New Wave Music Led By British Musicians
The New Wave music movement of the 80’s in the US was primarily driven by bands from Great Britain like Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and The Smiths among others. A lot of this was driven by the launch of MTV and the demand for music videos. As a result, this demand led to videos being played by these British music artists as a lot of American bands had not embrace music videos yet.
However, there were several New Wave British bands that dominated the charts in the UK where their success didn’t cross over to the US. The artist that had the biggest disparity between their success in Great Britain and lack of success in the US is Paul Weller and his earlier bands, The Jam and Style Council.
The Jam – Quick Success Before Paul Weller Left the Band
The Jam were formed in the early 70’s just outside London. A trio, fronted by singer Paul Weller (who later formed the Style Council), The Jam had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles on the UK charts from 1977 until they disbanded in 1982. Additionally, this included four #1 singles. Finally, counting re-releases they ended up with 24 Top 40 singles.
Not to mention, The Jam’s bassist Bruce Foxton helped discover The Vapors, of “Turning Japanese” fame. Foxton co-managed them with Paul Weller’s father John, who was also the manager of The Jam. The Vapors opened for The Jam on their 1979 tour. Afterwards, check out my review of The Vapors at the 2025 Lost 80’s Live Tour.
Furthermore, of the seven albums the band released between 1977 and 1982, five made the Top 10 and the others were both in the Top 40. When factoring in compilation, live and re-released albums, The Jam ended up with eleven Top 10 albums.
However, their success in the UK, never translated to the US, with only “A Town Called Malice” charting in 1982. Conversely, it only appeared on the Rock chart topping out at #31. What’s more, their album Sound Affects was their only album to appear on the sales charts where it peaked at #72 in 1981.
The Style Council – Weller Explores Soul, Jazz and Other Genres
Weller’s subsequent band, The Style Council, had slightly more success in the US with “My Ever Changing Moods” reaching the Top 40 in 1984. Additionly, The Style Council would also have Groovin’ (You’re the Best Thing)” reach the Hot 100 in 1984, peaking at #76.
This success would pale to their chart activity in their native Great Britain, where Style Council had seven Top 10 and fifteen Top 40 singles. In the UK, Style Council had a #1 album and six total Top 10 albums. Unfortunately, The Style Council never had an album reach the US sales charts.
Paul Weller – The “Mod Father”
When we examine Paul Weller’s decades long solo career, he has had only one song appear on any US chart, reaching #10 on the US alternative charts in 1992 with “Uh Huh Oh Yeh”. Sadly, no album by Paul Weller has reached the charts in the US.
Again this is a big disparity to his success over the pond, where he has six #1 Albums and a huge total of 24 albums reaching the Top 10 on the British charts. On the singles front, Weller scored five Top 10 singles and a total of 32 reaching the Top 40 over in the UK.
Recap of UK Success by Paul Weller and His Bands The Jam and Style Council
| Artist | UK #1 Singles | UK Top 10 Singles | UK Top 40 Singles |
| The Jam | 4 | 9 | 24 |
| Style Council | 0 | 7 | 15 |
| Paul Weller | 0 | 5 | 32 |
| Totals | 4 | 21 | 71 |
In total, Paul Weller and his groups have had only TWO Top 40 singles in the US. None of their albums have reached the US Top 40.
Were The Jam and Weller too English for American Audiences?
It’s safe to say that Paul Weller is probably the least appreciated British New Wave artist by US audiences. While The Jam was huge at home, I believe that many of their lyrics and subjects were probably too English for American audiences. Style Council veered more Jazz and Soul while American audiences were wanting British Synth Pop. The Jam broke up about the time the new British invasion was taking hold in America. Whether the result of bad timing or tastes in music, Weller, overall, never had name recognition or a bond with American audiences like he did back in the UK.
