Tom Dunne's Music & Me: Happy to revisit the debate on The Jam v The Style Council 

Some people still haven't  forgiven Paul Weller for breaking up his breakthrough band, but a listen to The Style Council's 'best of' compilation suggests he made the right move 

Paul Weller, DC Lee, and  Mick Talbot of the Style Council. Picture: Kerstin Rodgers/Redferns

To understand The Jam vs The Style Council debate you must first understand punk. Punk was the Covid-19 of the 1970s. It particularly worried older people – we called them hippies – and people with underlying conditions, like those who owned a double necked guitar or who secretly liked jazz. Young people could have it but not notice.

It spread like wildfire. Everyone who attended the ‘Super Spreader’ Event – the Sex Pistols in Manchester, June 4, 1976 - caught it and had to form bands immediately afterwards: The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall and The Smiths. Soon there were outbreaks in Derry (The Undertones), Belfast (SLF) and Dublin (The Radiators).