Paul Weller: The Changing Man

by Paolo Hewitt

Paolo Hewitt has known Paul Weller 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 all of his critically acclaimed solo career. Hewitt has even been the inspiration for some of Weller's songs—and he has extraordinary in-depth knowledge of the inspiration behind the rest. Once, when Hewitt interviewed Weller for a music magazine, he complained "I don’t know why people ask me all these questions. All the answers are in my songs." Largely unnoticed, Weller has used 30 years of lyrics to explore his personal history and beliefs. Taking as his starting point these lyrics, alongside a lifetime's friendship, Paolo Hewitt shows us the real Paul Weller, the man inside.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Paolo Hewitt was born on July 11, 1958 in Redhill, Surrey, England.

Paolo Hewitt is a former NME journalist and author of over 20 books, including, with Mark Baxter, The Fashion of Football (Mainstream), Oasis... There and Then (1996), Outside Bet (2012) and Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion (2011)

Reviews

[Andrea]

3.5 stars. This book makes Paul Weller sound rather like a mercurial asshole but it’s somewhat suspect because, though the author and Weller used to be close friends, they were no longer speaking when the book was written. I’m a big fan of The Jam so I enjoyed the book.

[Tim Evans]

Not your standard biography but written by a man who knows Weller better than most. Paolo Hewitt was with him through thick and thin until very recently. This book has the air of the hatchet job about it but it's actually kinder to the Modfather than other would be. Picking a different tune for chapter, Paolo chooses a subject around it and then applies to Weller. The results are a fascinating study of a vain, insecure but phenomenal talent. The only downside is that it can be repetitive in its points and Hewitt's attempts to apply creative psychology to Weller don't always come off.

[Adam]

The book was ok. I enjoyed it overall and it gave me an insight into the modfarthers world. I felt there was something missing and the tracks I liked were not overly analysed. I guess we are all critics!

[Ginger Webb]

A riveting account of Paul Weller from someone who was a friend for several years and then was cut away after some kind of dispute between the two of them.

Hewitt finds an intriguing way of talking about the various aspects of Weller's personality by analysing a host of his songs and looking at where they come from.

It's quite brutal in parts, but there's never any vindictiveness, and it's clear that despite Weller's faults, Hewitt still greatly admires him.

Weller has argued that much of what Hewitt says about him is self-serving nonsense. But as long as one reads this book with a certain amount of scepticism, then it proves to be a valuable insight into an enigmatic cultural figure from someone who clearly knew him well.

Hewitt doesn't try to put himself into the picture unnecessarily, or dwell too much on the details of their relationship. Instead he genuinely appears to want to show us some of his understanding of the man, and that gives it the ring of authenticity

[Elena Woontner]

Excellent job. The author was a close friend of Weller and has titled every chapter with one of Paul's song to reveal the many facets of his complex character. Very different for scope and amount of close observation. A must for every Weller fan.

[Ed Wagemann]

Weller’s 1980 ode to self-entertainment is like a call out to the future of humanity: hurry up and create cell phones. It’s boring here…

https://medium.com/@edwagemann/readin...

[John Grace]

Unique biography told by a (former?) friend through analyzing Weller's songs. Some interesting details for fans.

[Matti Karjalainen]

Paolo Hewittin kirjoittama "Paul Weller: The Changing Man" (miksiköhän muusikoita käsittelevät kirjat nimetään aina laulujen mukaan?) ei ole varsinainen elämäkerta, jossa the Modfatherin vaiheita käytäisiin läpi yksityiskohtaisen tarkasti, vaan tämän The Jamin, Style Councilin ja soolouran aikana kirjoittamat laulut otetaan käsittelyyn enemmän tai vähemmän yksityiskohtaisesti. Laulut saavat toimia viitekehtyksenä erilaisille teemoille, joita ovat muun muassa suhde uskontoon, politiikkaan, perheeseen, the Jamin hajottamiseen, ihmissuhteisiin, the Beatlesiin ja alkoholiin.

Hewitt on tuntenut kirjansa kohdehenkilön vuosia, mutta riitaantunut sittemmin tämän kanssa. Lukija saa siis kohtalaisen hyvän, joskaan ei välttämättä aivan puolueettoman kuvan ristiriitaisesta brittimuusikosta.

[Jim Dunedin]

Paul Weller: 'The Changing Man’, Paolo Hewitt. A very good and thorough account from a friend and musical journalist who was there at the start. It stutters a little with Hewitt inserting himself into the narrative as the friend cast off by Weller as he grew up and found success. Pretty obviously that becomes the Weller mode of operation, keep movin’ on regardless of band-mates, friends, girlfriends. It does though buy a hell of a history of song writing talent. From my Medium review at: https://medium.com/music-voices/the-r...

[Lisa-Jaine]

I'm usually wary of biographies, they either come across as repetitive press cuttings or tend to bore, this however was different. Paolo Hewitt and Paul Weller had been friends for many many years and although I was a hardcore Jam fan, I knew very little of the man behind the lyrics I adored. I literally could not put this down and found it a fascinating account of Mr Weller.