AceShowbiz - Paul Weller has defended his decision to continue a U.S. tour when his father was dying - insisting his dad would have wanted him to carry on performing. The British rocker was in America last year when his family informed him that his father John, who suffered from dementia, was seriously ill.

Weller decided to continue the gigs, and only flew back to the U.K. when he was told his beloved dad was close to death. The musician admits his relatives were angry with him for not canceling the tour earlier, but he's convinced he made the right decision because his dad would have urged him to carry on working.

He says, "(It was) a bit of a bone of contention with my mum and my sister. They both thought I should cancel the tour and get back. But I know my old man would say, 'F**k that, finish the tour.' I know he would have. Whether they thought of me as being a bit ruthless or hard or whatever... I don't know. But I know that's what he would have wanted. I got back in time to say goodbye to him anyway."

And Weller is still struggling to come to terms with losing his dad, who managed the rocker's career for 30 years. He adds, "(Of) course I miss my dad. But I miss my buddy as well. There's always a time on tour when I'm sitting at a bar, and I think, where's my drinking buddy? I miss him on a lot of those levels."