’re never too far away from being informed or becoming a fan, especially since Paul Well is very much around and gigging and releasing new material.
Several years ago I ran some of the early Style Council BBC sessions and they struck a chord with many people, a lot of whom were asking where they were when this stuff originally came out – it’s around; you just had to dig – there’s pearls everywhere.
So this Amsterdam gig comes early-on in the history of The Style Council. The audience reaction and the demand for an encore came as a surprise to the band, but it was an indication they were on to something and destined for big things.
Always one of the really great bands of the 80s, The Style Council not only turned out some great albums, they were also one of the great live acts. It’s a shame they didn’t do much in the way of concertizing in the U.S., but then they were somehow overlooked by audiences here (we were, after all, just getting used to padded shoulders and big hair).
Too bad, but not for the audience in Amsterdam on this particular October night in 1983.
Great concert, great sound, good times.
Enjoy.
