Has 5 children: Daughters Leah, Dylan, and Jesamine, and sons Nathaniel and Stevie. His mother named him John after contracting polio of the throat right after his birth. She was bordering on delirium and blurted out the first name she thought of. She later renamed him Paul, but his name has never been legally changed. He started his musical career as the guitarist and lead singer of the Jam in 1976, then in 1983 formed the Style Council with Mick Talbot. The band broke up after their record label refused to release their final album, and he embarked on a solo career in 1990.