Paul Weller charms Aylesbury crowd with mix of classic songs and new material

Paul Weller was at his effortless best in front of a sold out Aylesbury crowd on Saturday (20 April).

The 65-year-old had the crowd at the Waterside Theatre gripped throughout his two-hour set.

With well over 40 years worth of songs to pick from, the ‘Modfather’ played tunes from all across his extensive back catalogue. And tested out material coming out on his latest album, LP: 66, which comes out the day before his 66th birthday.

He made sure punters who had travelled from Buckinghamshire, and further afield, went home happy by closing with Changing Man, to end his second encore.

Other highlights included an energetic version of That’s Entertainment and a belting rendition of You Do Something To Me, proving the veteran singers vocal chords are still well in tact.

John Tydeman, the frontman from Barbara, the band that supported Weller throughout the tour, said: “I really love the way that throughout his career he has a great respect for his fans, but is also absolutely, most interested in, doing new types of music.

"Paul Weller has done so many genres and sometimes maybe his fans might have been p***ed off about that, you get a lot Jam fans who don’t like Style Council, a lot of solo fans that don’t like Style Council, but I like the way he’s confidently done new stuff. I think it’s really inspiring.

"I think a lot of artists his age would just play greatest hit sets. But he starts his set with four new songs. Pretty brave. It’s definitely inspiring.”

Barbara, an unsigned band from Brighton formed by John and his brother Henry Tydeman, opened proceedings in Aylesbury with an energetic set featuring songs on their latest Ep, Mildly Entertaining.

Weller seemed at total ease throughout his Saturday night show, at one point he referenced a previous performance at Aylesbury’s legendary Friars Club. Although, he quickly conceded that he could not really remember the show, which is understandable when you consider how long the Jam frontman has been on the road.

It felt like Weller never broke a sweat and was an artist who had totally perfected the art of performing live.