“HE HAd A Lot of fRont”

Weller on his father, John; the subject of True Meanings’ “What Would He Say”

“H e lived a great life. The Jam took off when he was 44. he’d lived a whole life before that – as a boxer, as a PTi in the raf, as a builder and as a family man. Then all of a sudden, this second life came along. it was a massive learning curve for all of us. he had no prior experience. What he had was a lot of front and tenacity. We learned as we went along. it was pretty amazing, really, especially coming from such humble origins. We’d be in a hotel in la, an airport bar, a hotel bar, any bar really, sitting there thinking, ‘What are we doing here? how did we get here?’

“it was never lost on us. i still think like that. how lucky i’ve been in my life, to be able to follow my dream and do what i’ve always wanted to do since i was a kid. i think it’s important to hold onto those things and be appreciative of what you’ve achieved. i learned that from him.”