Paul Weller: 'I was attacked by lion' belonging to family friend
Paul Weller has said he got the “nearly s*** himself” when he was attacked by a lion that was being kept as a pet by a family friend.
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In an interview released this week, the Modfather recalled how Ronnie, a mate of his dad’s, was giving him a lift to a gig in Surrey back in the 1970s.
“So Ronnie would drive the van and the lion would sit in the passenger seat,” he told Uncut. “You couldn’t get too comfortable, though.”
Weller, now 67, was a teenager when the incident happened and he did not realise that Ronnie had the big cat riding shotgun when he leant back on the passenger seat.
“Next thing I know, the f***ing lion’s gone for me,” he said. “I nearly s*** myself, man. Attacked by a lion!”
The incident happened back in the early days of The Jam, the band Weller formed when he was 14. He said that the ordeal was not over when he arrived at the gig as he still needed to get a life back with Ronnie, and the lion.
“Ronnie just dropped us off and came back later – with the lion, yeah,” he added.
The lion was a cub at this point but Ronnie later gave it up when it got too big.
Weller’s father, John, was a taxi driver and a builder while his mother was a cleaner and he was raised in Woking, Surrey, forming The Jam at school.
John died back in 2009 and Weller’s mother Ann sadly passed only last week.
Weller’s first band called it a day in 1982 and he then fronted The Style Council before going solo in 1990 - and has remained a prolific touring artist ever since, but never again has he had to share his ride with a lion.
He releases his latest album Find El Dorado, his 18th, on Friday.