"Long Hot Summer" is a song recorded by the English band The Style Council. It was composed by lead singer Paul Weller, recorded between 12 and 17 June 1983 in the Grande Armée Studios in Paris, and released on 8 August 1983. In the UK "Long Hot Summer" was the lead track of an EP, released as the group's third single, titled À Paris, which also contained the song "The Paris Match" (a different version of which, featuring Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl on lead vocal, was included on the band's first album Café Bleu) plus two keyboard instrumentals, "Party Chambers" and "Le Depart". In other territories a conventional single was released that had "Long Hot Summer" as the A-side. The song was also included on the 1983 mini-album Introducing The Style Council. The promotional video for "Long Hot Summer" was filmed on the River Cam in Cambridge. The song reached number three in the UK singles chart; this, it transpired, made it the Style Council's biggest hit, and it remains a staple of Paul Weller's live concerts. By coincidence, the British summer heat wave of 1983, most notably July, turned out to be one of the hottest on record – something that could not have been known at the time the song was written and recorded.

Compilation appearances

The song appears on The Singular Adventures of The Style Council (1989), Greatest Hits (2000) and the box set The Complete Adventures of The Style Council (1998).

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts