Formation and early releases The band was founded in
Woking,
Surrey in late 1982 by singer, guitarist and songwriter
Paul Weller, following the break-up of his previous band
the Jam. Preferring the idea of a loose, floating line-up, the band was initially a core duo of Weller and keyboardist
Mick Talbot, who Weller said he chose because "he shares my hatred of the rock myth and the rock culture", augmented by various guest musicians and singers. The band showed a diversity of musical styles. Singles "
Speak Like a Child" (with its
soul-influenced style), the extended
funk of "Money-Go-Round", and the
synth-
ballad "
Long Hot Summer" all featured Talbot on keyboards and
organ, and reached number 4, number 11 and number 3, respectively, on the
UK Singles Chart. Nevertheless, the album spent 36 weeks on the chart and was followed by two further Top 10 singles, "
You're the Best Thing" in May and "
Shout to the Top!" in October. The album was complemented by a UK tour starting in March 1984 with supporting acts
Billy Bragg and the Scottish pop band
the Questions. These shows were dubbed "Council Meetings" and were followed by a brief European tour. Later the band played four dates in Japan, where they became hugely popular. These shows were captured on the video
Far East and Far Out, released in September 1984. The band set out on their second "Council Meetings" UK tour in the autumn, this time with DJ
Vaughn Toulouse. The shows were also intended to include a half-hour play directed by
Tony Marchant instead of a support band, but the play was pulled in the last minute when one of the actors broke his leg. The UK dates were followed by dates in Italy where huge demands for tickets in
Bologna forced a last-minute switch to a bigger venue. In 1984, the band also undertook a brief tour of the United States. The Style Council ended the year playing two nights at the
Royal Albert Hall. Mixing different styles such as
Latin music, jazz and funk, and largely featuring political lyrics, it was widely considered to be the band's best work by contemporary critics. It notched up a total of 13 weeks in the UK top 40 (including a re-entry in October), of which three weeks were spent in the top 10. The preceding single "
Walls Come Tumbling Down!" reached number 6 on the singles chart, while "
Come to Milton Keynes" and "
The Lodgers" reached number 23 and 13, respectively. Worldwide, it reached over one million sales. Together with "You're the Best Thing" (from
Café Bleu) and "The Big Boss Groove", two songs from the album—"Internationalists" and "Walls Come Tumbling Down!"—were played by the band at the UK
Live Aid concert, where they appeared second in the running order at
Wembley Stadium between
Status Quo and
the Boomtown Rats. The international exposure, however, did little to boost the group's career, and future commercial success was largely confined to their home country.
Further albums Following the live album
Home and Abroad, and the inclusion of their song
Have You Ever Had It Blue on the soundtrack of
Absolute Beginners in 1986, the band released their third studio album
The Cost of Loving to mixed reviews in 1987. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. The single from the album, "
It Didn't Matter" reached number 9 on the singles chart. The Style Council broke up in 1989. Regarding the break-up, Paul Weller said (in 1990): {{quote|It's something we should have done two or three years ago. We created some great music in our time, the effects of which won't be appreciated for some time.
2019 reunion Weller, Talbot, Lee and White met for a recording session of "It's a Very Deep Sea" in August 2019. The session was featured in the 2020
Sky Arts documentary
Long Hot Summers: The Story of the Style Council, and a career-spanning audio compilation of the same name was released. == Politics ==