Uncut
Heart of gold
Recording Find El Dorado , a new album of cover versions, has been a revelatory experience for PAUL WELLER . Assembling a connoisseur’s collection of songs including those by The Bee Gees, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Lal & Mike Waterson, Richie Havens and Ray Davies has sent Weller off on an unexpected reverie, triggering memories of The Jam’s early days, his totemic father and manager John, fallen bandmate Rick Buckler and, of course, that time with Ronnie’s pet lion… But there are more urgent, contemporary issues to address, too, including recent record shop swag, movie acting, King Charles’ coronation, the travails of Kneecap, the revived Sex Pistols and Frank Carter, and what’s next for music’s hardest-working legend. “What can I tell you?” he shrugs to Pete Paphides. “It’s how I work and it’s how I relax.”
