"The Changingman"
Promotional single cover
Single by Paul Weller
from the album Stanley Road
Released24 April 1995 (1995-04-24)
Length4:02
LabelGo! Discs
Songwriter(s)Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller
Producer(s)Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller
Paul Weller singles chronology
"Out of the Sinking"
(1994)
"The Changingman"
(1995)
"You Do Something to Me"
(1995)

"The Changingman" is a song by British singer-songwriter Paul Weller, released in April 1995 by Go! Discs as the lead single from his third solo album, Stanley Road (1995).[1] The song charted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

Background

"The Changingman" was co-written by Brendan Lynch, and performed, written and produced by Paul Weller, who sings and plays guitar, piano and shakers on the record. Carleen Anderson provides back-up vocals, as does Steve Cradock and Dr. Robert, who also play the guitar and bass guitar respectively. In addition, Steve White plays drums and Lynch played the Cyremin.[3][4] Weller claimed that the song's title came from the name his daughter Leah gave to one of her dolls, although at the time his friend Terry Rawlings managed a band called that.[4] The song expresses Weller's mantra of breaking things up if they are getting too comfortable; the previous year, he had divorced his wife, Dee C. Lee, breaking up what appeared to the public to be a happy marriage. In an interview with Mojo in 2010, he expressed that this was because there were senses "that things were going too well, we were too happy, too comfortable, everything seemed too nice [and] that for me as a writer and an artist I might lose my edge. I had to break the shape up, re-arrange things", noting that said turmoil supplanted the lyrics of the entire parent album and stated that the lyric 'numbed by the effect, aware of the muse, too in touch with myself, I light the fuse' "was about the process of causing chaos around you".[5]

Chart performance

The song peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks on the chart and becoming Weller's first solo top-10 hit.[6]

Critical reception

John Robb from Melody Maker wrote, "'The Changing Man' is not a godlike record but, in some ways, it's reassuring to hear one of the old fellas from the late Seventies still cut some action."[7] Another Melody Maker editor, David Stubbs, remarked "the classic mid-period Who chimes" of the song.[8]

Music video

A music video was produced for the song. It alternates between clips of Weller singing and playing guitar, shots of model Anjela Lauren Smith dancing, and assorted symbols.[9]

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 24 April 1995
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
Go! Discs [11]
United States 12 June 1995
[12]

References

  1. Fujiwara, Chris (14 July 2015). The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-1-4668-9423-5.
  2. "ShieldSquare Block". validate.perfdrive.com. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  3. Stanley Road (Media notes). Paul Weller. Go! Discs.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. 1 2 Reed, John (5 November 2009). Paul Weller: My Ever Changing Moods. Omnibus Press. p. 422.
  5. "The Changingman by Paul Weller". Songfacts.
  6. "Paul Weller | full Official Chart History". The Official Charts Company.
  7. Robb, John (29 April 1995). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  8. Stubbs, David (13 May 1995). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 36. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  9. "Paul Weller The Changingman". YouTube.
  10. "British single certifications – Paul Weller – The Changingman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  11. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 April 1995. p. 43.
  12. "New Music for June". Radio & Records. No. 1096. 26 May 1995. pp. 78, 83.
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