Paul Weller Fan Podcast HenFred Studio

The acclaimed Paul Weller Fan Podcast is back with a bang!
In 2020, my love of Paul Weller’s music led me to create the ‘Desperately Seeking Paul’ podcast series, an adventure that culminated in an unforgettable encounter with the man himself at the end of last year.
The thrill of finally interviewing my hero, after 25 years in radio and a three-year podcast journey, is still fresh. The experience was nothing short of magical, and I am incredibly grateful for every moment of it. But as they say, the show must go on, and I am beyond excited to announce what’s coming next.
Last November, I was given the extraordinary honour of receiving an advance copy of Paul’s highly anticipated new album, “66”. And let me tell you, it’s another absolute corker. I’ve spent countless hours immersing myself in the rich tapestry of sounds and stories that make up this incredible LP.
Now, I’m thrilled to share that our journey together continues with a brand new podcast series. This time, we’re diving deep into “66”, exploring each track, the creative process behind the album, and the magic that makes Paul Weller such a remarkable artist.
Our first episode kicks off with an exclusive interview with Paul Weller himself.
Imagine, sitting down in his Black Barn studio, to discuss his latest work, track by track. It’s an opportunity I could only dream of when I started this podcast series, and now it’s a reality.
You just have to do your best and what you believe in, and then you put it out into the world and hope other people relate to it or like it. I don’t think, what did we do on the last album? or what did I do 20, 30, 40 years ago? I’m not interested in that, it’s only what I’m doing now…PAUL WELLERBut the excitement doesn’t stop there. A week after the album is released – you’ll hear a special boxset of podcast episodes with key figures involved in the making of “66” who will offer their own unique insights, adding depth and colour to our exploration of Paul’s 17th solo studio album (and his 28th in total).
You’ll hear from band members, Jacko Peake, Tom Van Heel, Jake Fletcher and Ben Gordelier, producer/engineer Charles Rees, collaborators including Tom Doyle (White Label), Christophe Vaillant (Le SuperHomard), and Steve Brookes (original member of The Jam).
Contributors such as Josh McClorey, Steve Trigg, Sumudu Jayatilaka, Louise Marshall, Britten Sinfonia and Hannah Peel will also offer their unique perspectives on the making of the album.
It’s hard to put into words just how humbled and thrilled I am to be a part of the countdown for the release of “66”.

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The acclaimed Paul Weller Fan Podcast is back with a bang!
Join us for Season 2 - The Story of 66 - starting May 17th 2024.

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Episode 180: Paul WellerHello and Welcome to Episode 180 of the World's First Paul Weller Fan Podcast...
I'm Dan Jennings and ten years ago I gave up my life's dream and career as a radio presenter with one big regret...
Never getting to interview my hero... the legendary singer-songwriter and musician - Paul Weller...
This podcast exists purely to solve that issue...
Welcome to the final episode of Desperately Seeking Paul....

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Episode 179: Claire Moon - Artist Manager - Paul Weller
Over the course of the past 3 years, we've discovered so much more about how Paul Weller has built one of the most prolific and influential careers in British music, and in this episode we get to peek behind the curtain.
Artist manager Claire Moon opens up about her professional journey, leading up to that first fateful meeting with Paul at V2 Records and how she later became his manager - overseeing the business operations at Black Barn Studios. 
With stories about running the calendar, promoting albums, planning tours with Paul and the Wheeler's, and protecting his back catalogue, Claire reveals how she strategically manages Paul Weller's enduring career.
Their deep mutual trust allows her to support his constant drive to make music on his own terms.
We get a deeper understanding of his relentless creative spirit - how he is often already busy conjuring up new projects as previous albums are still being promoted - for instance, launching a clothing line or even taking an acting role in a movie...
What also really comes through for me is that Claire makes clear her role is to support Paul's ambitions, not to control them - a trust that has allowed one of music's true innovators to continue evolving without losing his essence.
Get ready for an all-access pass into Paul Weller's world with this illuminating conversation... It's a huge honour to have Claire on the podcast to share her experiences in the music industry and at Black Barn HQ...

Music Immersive...I also chatted to Claire about her role working with Stan Kybert at Music Immersive - the UK’s only dedicated immersive music studio. The team pride themselves on meticulously and respectfully enriching artist's music, with the focus on preserving their original vision. 
Find out more here...

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Episode 178: Charles Rees - Black Barn Studio Manager & Engineer + Composer, Producer
And so the countdown begins... with our final 3 podcasts in our Desperately Seeking Paul series...
On this episode, I take a trip into Black Barn Studios for an unforgettable conversation with Studio Manager & Engineer, Composer and Producer, Charles Rees. 
From assistant engineer on Heavy Soul in 1997 to becoming studio manager at Black Barn, AKA Paul Weller HQ in 1999 - Charles has played a key role on the sound of so many incredible Paul Weller singles, EPs and albums...
He even pops up on a heap of songs playing bass, drums, various synthesizers, harmonium, piano, autoharp, electronics, electric organ, guitar and percussion (Check out that Egg Whisk on the song Long Time!)
I'm so delighted that Charles agreed to join me on the podcast - this is not really something that he does - but what you're going to hear is his story. We'll dive back to the beginning and take a deep dive into the day to day running of the output of the studio....
It's a real honour and delight to be able to share this with you... ENJOY!

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Episode 177: Simon Halfon - Graphic designer and Film Producer on The Style Council, Paul Weller Solo & The Jam
On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we hear from graphic designer and film producer, Simon Halfon to discuss his incredible porfolio of work with The Jam, The Style Council and Paul Weller solo...
We find out about his love of The Jam - and how he first met Paul Weller in 1979 following a gig in Bridlington when he and his mates stayed up with the band drinking and putting the world to rights until the early hours.
On this podcast chat, we hear how he fell into art design by accident via the creation of a fanzine (that provided another early connection to The Jam) to a job in the postroom at Stiff Records, then assisting Neville Brody at The Face magazine.
The first sleeve Simon designed was for Department S, whose singer Vaughn Toulouse became part of a gang of friends that included journalist Paolo Hewitt, DJ Gary Crowley and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama.
His first commission as a freelancer in 1982, was by Paul Weller through the design on the sleeve for a book that he was publishing about the Small Faces.
When Paul formed The Style Council with Mick Talbot in 1983, it was Simon that he turned to for the record sleeve designs starting with Speak Like a Child, right the way through to the Modernism album cover that was completed for it's ultimate release in the 90s.
We also chat about Simon's creations with Paul Weller for singles and albums for 20 years of the solo career - an incredible collective of work from that first single sleeve from Into Tomorrow in 1991 and those wonderful matchday programmes and merch designs, right through to 2010's Fast Car/Slow Traffic...
Simon also designed every album sleeve with Paul from that debut solo album through to Wake Up The Nation in 2010...
You'll hear about their shared love of The Beatles (which led to Simon designing the cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Milk and Honey album in 1984) and Simon's work with other long standing clients including the late George Michael and Oasis.
In the mid noughties Simon had started to take an interest in the film industry, inspired by friendships forged during his time in LA. He produced his first feature film in 2008, the Kenneth Branagh directed Sleuth, which was to become the last screenplay by Harold Pinter and starred Michael Caine & Jude Law.
But it wasn't until 2016 that Simon really embraced the film world, when the Gallagher brothers approached him to tell the story of Oasis. As lead producer, he brought together the team to create the award winning feature ‘Supersonic’, a documentary of huge commercial and critical success.
We also chat about the incredible Wham documentary for Netflix that he produced - which topped the charts in the summer of 2023...


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