The World’s Greatest Paul Weller-related Books

“Scratching around at home on an acoustic guitar, singing into my phone with these funny little rough ideas. All of a sudden, it turns into something beautiful or complete… it’s a fascinating thing. It’s magic.” — Paul Weller

In Magic: A Journal of Song, Paul Weller gives the definitive account of his illustrious songwriting career, in his most candid and intimate commentary to date.  
The book chronicles a lifetime worth of lyrics with impressive clarity. We follow Paul through his upbringing on Stanley Road and founding the Jam in his teenage years, creating the Style Council alongside keyboardist Mick Talbot, and later into his 16-album solo career, including stories behind iconic albums such as Stanley Road and Wild Wood, as well as his most recent studio album, Fat Pop Vol. 1. 
Magic presents 130 of Weller’s finest lyrics to date, accompanied by an illuminating commentary which sees him give unprecedented insight into his life and lyrics, as told to GQ editor and author, Dylan Jones OBE, in their first collaboration.
Find out more here

The Paul Weller Fan Podcast kicked off on Episode 1 with Stuart Deabill talking about the brilliant book Soul Deep – Adventures With The Style Council that he had created with Ian Snowball and Steve Rowland. At the time of recording we were a few months away from publication and I had just had a sneak preview of some PDFs which were amazing but what arrived a couple of month’s later blew my mind. A huge, heavy, fat, full-bodied, explorative, beautiful celebration of “probably the best pop group in the world” with words, images and love from former band members, fans and associates.

The book is now Sold Out – so you’ll need to hunt around for this one – but it’s highly recommended for the incredible photos and images from album & single artwork, the tour programmes, set-lists, fan photos, lyrics and design direction from Paul and for the interviews with Mick Talbot, Steve White, Camelle Hinds, Simon Halfon, Nicky Weller, Billy Bragg, Gary Crowley, Tracie Young, Dennis Munday, Zeke Manyika, Eddie Piller, Norman Jay MBE, Daniel Rachel, Wendy May, Mark Baxter, Brendan Lynch and many others.

A huge shout out to Deabs as without him this whole journey of ours may never have got underway. Keep an eye out here for more information on future projects.

Ian ‘Snowy’ Snowball joined me for Episode 7 of the podcast – a conversation which resulted in me buying my first pair of Blakeseys monkey boots (true story – you’ll have to listen to find out why). Snowy has also co-authored the best-selling book That’s Entertainment: My Life In The Jam with Rick Buckler and wrote Thick as Thieves: Personal Situations with The Jam and Soul Deep – Adventures with the Style Council with Stuart.

Sounds from the Studio was first published in 2017, a year that marked the 40th anniversary of the start of Paul Weller’s recording career. In a really unique format, the book starts in 2015 with the release of what was then his most recent album Saturn’s Pattern (amazing to think we have had 4 studio albums since then) and then works backwards to the ground-breaking debut from The Jam – In the City. The book includes interviews with artists who have worked with Paul including Noel Gallagher, Steve Cradock, Sir Peter Blake, Mick Talbot, and both Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton from The Jam as well as many of the studio hands, sleeve designers and interviews with members from Paul’s family. It’s a brilliant read for anyone who wants to get more out of the albums – think of it as a ‘making of’ story. You can buy the book here

David Lines runs at 100mph – his memories pour out of this podcast episode with a passion like no other. We’d be chatting for ages about recording a conversation in a pub, and then in a FiveLive BBC Studio, but the national pandemic’s and me trying to cope with a busy job, a couple of kids, and a huge number of edits meant we jumped on a Zoom call to record – but man alive I am so glad that we did – what a guest!

The Modfather story kicks off when David first heard This is the Modern World by The Jam, resulting in a love affair that continues to this day. Paul Weller became the blueprint for David’s life, and he followed his music and his style with the fervour of a truly devoted fan – to the bemusement of his long-suffering family. This book is hilariously funny, emotional, passionate and hugely engaging. Described as the story of what it means to have a hero, its pleasures and pitfalls. David cleverly uses landmark songs from The Jam and The Style Council, to map out the occasionally bizarre events in the life of an obsessive fan and wannabe writer. You can buy the book here

Suburban 100 is the first selection of Paul Weller’s lyrics – first published in 2007, revised in 2010 – which draws from his incredible back catalogue of songs written for The Jam, The Style Council and solo releases that, together, tell stories of life and love, rage and romance. It was fascinating hearing Broadcaster and Journalist John Wilson (who created the book with Paul) talk on Episode 63 of the podcast about it’s inception and how he spent red wine fuelled evenings with Paul, pouring over hundreds of printed out lyrics, scattered across the kitchen table to debate and select the ones that made the book. The youthful frustrations of small-town life that fuelled Weller’s early writing is palpable, as is the angry but poignant response to Thatcher’s Britain. His lyrics, rooted in English suburban culture, explore the hopes, dreams and crashing disappointments of ordinary people. They also revel in the mystical beauty of the English country landscape and repeatedly revisit dreamlike childhood summers. The book reads like a anthology of poetry and for the first time Paul shares reflections on his lyrics, offering candid insights to his writing process and the inspiration behind some of pop music’s best loved songs. You can buy the book here

Isle of Noises : Conversations with Great British Songwriters features exclusive, in-depth conversations with twenty-seven of the UK’s greatest living musicians including Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Chris Difford, Madness, Noel Gallagher, Jimmy Page and Damon Albarn. Each artist discusses their individual approach to writing, the inspiration behind their most successful songs, and the techniques and methods they have independently developed. Original handwritten lyrics from personal archives and notebooks (many never-before-seen) offer a unique glimpse into the heart of the creative process, and some of the greatest names in photography, including Jill Furmanovsky, Pennie Smith and Sheila Rock, have contributed stunning portraits of each artist.

The combination of individual personal insights and the breadth and depth of knowledge in their collected experience makes Isle of Noises the essential word on classic British songwriting – as told by the songwriters themselves.

You can buy the book here

Shaun Hand was another fabulous podcast guest on Episode 54 as we took a trip through The Jam’s evolution from In The City to The Gift and explored their musical legacy and how songs like ‘Down in the Tube Station at Midnight’, ‘Going Underground’, and ‘Town Called Malice’, resonate as much today as they did 40 plus years ago and are cited by each new generation as an inspiration.

First published in 2016, Pop Art Poems offers a fresh perspective on the band – running through song-by-song, from Paul Weller’s earliest compositions to their biggest hits – with every B-side and rarity included.

The original print run is now a rare collector’s item, but with this revised second edition for e-book, fans of The Jam and Paul Weller no longer need to scour eBay to enjoy one of the most definitive books about the best band in f**cking world.

You can buy the book here

Mr Cool’s Dream is recognised as the absolute guide on “probably the best pop group in the world.” It first appeared in 1996 before one of the world’s leading music stores, HMV, stepped in with an exclusive deal where they released a cutdown edition inside the 1998 Complete Adventures box set. Eight years later the mysterious and elusive Cappuccino Kid came out of retirement alongside many high profile Style Councillor’s to offer their stories in an updated edition. Paul Weller called it, “painstakingly accurate”; and Steve White, “the definitive record.” The 2014 edition was the most recent update, having been fully revised and updated with new features and interviews. Long out of print this is a collectors item with the challenge of getting 5 autographs (Paul, Mick, Dee, Steve + author, Iain Munn).

Whilst the Mr Cool’s Dream book is out of print right now ( and very collectable – see above) , you can now buy what has been billed as a 25th Anniversary Collector’s Series (marking the first version of the book) with Volume 1 and 2 available so far.
1983 shares “a full on, fascinating debut year” written as if “today” is 1st January 1984 with no knowledge of future events, songs or releases. The book accurately details the excitement and intensity of the year with 1984 doing the same for the next. These are a great read with interactive elements delivered by QR codes to a private YouTube channel.
Find out more and buy here.

August 2020 saw this fabulous book land from Weller bandmate Andy Crofts. Music and photography have always gone hand in hand for Andy. In his teens he discovered a passion for taking pictures and described it as a life changing feeling. On Episode 67 of the podcast, Andy shared stories of his few brief encounters with Paul through playing live, drunken texts and sending demos of his music to his first meeting in 2006 which subsequently led to Andy being asked to join Paul’s band in 2008. He’s been a permanent member ever since. Since joining the band he noticed that slowly and unintentionally he had gathered a collection of photographs of Paul that the world has never seen and for the first time from the perspective of a band member. This brilliant book showcases a collection of photographs from his fast paced travels with Paul.

This book is a series of natural observations, from over the years of travelling and being part of the Paul Weller band.

You can buy the book here

At the time of writing, my conversation with Steve Rapport is the only one that has happened in two parts – it’s fair to say that Steve likes a chat – and we couldn’t fit it all in to one hour’s recording – there were so many brilliant tales from Red Wedge, The Style Council and Steve’s amazing photography career outside of the world of Weller. Dive in to listen below.

The Modfather Book – which spans the years 1981-1986 – came about after our conversation – and what a delight it is to see the images that Steve has pulled from his archive (more than 90) – including The Jam and The Style Council, photos from the Long Hot Summer & Lodgers videos and photos from the Red Wedge Tour of 1986.

Each copy of this self-published 2021 book is hand-signed by Steve. You can buy the book here

Across five decades Bill Smith Studio worked with more than 200 bands and artists, creating hundreds of album covers, singles bags, and CD covers. You may not know it, but if you bought records over the past forty years, you’ve probably bought a number of theirs.

On Episode 39 of the podcast, I chatted with Bill about his work and his beautiful new book Cover Stories, hearing stories about the creation of album and single covers for The Jam from In The City to This is the Modern World to All Mod Cons, Setting Sons and Sound Affects along with work with the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, King Crimson, Eric Clapton, Toyah, Johnny Thunders, Genesis, Queen and Mike Oldfield.

In Cover Stories you’ll find the stories of 70 plus albums including contributions from the bands, the artists, photographers and painters involved. You can buy the book here

For avid consumers of Jam vinyl in the late seventies and early eighties, Martyn Goddard’s photographs need little introduction. His images appear on the cover of their first album, In The City, and their fifth, Sound Affects. In between, his photographs were used on the front covers of a flurry of picture sleeve singles: All Around The World, The Modern World, News of The World, David Watts/ ‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street, Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, and finally Strange Town.

This is the first time that Martyn’s photographs of The  Jam have been gathered together and presented in a single volume. Many of the photographs in this book were uncovered by Martyn during a comprehensive review of his archives during the Covid-19 lockdown, and are being published for the first time. 

Published in 2021, this beautiful signed and numbered limited edition book features around 150 photographs and personal recollections from Martyn’s eight sessions with the Jam from 1977 to 1980. You can buy the book here

From the Floorboards Up! is a unique fans’ perspective photographic book following the icon that is Paul Weller, with a foreword by Roger Daltrey.

All the photos are from live events in the UK and overseas, taken from 1990 to 2019. It’s a very unique book, with narrative by Pat Gilbert (MOJO), interviews with fans and reflections from some bands lucky enough to have supported Paul on tour during those 30 years.
Compiled and designed by life-long fan Jon Abnett, From the Floorboards Up! Jon joined me on Episode 62 of the podcast to take a walk through the book and how it contains many unseen shots all taken by the fans!

You can buy the book here

In The Crowd – The Jam Snapped! 40th Anniversary edition is a limited edition hard back book by Derek D’Souza. With the discovery of new and unseen photos of the band, the team behind the Style Council book Soul Deep, teamed up with Derek to produce a 40th anniversary book in 2022.
The hard back, larger format, high print spec edition featured more pages and over 40 new and unseen photographs hand picked by Derek.
You can buy the book here

This book was another real highlight of 2021 for me – and I’d love to get Simon Halfon on the podcast one day to chat about his amazing work. Simon has been designing artwork since the 1980s, starting out at Stiff Records before setting up London and LA design studios in the 90s. Long standing clients included the late George Michael, Oasis and Paul Weller. I’m trying to think of a Style Council album or single cover artwork that wasn’t created (brilliantly) by Simon and can’t, so I figure he did them all but correct me if I am wrong, and Weller solo takes us from the design for that first LP through to Wild Wood, Heavy Soul and much more… For the first time Simon’s body of work was collated into an amazing coffee table book (now sold out) that celebrated the best of his record sleeves, design work and photography.
Keep an eye on this website for more info 

Richard Houghton joined the podcast in February 2023 to share his love of the The Jam and the story of his book The Day I Was Here. With a foreword written by Jam drummer Rick Buckler, this book tells the story of the band in the words of over 300 fans.
With memories from the earliest shows at clubs and pubs around Woking and London, UK and North American tours through to their last ever gig in Brighton on 11th December 1982. Told by the perspective of fans, promoters, studio engineers, photographers and support acts the book includes personal photographs, memorabilia, anecdotes and stories that have never been published before.

You can buy the book here

A beautifully presented coffee table book packed from cover to cover with celebrity memories paying tribute to the band that inspired an entire generation….The Jam – written by the official exhibition producers Nicky Weller, Gary Crowley, Russell Reader and Den Davis.
A host of household names from the world of music, film and media penned fitting tributes to the band. From stars of the sixties who influenced the band, Ray Davies and Pete Townshend to the bands competing for chart success, Adam Ant, Sir Bob Geldof, Mick Jones and Jools Holland. The stars The Jam inspired: Noel Gallagher, Kelly Jones and Sharleen Spiteri, to actors and media personalities including Martin Freeman, Max Beesley and many more.
With a foreword from all three members of the band, heart-warming personal recollections, spine tingling accolades and unseen photos, this really is a must read for any music fan. Buy the book here.

The book that caused the fall out?
Paolo Hewitt had known Paul since they were both teenagers in the depths of Woking, through his ascent to fame with The Jam, the halcyon years of The Style Council and for much of his critically acclaimed solo career.
The Changing Man is a warts and all biography. Speaking to Paul Weller News at the time of release, Paolo commented “Some of these reviewers seem to be surprised that he can produce work like this. Paul is a talented songwriter. He’s got a force of nature behind him. He will carry on regardless. He is still creating music that’s getting people talking. It is testimony to his talent. He’s like a Bob Dylan or Van Morrison. He will never put out a really awful record. He knows how to write a good song, he knows what works.”
Although Hewitt and Weller’s friendship survived the various ups and downs in their careers and personal lives, they fell out in 2006 and have not spoken since.

This richly illustrated oral history account of The Jam’s rollercoaster final year, led principally by the voice of Jam drummer Rick Buckler, contains a number of previously unseen images and takes in everything from the recording and release of final studio album The Gift and the rigours of the road to the announcement of the split, the final tours, The Tube and more. In addition to Buckler’s memories of this final year, The Jam 1982 also brings together testimonies from Gary Crowley, producer Peter Wilson, A&R manager Dennis Munday, photographer Neil ‘Twink’ Tinning, Eddie Piller, Paolo Hewitt, Mat Osman, Belle Stars singer Jennie Matthias (‘The Bitterest Pill’), touring musicians Jamie Telford and Steve Nichol and others, to tell the tale of a single, fateful year: the year The Jam, for better or worse, went out at the very top of their game.
You can order the book here.

Published in 1995, this book came with a free CD including unique previously unreleased demo versions of some of Paul Weller’s best songs.
“Lawrence Watson is an acclaimed music photographer and accomplished video director. Three years ago, at Weller’s request, Lawrence began to photographically document the growth of a solo artist at a critical time in his career. This book is a collection of the best of that work”
To accompany the photographs, Paul agreed to publish many unseen working lyrics and poems, and to contribute unique material to the book that will illustrate the development of his solo career thus far.

Published in 2012, Thick as Thieves by Ian Snowball and Stuart Deabill (see Soul Deep above) explores just how influential The Jam were through interviews with the band, journalists, creatives, unusual celebrities and most importantly, the fans.
The book reflects the aspirations and celebrations of growing up in the 1970’s and includes rare photographs and sharp insights on The Jam. It is perfect reading for the many thousands of fans still hungry for more.

The Jam : a beat concerto by Paolo Hewitt was originally published in 1983 and packed full of rare photos, information, reviews and the story of their rise to fame up until their farewell tour.
Paul writes the foreword thus: It must have been a difficult task to write The Jam’s biog – there haven’t been any drug busts, violent deaths or mystical sojourns. Things that seemed vital to us may sound trivial to other people. For instance, my fondest memory of The Jam and the most important time for the group and me was the hours we spent travelling up and down the motorway in a Ford Transit. All quite Billy Fury filmish really but…
Either way there is no more to be said on The Jam’s formation and rise than is contained in this book.
P.W. June 1983

Paul Honeyford’s biography of The Jam was the first such biography, written in consultation with the band at a time when they were at the peak of their success. 

His revealing, dynamic account is illustrated with a range of black and white photos, showing the band members on-stage, and at their most informal.

Co-Founder of The Jam, Steve Brookes shares his story in this 1996 paperback.
From rehearsing in Paul’s bedroom to the formation of band and the members’ relationships, early gigs, playing the clubs of Woking to their rise to fame, including many historic photos of the band.
Paul Weller said “The best thing I’e ever read on The Jam. Honest, accurate & endearing. It’s also a great picture of 2 young boys determined to escape & make it to the big time.”

Written by a fan for other fans, Porcelain God was last published back in 2008, described at the time as “the most detailed account of Paul Weller’s music ever compiled. The project is a work in progress and will be updated again every 2 years as new information is always being uncovered.”
The most recent version of the book is in an A5 paperback format spanning a massive 670 pages, documenting Paul’s work in extreme detail. You can find out more here

Published in 1997, this is the story of Paul Weller’s life in and out of music.
Author Steve Malins talked to friends, collaborators, enemies and admirers to form the most complete portrait of one of rock music’s biggest come-back successes.

Published in 2003, this authoritative chronology of The Jam’s career weaves around an in-depth study of the band’s entire musical legacy, including songs from their time as a four-piece and all the other tracks that comprised the pre-Polydor set list. The book also features a foreword from Bruce Foxton and reveals details of songs that even diehard Jam fans will never have heard of.

Thanks to Ian Holmes on Twitter (@Holmes765) for the heads up on this one. I’ve never seen before. Here’s the blurb!
“Although Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton, Rick Buckler have now gone their separate ways and moved on to hopefully better things, the spirit of The Jam survives and will for some time overshadow whatever else they do: That’s the price they paid for quitting at the top.
During his years as a rock journalist Mike Nicholls interviewed The Jam on many occasions as well as travelling with them on the road. About the Young Idea gives a unique insight into one of the most popular groups of modern times as well as presenting a factual history of the phenomenon they called The Jam.

Published in September 2021 , Scorcha! from Paul ‘Smiler’ Anderson and Mark Baxter delves into the roots, rise and fall of the Suedeheads and their close companions the Skinheads. Covering topics from fashion and football to the influence of black music and culture, the book draws on first-hand accounts from the original skin-suede generation and later adopters, such as Paul Weller and Norman Jay MBE. 

Buy the Book here