Paul Weller is an established name in the hierarchy of the music business. ANDREW WHITE looks back at The Modfather's many incarnations and successes...

TWENTY-SIX years after The Jam first hit the British charts, Paul Weller is still a musical force to be reckoned with.

The 45-year-old singer and guitarist, dubbed 'the Modfather' thanks to his enormous influence on the UK music scene in the late 70s and early 80s, has one of the most varied careers of any British performer. He has tenaciously clung on to his place in the rock aristocracy.

Born John Weller in May 1958, he first came to public attention at the tail-end of the punk era fronting Mod revivalists The Jam. They scored a string of powerful hits, including Going Underground, Start!, Town Called Malice and Beat Surrender.

They split in 1982, but still hold the record for the greatest number of simultaneous top 75 singles (13, in case you're wondering - a flurry of unprecedented chart activity sparked by their untimely dissolution).

Swapping the raw passion of The Jam for a new form of musical sophistication, Weller's next project was the Style Council. They drew mixed reactions from fans, but still spawned several hit singles - notably Long Hot Summer, Groovin' (You're the Best Thing) and Walls Come Tumbling Down!.

By 1990, Weller was without a band or a recording contract for the first time in 13 years. He put together a new band, christened the Paul Weller Movement, and began touring again, but it was another three years before the Weller renaissance really kicked in.

His first solo single, 1991's Into Tomorrow, was only a minor hit, but the release of his 1993 album Wild Wood rocketed him back to critical acclaim and popular appeal.

He followed this up with another highly-praised collection of classic songs, Stanley Road, and was hailed as a major influence by the likes of Noel Gallagher and Ocean Colour Scene's Simon Fowler, who both went on to collaborate with him.

On his most recent album, last year's Illumination, he duetted with the Stereophonics' Kelly Jones.

Paul Weller is at Portsmouth Guildhall on 6th December at 7.30pm. Tickets: £25. Box office: 023 9282 4355.