On May 15, 2021, Paul Weller performed a thrilling concert with the hugely talented BBC Symphony Orchestra and award-winning arranger Jules Buckley. The event will be released on December 3 as an album titled An Orchestrated Songbook.
This one-of-a-kind performance was a first for Paul, performing with a full orchestra, and saw a quintessential selection of his vast catalog exquisitely reworked and updated into 75 minutes of breath-taking music that was broadcast across the BBC. The concert will be released by Polydor Records on vinyl, CD, and deluxe CD.
The setlist includes classic tracks across The Jam, Style Council, and solo career. It also features choice cuts from Paul’s last three studio albums, (including his recent No.1 album On Sunset and Fat Pop Volume 1).
Alongside the orchestra, Paul was also accompanied by long-term collaborator and guitarist Steve Cradock. This eclectic assortment of compositions from Paul’s illustrious career, invigorated by Jules Buckley’s sumptuous arrangements made for a visual and aural delight.
As a co-production with the BBC, the show was performed in the grand setting of London’s Barbican on May 15 and originally went out live online, eventually broadcast in full on Radio 2 on June 13, 6Music on June 16, and then on BBC2 on June 19.
Jules Buckley, is an esteemed conductor, composer, and arranger. He is Creative Artist in Residence with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has previously collaborated with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Massive Attack, and John Cale, re-creating their music for classical instruments. As co-founder of the Heritage Orchestra, Jules was also involved in Pete Tong’s No.1 house/classical crossover album Classic House.
An Orchestrated Songbook is set for release on December 3 and is available for pre-order.
An Orchestrated Songbook Tracklist:
Andromeda
English Rose
My Ever Changing Moods
On Sunset
Carnation
Glad Times
Broken Stones (Feat. James Morrison)
Gravity
It´s A Very Deep Sea
Bowie
Equanimity
You´re The Best Thing (Feat. Boy George)
Still Glides The Stream
Movin On
Wild Wood (Feat. Celeste)
Rockets
You Do Something To Me
White Horses
