I must say I haven’t seen any of that on here mate? Both of them were definitely better songwriters in the Beatles than out of the Beatles (IMHO).

It was a bit more than that Matty. They fed off each other and inspired each other. They would often finish each other’s songs off or make little suggestions (eg A Day In the Life, Hey Jude and plenty of others). But yeah, they didn’t sit down together and compose from scratch in the way that some might imagine they did. Not aimed at you per se but I’m not sure how this all turned into folk defending the Beatles. But to suggest that a man who has been selling shit loads of records and writing classic songs for five decades, since he was just 18 years old, and in many different styles, doesn’t belong in the very upper echelons of British singer/songwriters is a bit odd.

I agree with 99% of what you post on here Tyrone but those last two sentences are nonsense I’m afraid. George Harrison is lucky if he’s in double figures of real top notch songs. The Pele analogy is off as well, there’s no physical reason why a songwriter should be ‘past it’ in that way. Lennon and McCartney fed off each other and once that dynamic was gone they were generally poorer songwriters for it. With only a very few exceptions their solo work generally was not even on a par with Weller’s. Absolutely no dispute with what you say about the Beatles though, but that wasn’t the original poster’s claim. Even ‘oldjamfan’ would say that the Fabs are the best band ever. Edit: There are only two artists who have had number one albums in five separate decades, guess who? And quite how Weller didn’t have one in the 1970s with either All Mod Cons or Setting Sons is beyond me, which would have put him out there on his own.

He is in terms of being a singer/songwriter, which is what the original poster said. It’s unarguable really. The consistently brilliant output over five decades actually surpasses Macca, whose work since he turned 40 has been patchy to say the least. The Beatles were undeniably a game changing band though, I don’t think anyone would dispute that.

It takes a big man to talk about these things. Credit to you matey

That simply can’t be right

Half of them can be attributed to the Knob ender wanting to have the last word in every conversation. Let's hope he has a shit evening.

The Bluebells - Young At Heart

Paul Weller and Andy Lewis - Are You Trying To Be Lonely?

Barbara Dickson - Another Suitcase In Another Hall

Elbow - Weather To Fly

The Clash - Bank Robber

The Leeds team being referred to had everything. All brilliant on the ball and all nasty horrible bastards when they needed to be as well. I remember a passing sequence from MoTD in the early/mid 70s (possibly against Southampton) that seemed to last for about ten minutes. Awesome team that should have won much more than it did.

Carole Bayer Sager - You're Moving Out Today

Scritti Politti - Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Lover Boy)

Prefab Sprout - Looking For Atlantis

I'm hearing that Rovers fan Birdy has passed away. Probably one of the most recognisable supporters around for many years, and he even lived within sight of his beloved Ewood Park. RIP Birdy, at least the last game he saw was a cracking victory. Edit: I see there's a thread devoted to him in the football section. Good stuff.

Paul Weller - All I Wanna Do Is (Be With You)

The Sex Pistols - No One Is Innocent

Neil Young - Keep On Rockin In the Free World

The Style Council - Have You Ever Had It Blue?

Blondie - Call Me

The Jam - Going Underground

Weller has had two or three purple patches. Those middle three Jam albums, his first three solo albums and his last three. Even if you disregard Jam and Style Council material PW pisses all over Richard Ashcroft by any barometer. To answer that last question I would say yes (assuming you are referring to RA and not PW, because even Noel would concede that he isn’t in Weller’s league as a songwriter)

I like him Gav and really he should have been a superstar but better than Weller? I think not?