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The second part of our conversation with Paul Weller, where we went on to discuss the loss of his father, the next album (he's already thinking about it), and the brothers Gallagher, Noel and Liam.

Paul Weller interview - part 1. Paul on new album, Wake Up The Nation, re-uniting with Bruce Foxton and his thoughts on X-Factor and politicians.

Q: You mentioned before, sadly your father [John Weller] passed away aswell. He'd been with you musically aswell from the early days and really oversaw your music career, managed, and made some really smart decisions for you aswell, it must've been a really hard thing facing doing another album and not having him there in the same way as before?

PW: Well it was hard losing him because he's me father and the man I loved and my best friend and lots and lots of reasons, you know apart from being a manager an' all that - a very good manager. I miss my buddy more than anything else, but, I don't know if it... you know I would still make that record anyway and it wasn't under a black cloud at all, I mean it was - sometimes you've just got to accept these things in life. This is part of life's cycle and you know, it's not nice but that's what life is and you know I sort of thing you have to count your blessings.

I was very very lucky with my dad, we had such a great relationship, he was a great father, we loved each other, and we were mates which is like you can't really ask for too much more than that, you know? So, I kind of just try to think of all the good times you know, and we were lucky that we worked all that time together and actually got on, and we had fun man aswell, we drunk together every bar in the world as much as we could - tried to drink the world dry... so, I look at the good times you know and if I wrote anything or if his passing had any... if I cared to reflect on it or write on it, it'd be something celebratory, wouldn't be anything morbid.

Q: You've covered more ground in your solo career, excluding the Jam and The Style Council work, than many artists cover in their career. Is there any record you still want to make or collaborations/projects you still want to do?

PW: There's loads, yeah. There's loads I'd still love to be making {smiling}. I'd like to make the greatest record ever made, which I probably never will do, but that's what drives me on. I'm really pleased with this new record and I was really pleased with 22 Dreams, I thought it was exceptionally good, and I've been pleased with lots of my records - not all of them - but alot of them, but I still think i can make something better than any of them. And whether I actually can or not doesn't really matter, it's the carrot that sort of leads me on, and I think it's important to have that, really. I think - you know - whatever you've made, and whatever people say about it - good things, accolades, whatever they may heap upon it, you're only as good as your last record really. And you've got to forget it all at some point in time, 'cos you've gotta make another one. I've always kind of been of that opinion, it's the same thing with playing live, you know, like you do a great gig last night and it was fantastic, but it's like forget about it... because you've got to do it again tonight and it's gotta be even better. And whether you do or not - doesn't matter - that's the thing that drives you on and that's what you should be aiming for and I think it's important to keep that attitude. So I'm kind of looking forward to doing the next record now, which I don't know when we'll get the chance to do it or start on it even, but I'm just excited by the propect of doing it 'cos I'm like well, where else can we go now, you know? We can go even further out, possibly.

Q: More experimental then?

PW: I'd like to think we could do, yeah... not to end up your own arse obviously, something that's still kind of, accessible and melodic, but I still think there's more music to aim to be found.

Q: Have you got any ideas for it already in terms of songs?

PW: Not at all no [laughs]

Q: Any thoughts on how you'll approach it and recording since this one was a bit quicker?

PW: The only ideas I've ever got, and it's probably the same for most records... are all so vague that it's probably not even worth mentioning to other people because they'll just think I'm talking rubbish.

Q: [smiling] It'll turn out completely different anyway...

PW: Yeah exactly, that's right... yeah

Q: I know you get asked about reunions alot but you're friends with them both, if the money was right - not that you ever do it for the money - would you consider getting Liam and Noel to re-form Oasis?

PW: Would I, would I do it? ...

Q: Would you get them to do it?

PW: What, some kind of Henry Kissinger type figure?

Q: Yeah

PW: No, definitely not, nothing to do with me mate, between two brothers. I think it's good, I mean it's sad for Oasis fans you know, but I think ultimately I think it's gonna be better for music fans because they're both gonna make something great I think. And I think the weight's been lifted from both their shoulders, they can just be Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher and not have to be "from Oasis", you know - they can be artists, and I think that's - I think that'd be good, liberating for both of them I reckon.

Q: Maybe give them space to do something separate and then come back...

PW: Yeah, who knows?

Q: Do you think you'll work with them both in the future, or if they asked you to work on their records would you?

PW: Yeah, if they asked me to, definitely, yeah. I'd always play with any of those two, got alot of time for both them...

This is the second of our special interview with Paul Weller for Paul Weller Week on Qthemusic.com. Paul Weller interview - part 1.

Paul Weller week on Qthemusic.com:
Featuring:
- The video for Wake Up The Nation
- Track of the Days chosen by Paul.
- Competition to win signed deluxe editions of his album
- A "Late 60's Lovlies" Spotify playlist chosen by Paul for Q Readers.
- Our exclusive interview with the man himself...

In full: Paul Weller Week

12:11 PM | 21/04/2010