John Weller, the longtime manager of his son Paul, passed away on April 22. The Wellers were partners in music since Paul was a young boy, with father buying son his first guitar when he was 12 and financing the Jam’s initial demo recordings in the mid-’70s. The Times Of London has a nice obit of Weller, who was a constant presence in his son’s long career and who actually threatened a flippant record executive with “You don’t speak to my son like that” at one time. Weller was 77. [Times via The Awl]
Really weird — just last night I was thinking of Weller and his father for whatever random reason, probably in terms of something regarding artists and parents/managers. Weller himself pretty much doesn’t exist for me musically after very early Style Council but the Jam’s highlights alone are enough so credit to his dad for being the guiding presence.
@NedRaggett: It’s weird for me too…I don’t really think about Paul Weller that much, but yesterday I watched a documentary where someone said their boyfriend looked like Paul Weller, and then I was reading something about the mod revival and The Jam. It was like Paul was inescapable yesterday!
It’s sad. John Weller sounded like a cool guy.