He was in a fix in 1989, the Style Council had ended in a spiral, and he was a stay at home Dad, with no record deal. Fucked off, about being fucked off.

Urged on by his Dad, he toured as The Paul Weller Movement, but to dwindling crowds. There's footage you can see from around that time, and on first viewing, without all the romanticism, and without knowing where it will all pleasingly go; that it was the very start of something that will be huge for him, it's actually quite sad to watch the 'cabaret' aspect of it.

My album choice was preceded by the single 'Into Tomorrow', recorded on his own label, in October 1991, and that track landed him a record deal for this album. I first heard the Into Tomorrow single whilst driving to Chorley in a Mazda MX5, and that driving opening riff had me hooked and had me thinking that 'he's back'.

In fact, just before the opening riff, he's purposely does the feedback bit like 'I Feel Fine' by The Fabs.

The fact that I can remember where I was, tells you how much of an impact it had on me. The lyrics suggested to me, that he was willing himself on, and by returning to his roots in Woking, and searching for inspiration (and hopefully finding it), I was genuinely rooting for him, intrigued to hear what would come next. And what came next is an album that I've played constantly, for twenty years.

Forward now to September 1992, and out of nowhere his eponymous album dropped on Go! Discs.

To me, it's the best album he has ever done. The bridge between the Style Council and his later stuff. Soulful, funky, space-folk, just what I needed, whilst kitted out in needle cord, Adidas Country, stripey t-shirts, and with fuzzy dunlop hair

Here you go:

One year later comes Wild Wood...