Celebrities Paul Weller, Birthday: 25 May 1958, Woking, Surrey, England, UK

[on turning down the CBE] It would have been a bit hypocritical for me to accept that, I don't reall...Show more »

[on turning down the CBE] It would have been a bit hypocritical for me to accept that, I don't really agree with it. I don't like the royal family, I don't like the establishment, I don't like the civil service. So, it would be utterly pointless me accepting it. Show less «

Wilko [Wilko Johnson] may not be as famous as some other guitarists, but he's right up there. And th...Show more »

Wilko [Wilko Johnson] may not be as famous as some other guitarists, but he's right up there. And there are a lot of people who'll say the same. I can hear Wilko in lots of places. It's some legacy. Show less «

[on David Bowie] I like about three records of his. The rest of it's pish.

[on Sting] Horrible man. Not my cup of tea at all. Rubbish. No edge, no attitude, no nothing.

We can't stop a baby in Africa from starving to death... but we can afford enough technology and wea...Show more »

We can't stop a baby in Africa from starving to death... but we can afford enough technology and weaponry to blow the world up a million times over. Show less «

For me, Wilko [Wilko Johnson] was the first guitar hero of the Seventies. Post-Bolan [Marc Bolan] an...Show more »

For me, Wilko [Wilko Johnson] was the first guitar hero of the Seventies. Post-Bolan [Marc Bolan] and Bowie [David Bowie], Britain was a real wasteland, musically. There were all those faded-denim, post-prog stadium bands, and the US rock thing. The Feelgoods cut right through all that. Hearing Down By The Jetty for the first time, at the age of 17, was just what I wanted. I borrowed the LP off a mate and kept hold of it as long as I could. Then I went and bought my own. Show less «

The line "Compose a revolutionary symphony/Then went to bed with a charming young thing" is about Th...Show more »

The line "Compose a revolutionary symphony/Then went to bed with a charming young thing" is about The Clash. I was a fan, but I just thought it was really odd how quickly they'd become a standard rock'n'roll band with the leather jackets and the photo opportunities. One minute they were singing 'I'm so bored with the USA' and the next they seemed to be spending most of their fucking time over there. I felt a bit cheated. Show less «

Unfortunately these days, if you don't get a hit single and your first album doesn't sell one point ...Show more »

Unfortunately these days, if you don't get a hit single and your first album doesn't sell one point whatever million you don't get a chance to make your second one. Pop Idol (2001), Popstars (2001), Fame Academy (2002), the rest of them - I don't think they are causing any problems whatsoever - they are coming up with acts that people do like and they are going out and buying a lot of their product. Show less «

I'm not scared of the new. For all of my love of the '60s, be it clothes or music, I still wouldn't ...Show more »

I'm not scared of the new. For all of my love of the '60s, be it clothes or music, I still wouldn't want to be living in any other time but now. If I had a time machine, maybe I might go back to 1964 to the Flamingo and see Stevie Wonder, but I wouldn't want to stay there. I like the modern. Show less «

If I'd lost my hair, it would've been awful. Nobody could take a bald mod seriously. I was talking t...Show more »

If I'd lost my hair, it would've been awful. Nobody could take a bald mod seriously. I was talking to Robert Plant about this and he said the secret to his success was keeping his hair. Led Zeppelin would never have reformed if he or Jimmy Page were bald. Show less «

I had a total belief in The Style Council. I meant every word and felt every action.

The Jam were a good band, however I feel that the Style Council were better. A lot of people I know ...Show more »

The Jam were a good band, however I feel that the Style Council were better. A lot of people I know will disagree with me. Some things we did with The Style Council were misinterpreted or over their heads. Show less «

Coming from such an uneducated background, I suppose I'd had quite a blinkered working-class upbring...Show more »

Coming from such an uneducated background, I suppose I'd had quite a blinkered working-class upbringing, and reading books like George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and Robert Tressell's The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropist had opened up my mind - seeing how the system works and how people are kept down. They gave me a broadly socialist viewpoint and made me reappraise everything. Show less «

It wasn't a time to be non partisan. It was too serious a time, too extreme. I wasn't waving the Lab...Show more »

It wasn't a time to be non partisan. It was too serious a time, too extreme. I wasn't waving the Labour party flag but the socialist red flag that's for sure. In The Jam I didn't want to be a part of any movement. But this was different. Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher) got into power in 1979, and from the Falklands war onwards, that was her wielding her power, the trade unions were being worn down, we had the miners strike, there was mass unemployment, there were all these issues, you had to care and if you didn't you had your head in the sand or didn't give a fuck about anyone but yourself. You couldn't sit on the fence. It was very black and white then. Thatcher was a tyrant, a dictator. Show less «

[on being told that David Cameron had named Eton Rifles as one of his favorite songs] Which part of ...Show more »

[on being told that David Cameron had named Eton Rifles as one of his favorite songs] Which part of it didn't he get? Show less «

[on "Wake Up The Nation"] I think the record is great and it deserves a lot more recognition than it...Show more »

[on "Wake Up The Nation"] I think the record is great and it deserves a lot more recognition than it's got. Show less «

In all honesty, I don't know what one song can change.

[speaking in 2006] There are more important things in my life now to write about than politics.

[on involvement with Red Wedge] It was the biggest mistake ever for me because once you get involved...Show more »

[on involvement with Red Wedge] It was the biggest mistake ever for me because once you get involved with those people you see how it's all run. It's more about their egos and it's not about really making a difference. Show less «

I'm a born-again Bowie (David Bowie) freak. The next time he sees me I'll have a fucking great Aladd...Show more »

I'm a born-again Bowie (David Bowie) freak. The next time he sees me I'll have a fucking great Aladdin Sane flash on me boat race. Every night we'd drive home to London after recording and have Ziggy Stardust on five or six times. Low's one of my favourite records anyway. Whatever gripes I've had about Bowie in the past, Low's been a constant since I bought it in 1977. Show less «

Paul Weller

Paul Weller's FILMOGRAPHY

Feedback about this page?