Paul Dowling - Director of Marketing, Go! Discs (1990-1993)
About this episode
Paul Dowling shares his experiences as the director of marketing at Go! Discs, detailing his role in Paul Weller's comeback and the label's culture.
In this episode, Paul Dowling - director of marketing at Go! Discs in the early ‘90s - tells the story of how he helped Paul Weller find a new home and a fresh start after The Style Council and Polydor rejected him. A teenage Jam fan who witnessed the band’s energy first-hand, Paul started work in an indie record shop job before moving in marketing within the record industry and then landing at Go! Discs just as the label was building on it's reputation for artist-friendly culture and creative risk-taking. Paul takes us inside the DIY campaign for 'Into Tomorrow' - Weller’s first solo single - explaining how a tight team of trusted industry figures and Weller’s own clear vision turned an independent release into a Top 40 hit, and led directly to a new label deal in the UK. He describes hearing those early demos, smoking spliffs with Andy McDonald, and realising just how wild, raw, and ready Weller was for his comeback. Drawing on his unique perspective, Paul reflects on the label’s role in supporting Weller’s creative freedom, the transition through Wild Wood and toward Britpop’s peak, and the sheer thrill - and surprise - of working with an artist who had provided the…
People in this episode
Guest: Paul Dowling
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Go! Discs, The Style Council, Polydor
Books & works: Into Tomorrow
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