Paul Weller says he’s removing his music from streaming services in Israel.
You’re asking, Paul who?
Yeah, Paul Weller, who led the punk rock mod band The Jam in the 70s, then switched to an R&B sound in the 80s with Style Council.
As a solo act he’s released dozens of records over the last 30 years and has sold few copies. He’s an acquired taste, kind of a mean guy, a loner who’s never been popular in the US.
Weller signed the “No Genocide” letter or some bullshit after pretending not to be antisemitic. But there it is: he’s “punishing” the people of Israel for Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Gaza.
I have no love for Netanyahu, but I was a big fan of Weller a long time ago. No more. Thanks, Paul. It’s not like people in the US were buying his music night and day. On Spotify he has one hit, The Jam’s “Town Called Malice,” which has 240 streams. (It sounds like a bunch of Motown songs, especially “You Can’t Hurry Love.”) He has a couple others over 10 million streams and that’s it. With The Jam he ripped off George Harrison’s “Taxman” for a track, too.
I stopped going to Weller’s live shows years ago because he refused to play his “hits.” You could tell he was an arsehole.
He’s made it clear how he feels about Israel and Jews. Apparently his accountants, who’d worked with him for 30 years, dropped him over this announcement. So he has nerve– he’s suing them. I hope he loses big time and we never hear from him again.
So, goodbye Paul Weller. You’ll be easy to forget.
