Walls Come Tumbling Down!
“THE song was a product of the time, as the band was,” says Paul Weller. “Sometimes I think I wasn’t affected by the ’80s – it’s only when you look back that you realise you were. You can’t really avoid it. Whether it was a stupid haircut or the clothes. Win some, lose some!”
As a new compilation, Long Hot Summers, and an accompanying documentary tell the story of The Style Council, Weller and his bandmates are reliving those halcyon days for Uncut. Perhaps their most striking moment – in today’s climate, at least – is their ninth single, the punchy “Walls Come Tumbling Down!”, which tackled political oppression and complacency over a pounding beat. The song marked a new phase for The Style Council: after the loose collective Weller assembled for their 1984 debut album Café Bleu, the 1985 model who recorded the Our Favourite Shop album operated more like a structured group centred around Weller and his chief Council collaborator, Mick Talbot.
“I have definite ideas about some things,” says Weller.
“Then with other things you let other people do their thing.
I’m probably a lot freer with that now. I used to be very guarded over my songs – ‘I know how it should go, I want it to be like this’ – get a bit too precious with it. But generally, players like Mick and Steve], you let them do their thing; you know it’s going to be all right.”
