While millions of hearts shattered across the globe when The Beatles decided to part ways, Paul Weller believes, with the benefit of hindsight, they split at precisely the “right time”.
In a new interview, the former frontman of The Jam discussed the significant impact that The Beatles had on him during his childhood, which eventually manifested in his own music. As he preps to release 66 on May 24th, his 17th solo album and 28th album in total since he started his music career back in 1977, Weller considers the Liverpudlian band to be the key to his enduring inspiration.
“Mum and dad had old rock ‘n’ roll records by Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis, which I loved, but The Beatles,” he said to Mojo, recalling the sound of his childhood. He added, “It isn’t an exaggeration to say they changed the world for many, many people, me included”.
The Style Council founder claimed The Beatles were a vital and experimental force, expanding the sound and look of music to make it more accessible for the everyman to get involved in. “They made me see other possibilities. They made me think of other things in this life, that there wasn’t just this little town, there was a world beyond the city walls and I wanted to be a part of it, to see and feel and experience,” Weller said, “The Beatles made life possible to explore for normal people… People like me.”
However, despite his huge love for the group, Weller is relieved that they called it quits when they did, despite taking the news bitterly initially. “The Beatles broke up at the right time. I was devastated back then, but I’m glad they did now,” he said, explaining, “Imagine them going through synth-pop in the ‘80s. It would have been shocking.”
In reality, the band split in 1970, defining the sound of the 1960s decade with 12 studio albums. Still, to this day, they remain the biggest band in history with an enduring appeal. However, according to Weller, that appeal has been protected and prolonged because they stopped just in time and saved themselves the embarrassment or difficulty of attempting to modernise with the ages.
“The Beatles set the benchmark for the right approach to music. You move on, you experiment,” he added, clearly holding the element of moving on as sacred, which is reflected in his own career and reluctance to reunite The Jam.
