Song · The Style Council
“Speak Like a Child” by The Style Council
From the album Introducing The Style Council (1983)
“Speak Like a Child” by The Style Council appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2003 and 2005. It was first released in 1983 on the album Introducing The Style Council. Its best result is #414 on the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,452 alternative song of all time.
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With the Jam behind him, Paul Weller launched the Style Council with "Speak Like a Child", their first single, out on 11 March 1983 and later slotted onto the mini-LP Introducing The Style Council. It plays like a deliberate about-face: breezy, keyboard-lit pop, with Mick Talbot, late of the Merton Parkas, on keys, Zeke Manyika on drums and Tracie Young, freshly signed to Weller's own Respond Records, singing backup.
Weller wrote it alone and produced it with Peter Wilson, and Polydor put it out with "Party Chambers" on the flip. It went to number 4 in Britain and has held up as one of the band's most enduring hits, which is why it keeps turning up on the compilations, from The Singular Adventures of The Style Council to Greatest Hits.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1492 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 492 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 500 |
| 2005 | 414 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 500 |
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