(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Paul Weller has been a consistently prolific figure in British popular music since his rise to fame with The Jam in the late 1970s, and now, he has vented his frustration at younger artists for not releasing enough music.
With 16 solo albums under his belt, in addition to the records he released with The Jam and then The Style Council, Weller certainly seems to be one of the most tireless artists of his generation. As such, he recently spoke about feeling confused over how more recent groups operate.
“Isn’t that part of the job description, that you go on tour and you make records? That’s probably an old-school way of looking at it, but that’s all it’s about really,” Weller told The Daily Star Sunday.
The singer-songwriter continued, “I think there’s something to be said for consistency and keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it out.”
In contrast to The Jam, who managed to pump out six albums in their five-year reign, Weller argues that many younger artists like to take their time. He stated: “As opposed to a lot of the younger artists who make an album then don’t make another for five or seven years. I don’t understand that. I often think, ‘What do you do in those in-between years?’”
Weller added, “Somebody like Amy Winehouse, who was a brilliant artist, she’s only left two records in the world. I think that’s why it’s important to put out as much as you can.”
As an artist, Weller has never been afraid to do his own thing and work against the grain of the music industry. Recently, the singer received publicity for his refusal to become a heritage act, by continuing to write and record new material.
He told the Desperately Seeking Paul podcast, “A few years ago, there was a thing where they were talking about heritage acts. I am not going down that road, mate – I’m not a heritage act. I had to fight that term, my own little fight in a sense to get through all that stuff.”
