Paul Weller Fan Podcast : Desperately Seeking Paul HenFred Studio

Episode 180: Paul WellerHello and Welcome to Episode 180 of the World's First Paul Weller Fan Podcast...
I'm Dan Jennings and ten years ago I gave up my life's dream and career as a radio presenter with one big regret...
Never getting to interview my hero... the legendary singer-songwriter and musician - Paul Weller...
This podcast exists purely to solve that issue...
Welcome to the final episode of Desperately Seeking Paul....

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Episode 179: Claire Moon - Artist Manager - Paul Weller
Over the course of the past 3 years, we've discovered so much more about how Paul Weller has built one of the most prolific and influential careers in British music, and in this episode we get to peek behind the curtain.
Artist manager Claire Moon opens up about her professional journey, leading up to that first fateful meeting with Paul at V2 Records and how she later became his manager - overseeing the business operations at Black Barn Studios. 
With stories about running the calendar, promoting albums, planning tours with Paul and the Wheeler's, and protecting his back catalogue, Claire reveals how she strategically manages Paul Weller's enduring career.
Their deep mutual trust allows her to support his constant drive to make music on his own terms.
We get a deeper understanding of his relentless creative spirit - how he is often already busy conjuring up new projects as previous albums are still being promoted - for instance, launching a clothing line or even taking an acting role in a movie...
What also really comes through for me is that Claire makes clear her role is to support Paul's ambitions, not to control them - a trust that has allowed one of music's true innovators to continue evolving without losing his essence.
Get ready for an all-access pass into Paul Weller's world with this illuminating conversation... It's a huge honour to have Claire on the podcast to share her experiences in the music industry and at Black Barn HQ...

Music Immersive...I also chatted to Claire about her role working with Stan Kybert at Music Immersive - the UK’s only dedicated immersive music studio. The team pride themselves on meticulously and respectfully enriching artist's music, with the focus on preserving their original vision. 
Find out more here...

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Episode 178: Charles Rees - Black Barn Studio Manager & Engineer + Composer, Producer
And so the countdown begins... with our final 3 podcasts in our Desperately Seeking Paul series...
On this episode, I take a trip into Black Barn Studios for an unforgettable conversation with Studio Manager & Engineer, Composer and Producer, Charles Rees. 
From assistant engineer on Heavy Soul in 1997 to becoming studio manager at Black Barn, AKA Paul Weller HQ in 1999 - Charles has played a key role on the sound of so many incredible Paul Weller singles, EPs and albums...
He even pops up on a heap of songs playing bass, drums, various synthesizers, harmonium, piano, autoharp, electronics, electric organ, guitar and percussion (Check out that Egg Whisk on the song Long Time!)
I'm so delighted that Charles agreed to join me on the podcast - this is not really something that he does - but what you're going to hear is his story. We'll dive back to the beginning and take a deep dive into the day to day running of the output of the studio....
It's a real honour and delight to be able to share this with you... ENJOY!

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Episode 177: Simon Halfon - Graphic designer and Film Producer on The Style Council, Paul Weller Solo & The Jam
On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we hear from graphic designer and film producer, Simon Halfon to discuss his incredible porfolio of work with The Jam, The Style Council and Paul Weller solo...
We find out about his love of The Jam - and how he first met Paul Weller in 1979 following a gig in Bridlington when he and his mates stayed up with the band drinking and putting the world to rights until the early hours.
On this podcast chat, we hear how he fell into art design by accident via the creation of a fanzine (that provided another early connection to The Jam) to a job in the postroom at Stiff Records, then assisting Neville Brody at The Face magazine.
The first sleeve Simon designed was for Department S, whose singer Vaughn Toulouse became part of a gang of friends that included journalist Paolo Hewitt, DJ Gary Crowley and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama.
His first commission as a freelancer in 1982, was by Paul Weller through the design on the sleeve for a book that he was publishing about the Small Faces.
When Paul formed The Style Council with Mick Talbot in 1983, it was Simon that he turned to for the record sleeve designs starting with Speak Like a Child, right the way through to the Modernism album cover that was completed for it's ultimate release in the 90s.
We also chat about Simon's creations with Paul Weller for singles and albums for 20 years of the solo career - an incredible collective of work from that first single sleeve from Into Tomorrow in 1991 and those wonderful matchday programmes and merch designs, right through to 2010's Fast Car/Slow Traffic...
Simon also designed every album sleeve with Paul from that debut solo album through to Wake Up The Nation in 2010...
You'll hear about their shared love of The Beatles (which led to Simon designing the cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Milk and Honey album in 1984) and Simon's work with other long standing clients including the late George Michael and Oasis.
In the mid noughties Simon had started to take an interest in the film industry, inspired by friendships forged during his time in LA. He produced his first feature film in 2008, the Kenneth Branagh directed Sleuth, which was to become the last screenplay by Harold Pinter and starred Michael Caine & Jude Law.
But it wasn't until 2016 that Simon really embraced the film world, when the Gallagher brothers approached him to tell the story of Oasis. As lead producer, he brought together the team to create the award winning feature ‘Supersonic’, a documentary of huge commercial and critical success.
We also chat about the incredible Wham documentary for Netflix that he produced - which topped the charts in the summer of 2023...


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Episode 176: Joe Connor - Film Director, Screenwriter, Photographer & Musician...
On this episode of my Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we cross to Cape Town where we find multi-award-winning Film Director, Musician, Screenwriter and Photographer - Joe Connor on his latest top secret shoot...
Our discussion kicks off with the creation of his brilliant Sky Arts Wild Wood Documentary - a 2023 film that features the story behind the 1993 Paul Weller masterpiece as it celebrates it's 30th anniversary.
Joe also happened to create the unforgettable kaleidoscope-led music video for Brand New Toy in 2014 - featuring Paul Weller, Ben Gordelier and an actual build of a massive optical toy!
2018 saw Joe's first EVER feature-length project hit cinema screens as he followed Paul Weller on his road to a landmark performance at The Royal Festival Hall. May Love Travel with You is a celebration of Paul's True Meanings album and the concerts that led to the Other Aspects double album release.
The film documents a stunning performance of the full album, along with plenty of deepcuts and PW classics, inter-cut with interviews with the man himself, and array of amazing collaborators!
In 2008, Joe graduated from London’s illustrious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with First Class Honours in Performance Art, specialising in Directing, Mime and experimental theatre.
While at the Central School, he founded the anarchic theatre collective Parrot {In The} Tank, whose cinematic aesthetic and light-hearted visual humour saw them create shows for the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Roundhouse, The Prague Scenofest and The Arts Theatre in Leicester Square in London’s West End.
As a filmmaker, Joe has created music videos for some of the biggest artists in music from The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Sam Smith, Harry Styles and Kylie Minogue to Japanese legend Hikaru Utada, Rag’n’Bone Man, Elbow and Placebo.
Joe’s multitude of talents and trades, combined with his innate storytelling inclination, allow him to craft narratives that entertain, enlighten, and forge connections. His stories reflect a deep understanding of human nature and offer a lens through which we can explore and appreciate our shared experiences.
His work has been recognised with nominations at Cannes Lions, D&AD, British Arrows, 1.4 Awards, Creative Circles, with 5 x UK Music Video Award nominations, Vimeo Staff Picks and a Best Director award at the Indie Music Video Festival.
His first album, released under the pseudonym Vincent Sonder, also happened to be recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio...
Find out more about Joe's amazing work at josephvconnor.com

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Episode 175 : Chris Pope from The Chords
On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I am joined by Chris Pope - Songwriter, Musician and one of the founding members of The Chords.
We take a journey through the bands formation at the tail end of 1978, after original singer/guitarist Billy Hassett and his bass playing cousin, Martin Mason, advertised for musicians in NME.
Chris got the job and the band were soon into live gigs and studio recordings.
Their style was a combination of punk and the 1960s influenced sound of the time.
At the end of March 1979, the band played the Wellington in Waterloo to packed crowds with Paul Weller in the audience. This helps the band secure more gigs and an important support slot to The Jam.
With the Mod Revival in full swing, what follows are two John Peel sessions, a few singles, Top of the Pops, and an album (So Far Away)....
The band also played Loch Lomond Festival in June 1980 with Bad Manners, Stiff Little Fingers, The Tourists and The Jam…
Paul Weller was a big supporter of the band and Chris in the press - once calling him “the best songwriter of his generation”...
The Chords UK
Chris Pope formed The Chords UK in 2013 to continue playing ‘classic’ Chords tunes such as Maybe Tomorrow, The British Way Of Life and So Far Away - whilst also pushing forward with new music too...
The band is made up of Chris, Kenny Cooper, Sandy Michie, and Dave Murrell, with a live setlist featuring all of the original hits along with tracks from the three LP’s that they have released so far.
They have been cited live as “an incendiary rock n roll outfit” by Louder Than War.
You can buy the music on Bandcamp, watch videos on YouTube , listen on Spotify and follow for news and live show info on Facebook

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