What Paul Weller has to say about Teessider Amelia Coburn’s debut album

One of British music’s biggest names reckons a Teesside singer-songwriter’s debut album is among the best things he’s heard this year.

Former Jam and Style Council frontman Paul Weller – dubbed “The Modfather” by the music press – has been the epitome of cool and musical excellence for decades. His back catalogue is immense and his latest album, 66, was released in May to huge critical acclaim.

And now, in a Mojo magazine feature, he’s heaped praise on Teessider Amelia Coburn’s debut album Between The Moon and the Milkman, which was released earlier this year and was produced by founding member of The Coral, Bill Ryder-Jones. In a feature entitled “The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year”, Weller, 66, says: “Amelia Coburn is another with a great voice.

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"Her album, Between The Moon and the Milkman, is folky, with great tunes and playing: she plays ukulele, baritone ukulele and stick dulcimer and she gets all these amazing and really different sounds out of them.” And to hear such praise from such an icon is music to the ears of 26-year-old Amelia.

She told Teesside Live: “Someone I know who’s a Mojo subscriber messaged me and said ‘Paul Weller’s got you as one of the best things he’s heard this year!’ I couldn’t believe it.

“I knew I was on his radar a little bit because when he did playlist for Shindig! magazine, he chose one of my songs, Sandra, but I didn’t realise he’s listened to the whole album. It was such a nice surprise.”

Amelia was already a fan of Weller’s early work thanks to her dad’s varied musical taste. She said: “When I first started doing music, my dad was always trying to get me into his music. Dad has a really eclectic taste so there’d be stuff like Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins, but also late 70s-early 80s stuff like The Jam and The Police.

“The thing I love about Paul Weller is that even now, he’s constantly changing and evolving, and making new music. He doesn’t just play the old hits, which are great, but he’s producing and playing new music too.

“I’ve never met him – not yet anyway! But I remember seeing him play a solo set at a festival in 2014. I can’t remember who headlined – probably a band that’s no longer around – but I dragged my mates to see Paul Weller and he was brilliant.”

To show her love of Weller’s music – and particularly those early Jam years – a Facebook post shows a picture on her bedroom wall, above her writing desk, of the album cover from one of the band’s seminal works, the In The City album. She posted: “I used to write my little heart out and look up to that record as a source of inspiration. It’s beyond me that Paul has even listened to my album, let alone loves it.”

News of Weller’s admiration capped a memorable few weeks for Amelia as the quirky video for her track Steel Town – also from Between The Moon and the Milkman and featuring Teesside actor Bill Fellows – was named Music Video of the Year at the Tees Valley International Film Festival.

Amelia, who was brought up in Nunthorpe and now lives in Eaglescliffe, is now preparing for a pre-Christmas gig at The Arc in Stockton on December 14, Wunderland, in which she’ll be supported by Bob Fischer and Scoot Turnbull and will, she says, be a “a carnival of festive delights – a cabaret of winter wonder”.

And she’s looking forward to a busy 2025 when she not only hopes to bring out new music, she’ll support Jim Moray and The Levellers on several dates of their respective tours.

To see the video for Sleepy Town, click here. And for tickets to Wunderland, here.

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