Paul Weller Concerts Setlist

From a Woking kid obsessed with The Beatles to becoming "The Modfather," Paul Weller's story is basically British music history in human form. He picked up a guitar after seeing Status Quo in '72, and by high school, he was playing working men's clubs with The Jam - his dad driving them around in a van, doubling as their manager. The Jam exploded just as punk hit, but Weller wasn't content just riding that wave. He took mod culture, working-class rage, and pop melodies and created something entirely new. "Going Underground", "Town Called Malice" - these weren't just hits, they were anthems for a generation. The band became so huge that they were the first group since The Beatles to perform both sides of the same single on one episode of Top of the Pops.

Then he pulls the plug at their peak in '82 to form The Style Council, swapping punk energy for jazz, soul, and whatever else caught his fancy. Classic Weller move - just when everyone thinks they've got him figured out, he changes the game completely. He went from snarling about the Eton Rifles to making sophisticated pop with Mick Talbot, even showing up at Live Aid and recording with Band Aid.

The early '90s could've broken him - no band, no record deal, first time without either since he was 17. Instead, he reinvented himself again. His solo career turned him into the godfather of Britpop without even trying. The likes of Oasis were calling him up to play on their records (that's him on "Champagne Supernova"), while he's crafting masterpieces like "Stanley Road" and "Wild Wood".

Five decades and counting, he's still dropping number one albums - "66" coming this May, featuring everyone from Noel Gallagher to Bobby Gillespie. Each decade brings a new Weller: the angry young mod, the soul sophisticate, the elder statesman of British rock who's somehow cooler than ever. Even his missteps are interesting - The Style Council's rejected house music album finally saw the light of day years later.

The best part? He's still that same mod kid at heart - turned down a CBE because it wasn't his scene, still speaking his mind about politics (just ask David Cameron about misunderstanding "Eton Rifles"), still pushing his sound forward. Whether he's working with young artists or orchestras at the Barbican, he never looks back too long.

His personal life reads like a British rock novel - relationships chronicled in songs, raising kids while making records at his Black Barn studio, getting sober in 2010 and making some of his best music afterward. He even took the Daily Mail to court for publishing photos of his family and won - the Modfather doesn't play around.