Last week Paul Weller was named Godlike Genius at the Shockwave NME Awards. Two of his biggest fans and also previous recipients, Mick Jones from The Clash and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream, presented Weller with the honour. The artist known as The Modfather gave a short speech and performed a few highlights from his career with Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) and Gem Archer (Oasis) joining him on stage. In August he’ll play his first ever gig in Norway – at The Øya Festival, of course.

For almost 35 years, Paul Weller has made excellent music. He rose to prominence as a teenager with the punk/powerpop-outfit The Jam, who debuted with In The City in 1977 and topped the charts four times during their lifetime. Few of their contemporaries could match their success, but the trio from Woking never quite fit in with the rest of the punk explosion: They wore suits, were influenced by classic soul, The Kinks, The Who and Small Faces, and composed more complex music than most of their peers.

Paul Weller wanted to make even more sophisticated tunes, and formed The Style Council in 1983. The soul- and jazz-influenced band had several hits during the 1980s, but never managed to convince the British music critics, who kept comparing them to The Jam. In the early 1990s, Weller was ready to embark on a solo career. The last 20 years have been busy for him. His nine critically acclaimed albums have all reached the top ten of the British album charts. The combined guest list is impressive. Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic), Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer (Oasis), Graham Coxon (Blur), Steven Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) and Aziz Ibrahim (Stone Roses) have all played on Weller’s solo albums. Many other prominent British bands have been inspired by his vast musical output. The new album, with contributions from Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) and Bruce Foxton (The Jam) will be released on April 12th.

Live, Paul Weller plays his solo material spiced up with some classics from the days in The Jam and The Style Council. Will he play Eton Rifles, That’s Entertainment or Town Called Malice? Shout To The Top or Long Hot Summer? We don’t know, but we’re positive that it’s going to be great. And if you think that Chris Martin, Fran Healy, Ricky Wilson and Brett Anderson are the coolest guys in British rock, think again. Let Paul Weller show you who the boss is. Make that The Modfather.

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