Modfather of Britrock on way

In what will be long-overdue but welcome news for his long-term local fans, it's been confirmed that Paul Weller is to play his first New Zealand dates in October.

The former frontman of The Jam and Style Council, who is now 10 albums and nearly two decades into a solo career, has never played here before. But off the back of acclaimed new set, Wake Up The Nation, Weller and band are heading to play the Powerstation on Saturday, October 30 after dates in Australia.

Weller swung from the Mod-influenced rock of The Jam during the punk years to the 80s soul-funk excursions of the Style Council.

Since then, his solo albums have expanded his musical ambitions, while still marking him out as one of his generation's most distinctive songwriters with his depictions of British life in his lyrics.

A major influence on bands of the 90s' Britpop uprising like Blur and Oasis, 51-year-old Weller is now seen as an elder statesman of British rock, but one who has outlasted many of his peers and heirs.

Tickets for the Auckland show go on sale via Ticketmaster on Wednesday, June 9.