The Victorian terraced street of his youth is now part of Woking’s dizzying one-way system, the terraces have been replaced by flats and offices. In the Woking of his youth he played football on the road and he played his first gig at the Walton Road Working Men’s Club — now the Liberal Club. Weller’s landmark, multi-platinum selling No. 1 album which stayed 87 weeks in the chart. It spawned the classic hits "The Changing Man", "You Do Something To Me" and "Broken Stones". Stanley Road is the third album by Paul Weller originally released by Go! Discs in 1995. a b Kessler, Ted (20 May 1995). "Paul Weller – Stanley Road". NME. p.44. Archived from the original on 30 September 2000 . Retrieved 2 November 2017.

So I actually messaged Paul on his social media two years ago, saying we're doing an archiving project, we've realised that your mum was a caretaker here, so it would be nice to chat to yourself and your mum. Born in Woking on May 25 1958, Weller started his education at Maybury County First School while growing up with the music of bands such as The Beatles. By the time he was 11 he moved to Sheerwater County Secondary school, now known as Bishop David Brown School following a merger in the 1980s. Anyway, I'll try to obliterate such pompous nonsense from my judgement and instead concentrate on the music which really is very good indeed.The influences of Woking never left Weller or the band’s music however with perhaps their best-known song, A Town Called Malice, inspired by his early life in the town. Weller’s 1995 album had this influence front and centre as well as it was named after the street he grew up on, Stanley Road. a b McDonnell, Evelyn (13 July 1995). "Paul Weller: Stanley Road". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007 . Retrieved 15 August 2009. So why is 'Stanley Road' the best solo album? Well firstly it has a fair few absolute classic cuts including; 'Broken Stones', 'Time Passes...', 'You Do Something To Me' and the album in general flows really well. It's well recorded, and seems to come direct from the heart of the great man. A little bland and middle of the road in places, but all in all a very cool collection of thoughtful music.

The combination of his own sardonic, churning "Porcelain God" and a heavied-up cover of Dr John's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" works very well in tandem, while "You Do Something To Me" which was a hit UK single makes for a fine change of pace, a stately, jazz-influenced piano-ballad with its counter-weight being the spare, churchy, piano-based "Wings of Speed" which closes the album. His music, as part of The Jam and as a solo artist, is legendary but you may not know Paul Weller’s close connection with Woking. The 64-year-old is famous for being the inspiration for bands such as Oasis but it was the town which heavily influenced his early life and music. Paul Weller– vocals (1–12), guitar (1–7, 9–11), piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12), shakers (1), organ (3, 5), percussion (3, 5), Novatron (4), Hammond organ (8, 10), Wurlitzer (8, 9)Speaking during the visit in February, Mosque manager Mohammad Habib, one of those who met the Wellers during their visit, said: “During our archive project a few years ago, we came to realise that Paul Weller's mum was the caretaker of the mosque; she spent some time looking after the mosque, cleaning the mosque [in the 1960s]. The album ends on a high with "Wings of Speed" a beautiful song accompanied by piano almost like Songbird by the Mac.

The album's cover collage was created by the artist Peter Blake, designer of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's album artwork. Weller claimed on a BBC special that he hopes he can one day create an album as perfect as this one, stating that all the stars were aligned during the writing and recording period of Stanley Road. Looking for more Woking news? Sign up to our weekly newsletter to get more news from the town direct to your inbox. Find out how here. Read More Related Articles Stanley Road is the third solo album by Paul Weller, released by Go! Discs in 1995. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted it the 46th greatest album of all time. The album took its name from the street in Woking where Weller grew up. [1] Weller's cover version of the song " I Walk on Guilded Splinters" was featured in the series ending montage of The Wire's fourth series end, Final Grades.

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The 49-year-old Modfather said: “Affluence and financial struggle were both very apparent although any problems my familiy had I never noticed. There was always food on the table. We always had clean clothes.” Accomplished... I am sure 'Stanley Road' will remain as Paul Weller's most accomplished solo album. I do not claim to have heard all of his solo albums but I did buy the first five albums (and ditched albums 4 and 5 because they held no merit in my opinion). Enough was enough! *** On 30 May 2005, a three-disc 10th anniversary deluxe edition of the album was released by Island Records. The expanded edition included demos, live and BBC session recordings and a DVD documentary directed by Simon Halfon which featured interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and music videos. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDFed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p.298.