I used to rush out and buy the new Weller release the day it came out. Well I did for most Jam, all Style Council and the first 3 solo albums. I used to analyse his outfits forensically and was usually excited by his personal style. So what happened? Well the music became turgid and lumpen with no groove or wit. He became the ugly rocker he used to say he split The Jam up to avoid becoming! Why ditch poor old Bruce and Rick and then rope in that ghastly Steve Cradock when you fancy playing cock rock guitar again? The snarl and the Rickenbacker work well on the face and body of a 20 year old. It's shocking on a 64 year old. And his clothes... well, not sure where to start. He needs a new mirror,  one that shows the cracks and blemishes of age. Then dress to work with what you now have. Old men should not dress like teenage suedeheads. Ah, he used to be so cool, made the likes of Strummer and Costello look clumsy and obvious. What a dramatic fall from grace. I knew something was wrong when he always wanted the most vulgar loafer in the shop - the ones with fringes, buckles and tassels. Merton Mick meanwhile was the tight-lipped and cool one who always bought the penny Weejun. All those years we were backing the wrong horse.

''On Sunset I think is fantastic...''
Indeed it is, as is the Pet Shop Boys extended remix of Cosmic Fringes.

''He became the ugly rocker he used to say he split The Jam up to avoid becoming!''
That's Hewitt's position on him. I'm not so sure. Costello has in the most part been unlistenable since after The Juliet Letters. Strummer was a decade out in the wilderness and when he was coming back on form big time, he croaked it. Not a fan of Steve Craddock either, but the last time I saw Weller live, was the best. Super tight band, did The Beastie Boys version of Start! That was A Kind Revolution tour, which I thought sounded like a Chris de Burgh album name, nevertheless, it was great.

Funnily enough I saw PW in Selfridges a couple of years back. Taller than I expected and in good shape physically. But it's the hair that always looks a state. Speaking as someone who's at Eric Morecambe levels of foliage, I think PW is daft to have such terrible out-of-sync barnets. He could still look good if adapted a bit, but ageing Mod is one of the worst dadrock staples out there.

I had most of Jams music on cassette and it all went when I downsized 10 years ago. Although I was a bit older than their average fan I thought they had something about them. I enjoyed the Style Council music even more and I have fond memories of sitting down to eat, on a Saturday night, with my missus, after a hard working week, and listening to Our Favourite Shop. I just checked and I still have the LP.
I always thought that although 'dress wise' Weller had it about right at that time (1980s) Mick Talbot always had the edge on him. Back then I saw Mick in Oxford Street and he looked the business in an Ivy way.
I lost interest in the music after the SC as I thought PW started to sound pretentious

Listened to an interview with him plugging the B-sides album he released a month or two ago...he was sporting a Baracuta and when asked what was his most expensive clothing item, he said the Aldens he had on. He said they were the best shoes he's ever had.

I've several pairs of Aldens, but the cordovan gunboats didn't last and I tend to wear in the summer months. I sported the saddle oxfords the other day, a pre-WWII collegiate design, and I thought they don't look that great. Maybe they needed a no.8 polish.