Paul Weller has discussed the idea of life after the coronavirus pandemic, saying he hopes the world doesn’t “go back to normal”.

Speaking to The Times, Weller said he believes that the virus has exposed many flaws in society, which he doesn’t think should be allowed to return.

• Read more: Paul Weller: “I’m trying different things as much as I can – time is of the essence, man”

“Hasn’t that been nice?” he said of his newfound appreciation for what he considers important in life. “Haven’t you noticed all the things you don’t really need and don’t really miss?”

“I love clothes, which is no surprise to anyone, and I thought I’d be tearing me hair out with not being allowed to go shopping,” he added. “Instead I’ve been thinking, ‘I’ve got enough clothes, so I’ll do with the ones I have.”

Continuing to discuss the wide-ranging impact of the COVID-19 virus on society, Weller added: “If nothing else the last few months have given us time to assess and reflect on what’s really important.

“We’ve seen new working methods, spent more time with our families, seen how nature can repair itself without us being around. I kind of hope we don’t go back to normal.”

He went on to say that a visit to America in 2019 made him “sad,” explaining: “I was in America in January and just seeing the size of the people, man… they’re slowly killing themselves.

“It made me sad, to be honest with you. They are being marketed to eat more, supersize everything, have as much Coca-Cola as they can. It is like a systematic destruction of your own people. Excess doesn’t make us happy. Poverty doesn’t make us happy either, but there has to be a middle ground.

“Look at how much waste there is in the West. Now is the time to make the changes.”

Paul Weller released his new solo album ‘On Sunset’ last month. In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “It might not be quite the experimental opus you feel Weller’s still holding back, but that feels a churlish complaint when the songs are this well-written.

“There’s a lightness of touch and a tenderness at ‘On Sunset”s heart that makes a song like ‘Old Father Tyme’, the record’s soulful and brass-lathered centrepiece, on which the 62-year-old stops to take stock of a life spent pushing things forwards, just that little bit more bittersweet.”