Though Weller has received international critical recognition as a singer, lyricist, and guitarist, much of his notoriety is in his native England, as his songwriting is rooted in English society.

[9] When Harris and then Waller left the band, two more school friends replaced them: Rick Buckler on drums and Bruce Foxton on rhythm guitar.

[15] The increasing popularity of their blend of Weller's barbed lyrics with pop melodies eventually led to their first number one single, "Going Underground", in March 1980.

[29] Many of the Style Council's early singles performed well in the UK charts,[30] and Weller would also experience his first success in North America, when "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're the Best Thing" entered the US Billboard Hot 100.

[30] The Style Council's death knell was sounded in 1989 when its record company refused to release its fifth and final studio album, the house-influenced Modernism: A New Decade.

[37] After a slow start playing small clubs with a mixture of Jam and Style Council classics, as well as showcasing new material, he released his debut solo single, "Into Tomorrow", which peaked at No.

Weller also returned the favour, appearing as a guest guitarist on Oasis' hit song "Champagne Supernova" from their second studio album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.

[39] On his worldwide Days of Speed acoustic tour, Weller performed songs from the back catalogue of his solo career and from his Jam and Style Council days, giving rise to a second successful live album of the same name;[45] containing live solo acoustic recordings from the European leg of the tour, the album reached No.

[39][48] Weller also appears on Noonday Underground's second studio album called Surface Noise (2002), singing on the track "I'll Walk Right On".

[50] That same year, he teamed up with electronic rock duo Death in Vegas on a cover of Gene Clark's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby", which featured on their third studio album Scorpio Rising.

[54][55] Despite a tendency to shun such occasions, Weller accepted the award in person, and performed four songs at the ceremony, including the Jam's classic "Town Called Malice".

[57] Compilation album Hit Parade, released in late 2006, collected singles from the Jam, the Style Council and Weller's solo career.

This album saw Weller move in a more experimental direction, taking in a wide variety of influences including jazz, folk and tango as well as the pop-soul more associated with his Style Council days.

[65] His tenth studio album, Wake Up the Nation, was released in April to critical acclaim, and was subsequently nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

[67] In May 2010, Weller was presented with the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award, saying "I've enjoyed the last 33 years I've been writing songs and hopefully, with God's good grace, I'll do some more.

In December 2012, Weller headlined the Crisis charity gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, where he performed with Emeli Sandé, Miles Kane and Bradley Wiggins.

Our Favourite Shop, as part of the Style Council (1985), and solo studio albums Stanley Road (1995), Illumination (2002), 22 Dreams (2008), Sonik Kicks (2012), and On Sunset (2020).

Weller's sixteenth solo studio album, Fat Pop (Volume 1), was released to critical acclaim on 14 May 2021, and entered the charts at number 1.

On 15 May 2021, Weller recorded live symphonic renditions of songs from his catalogue at the Barbican Centre in London with Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The album includes collaborations with Dr. Robert of the Blow Monkeys, Richard Hawley, Erland Cooper, Max Beesley, Suggs of Madness, Noel Gallagher and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, with string arrangements by Hannah Peel.

[84] Weller's formative influences that have remained relatively constant include the Beatles,[85] the Who, the Small Faces and the Kinks, as well as the mid-late 1960s soul and R&B records released by Tamla Motown and Stax.

[86] During the Jam years, Weller was influenced by early punk bands, including the Sex Pistols and the Clash,[87] and later post-punk acts such as Gang of Four and Joy Division.

[89] Weller has also cited Geoffrey Ashe's Camelot and the Vision of Albion (1971), Orwell and Percy Bysshe Shelley as sources of inspiration for the Jam's fifth studio album Sound Affects (1980).

"[90] His tastes became increasingly eclectic during his Style Council period, with releases influenced by music as diverse as Claude Debussy, Philadelphia soul and Erik Satie,[41] culminating in the band's American house music-inspired album Modernism: A New Decade.

[97] Other songs he has nominated as favourites include the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", the Small Faces' "Tin Soldier", James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", Declan O'Rourke's "Galileo (Someone Like You)", the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" and "Days", and Pharrell Williams' "Happy".

[104] She appeared on the sleeve of the final Jam single, "Beat Surrender",[105] and along with Weller's sister Nicky, she also had a cameo in the music video for the Style Council's "My Ever Changing Moods".

[115] In tandem, he became more vocally socialist in interviews, and between around 1982 and 1987, his songwriting also became increasingly politicised, most notably on "Trans-Global Express",[116] "Money-Go-Round", "The Big Boss Groove", "Soul Deep" and the majority of Our Favourite Shop.

[117] In late 1984, Weller took part in Band Aid and then put together his own benefit record for the UK miners' strike, which was called "Soul Deep" and credited to the Council Collective.

Weller also labelled Sunak, Starmer and Nigel Farage "[m]ugs" and criticised the actions of Israel in the same interview, stating: "Am I against genocides and ethnic cleansing?

[128] In 2015, Pete Naughton of The Daily Telegraph wrote, "Apart from David Bowie, it's hard to think of any British solo artist who's had as varied, long-lasting and determinedly forward-looking a career.