How Paul Weller captured the spirit of political resistance on ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’

Posted On June 9, 2025June 9, 2025

Despite nostalgia-fueled images of big hair, bright lights, and horrendous fashion choices, the 1980s was a pretty dismal time for most ordinary folks in Britain. Unemployment, deindustrialisation, and all the other trimmings of the Margaret Thatcher government decimated vast areas in the north of England, as well as Scotland and Wales. All the while, there was a constant threat of nuclear apocalypse, as the Cold War raged on. For artists like Paul Weller, one of the only weapons against this depressing state of affairs was music, and his work regularly held a mirror up to British society at that time. 

Weller established himself as a songwriter with a knack for social realism early doors, using the the mod revivalist sounds of The Jam to attack authority, class inequality, and a variety of other issues prevailing during the late 1970s. As the songwriter progressed, however, his work moved towards a typically more optimistic, soul-influenced sound, evident on legendary tracks like ‘Beat Surrender’, which predicted his shift from The Jam to The Style Council in 1982.

On the face of things, The Style Council were right at home among the pop scene of the early 1980s. Complete with cutting-edge fashions, glamorous music videos, and questionable haircuts, the group didn’t seem at all out of place appearing on an edition of Top of the Pops. However, if you pay attention to the lyrics behind that infectious soul sound, Weller’s songwriting during his Style Council period forms some of the most profound and politically active efforts from throughout his extensive career. 

Throughout their time together, The Style Council reflected the political turbulence of the 1980s, regularly calling for unity and resistance. Weller proudly wore a ‘Coal Not Dole’ badge on his guitar strap during the Miners Strike of 1984 and 1985, reflecting the left-wing attitudes of the band. However, when the band lent their support to the women protesting nuclear arms at Greenham Common in Berkshire, not everybody understood their political motives.

During a BBC documentary, drummer Steve White recalled delivering food parcels to the women of Greenham Common, only to be met with criticism from the guards. “We went up to the fence and there was a soldier there,” he recalled. “He looked at us and said, ‘I really like The Style Council, I didn’t expect to see you guys here, what are you doing supporting these women?’ I just said to him, ‘Do you not really listen to the lyrics?’”

With their next album, 1985’s Our Favourite Shop, the band turned up their political messaging, most notably on the masterpiece single ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’. As opposed to other political anthems of the period, which often reflected the social reality of the 1980s with melancholic melodies and social realist lyricism, Weller’s band opted to imbue their calls for class unity and political protest in an atmosphere of utter soul euphoria.

Blaring horns and the unmistakable tones of a Hammond organ evoked the pinnacle of 1960s soul, providing a rousing opening for some of Paul Weller’s most active and commanding lyrics. “You don’t have to take this crap, you don’t have to sit back and relax, you can actually try changing it,” the songwriter declares, calling for widespread resistance to the depressing surroundings of the 1980s. Audiences responded quickly, sending the single to number six in the singles chart and bringing staunch political activism to the musical mainstream.

‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ is among the most unsuspecting anti-authority anthems of all time, perfectly balancing a mainstream pop appeal with profound and politically active lyricism. Although Thatcher’s reign over the country would continue until 1990, the protest movement supported by The Style Council had a huge impact, typifying the time period and alerting countless young listeners to the power of resistance and of music as a form of social protest.

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