Paul Weller Says He's Lost Fans By Not Being A 'Heritage Act'

Former The Jam frontman and longtime solo artist Paul Weller has argued that he’s lost fans by not becoming a heritage act.

Weller, after finding success with The Jam throughout the 1970s and 1980s, went on to form another beloved band, The Style Council, in 1982. However, he’s spent the majority of his music career as a solo artist, embarking on his present career path in 1992.

Explaining that he’s “proved himself” as an artist when asked to add The Jam and Style Council songs to his setlists, Weller went into the expectations to become a heritage act in a new episode of the fan-driven Desperately Seeking Paul podcast.

“A few years ago, there was a thing where they were talking about heritage acts,” he said. “I am not going down that road, mate – I’m not a heritage act.”

He continued describing the “fight” against the term and how it could affect his career, adding, “I had to fight that term, my own little fight in a sense, to get through all that stuff. I probably lost a certain amount of audience along the way in this past ten or so years, the ones that just wanted to hear the Jam stuff.

“But they’ve kind of gone now; I guess they go and see [ex-bandmate] Bruce Foxton’s band or other people – whatever they want to do, whatever makes them happy.”

Later in the episode, Weller said it was “worth it” to stick to who he is as an artist. “It’s been worth it because I’ve proved myself right. If you just plough through that and follow your programme and what you think it should be, eventually you will get there,” he said.

“But it’s easy to get sidetracked by people saying, ‘Maybe you should do this, or you could do that, or make it like the old record’. No, just follow your vision if you’ve still got a vision.”

Weller’s vision led him to perform Australian-exclusive shows at the Sydney Opera House next month. The three-night residency marks Weller’s first concerts in Australia since his sold-out 2018 Sydney Opera House debut. Weller will perform at the Sydney Opera House on Friday, 9, Saturday, 10 and Monday, 12 February. Tickets are sold out.

Weller commented about his return to Australia: “So looking forward to performing at the Sydney Opera House again. We've always loved the audiences there, and it's a total privilege for us all.”