So, in my latest round of rock bio reading.

https://flickr.com/photos/8586095@N07/55336554897

The book isn’t a straight biography but rather a series of short essays based chronologically on Weller’s songs, chapter one titled “In the City (Paul, Woking, Punk, and Youth Obsession)” and ending with a song from one of Weller’s solo albums. The most in depth chapters cover Paul and Friendship, Paul and Money, Paul and Anger, Paul and Drinking, and Paul and Music, from which that bitchy excerpt is lifted. Paolo Hewitt wrote from the point of view as both an NME rock critic and a close personal friend from Woking, so the style is casually intimate and meandering - there’s no narrative, just a lot of personal anecdotes about encounters and conversations over the years with Paul, along with the rock criticism.

Anyway, good points about Paul W.: he’s hard-working and clearly passionate about music (too passionate, as you can see), and a rare example of a genuinely principled and honorable man in such a sleazy industry. On the other hand, he’s a humorless curmudgeon who’s extremely verbally abusive to even the best of mates, so stubbornly attached to his principles of what’s right and wrong that he is incapable of admitting, without extreme reluctance, to ever, ever admit that he’s wrong. And he has abrasive, passionate opinions on everything and won’t shut up about it. We all know the type. Unlike most artists (and, frankly, people in general) he suffered no childhood trauma but was raised in a loving family that supported him 100% in his artistic endeavors - Paul was already a working musician at age 14. His Dad wasn’t just his manager but even his sometimes drinking buddy, and if you know anything about male relationships, it doesn’t get closer than that!
Weller angrily cut off ties with Hewitt after the book came out, mainly for saying (more than once!) in the book that the Paul Weller of the Jam would despise the Paul Weller of today. Paolo, who knew him since they were teenagers, sees his supportive family environment as the source for Weller’s arrogant self-belief and confidence, yet remains baffled as to what possible source he can attribute to Paul’s trigger-happy, seething anger. Overall Weller comes across as the sort of fellow you can respect and even admire at a distance but would never, ever want to have round of pints with.