Those of a certain age would have first clapped eyes on Paul Weller performing debut single In The City on Top Of The Pops, aged just 18.

That was 1977, and punk was in full swing. Noisy, skinny youths were every-where, but there was something special about this particular angry young man.

Weller had more to say than merely taking a swipe at the Monarchy, as the Sex Pistols did that same year, and The Jam's songs would go on to tackle small-town mentalities, the mundanity of nine-to-five jobs and various other universal themes of love and life.

Wrapped in timeless pop melodies and an energetic mass of guitar, bass and drums, Weller's songs came from the suburbs south of London but spoke to the everyman all over the country – so much so that by the time he controversially disbanded The Jam at the height of their fame in 1982, they'd become one of the biggest-selling and passionately supported British groups since The Beatles.

Watching him on stage in London just after our interview, just weeks after his 50th birthday, nothing seems to have changed.

Weller may have filled out from that scrawny teen of '77, and he also sports the sort of suntan you get on a holiday only a millionaire rock star can afford, but he's has lost none of the aggression that made him stand out 30 years ago.

What would the teenage Weller make of the 50-year-old version?

"I had no vision or concept of being 50 whatsoever," he says, smiling. "When I was 18 I thought life stopped after 25.

"I don't suppose I ever really thought about that sort of thing, and I've never had chance to stop and think since, I've just kept on going."

After Weller folded The Jam, he formed The Style Council. A Mod to the core, he'd always worn his influences on his sleeve while in the former band – The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Beatles and The Who – but The Style Council saw him experiment with more continental music and themes: French house, funk, soul and jazz.

Then came the solo career, and a few years where Paul steadfastly ignored fan requests at live shows to play hits from his illustrious back-catalogue.

Hysteria

When he finally decided to dust down some classics for 2001 live acoustic album Days Of Speed, the reaction was understandably one of mild hysteria.

"I made that decision with Days Of Speed because playing the songs in that way, stripped down and acoustic, it was just me and the songs," he admits. "It was easier for me to connect with. I couldn't play something I didn't connect with, and the same goes for a song now, if I wasn't feeling it, then I'd drop it for a bit to freshen it up."

Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards, and it's perhaps no coincidence that following Weller's acknowledgement of his past work has come arguably his most fruitful period as a solo artist.

"Maybe that's true," he ponders. "I am more comfortable with myself these days, but that comes with age as well as anything else. I'm just more comfortable in my own skin than I was, but yeah, accepting the older songs has had something to do with that."

Current album 22 Dreams has been hailed by many critics as Weller's finest solo album. It's a double album and sees The Modfather, as he hates being called, experiment with free-form jazz, spoken-word, psychedelic rock and traditional folk.

Look at Weller's lyrics and themes of seasons and passing time have long been constant inspirations, but 22 Dreams is based around the concept of a year, beginning in spring with album opener Light Nights, and ending with the wintery Night Lights.

"I couldn't have made this album at any other time, even if I'd wanted to. I wouldn't have known how to have done it before," he reflects. "A lot of things opened up for me on this record, there was a certain amount of liberation making a lot of the tracks, and we found a different way of working.

"I keep harping on about this, but it's all tied in with turning 50 this year. This time last year I was 49 and thought 'I'm going to be 50 next year, I'm going to make the most indulgent record I can possibly make,' and I did. It's funny that it's clicked with people so well."

22 Dreams is out now. Paul's new single, All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)/Push It Along, is released on August 18.

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