The Beautiful South were an English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

group formed in 1988 by

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singl ...

and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group the Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members staying throughout the band's existence were former Housemartins roadie Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums), and Dave Rotheray (guitar). The band's original material was written by Heaton and Rotheray. After the band's first album, ''

Welcome to the Beautiful South ''Welcome to the Beautiful South'' is the debut album by the English band the Beautiful South. It was released in October 1989 by Go! Discs and the next year in the United States by Elektra Records. Three singles were released from the album, whic ...

'' (1989, recorded as a quintet), they were joined by a succession of female vocalists. The following artists performed lead and backing vocals alongside Heaton and Hemingway:

Briana Corrigan Briana Corrigan (born 30 May 1965) is a Northern Irish singer. She was a member of The Beautiful South from 1988 to 1992. Early life Corrigan was born in Northern Ireland. When she was 11 years old, her family moved from Belfast to Portstewart, ...

for albums two and three after appearing as a guest vocalist on the first; Jacqui Abbott for the fourth to seventh albums; Alison Wheeler for the final three Beautiful South albums. The group are known for wry and socially observant lyrics. They broke up in January 2007, saying the split was due to "musical similarities", having sold around 15 million records.

History

1988: Formation

and Dave Hemingway had initially come to attention as (respectively) the lead singer and "singing drummer" of the successful Hull

jangle pop Jangle pop is a Music subgenre, subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangle, jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop music, pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and Arpeggio, arpeggiated ...

band the Housemartins, who had scored seven UK Top 40 singles and two Top 10 albums between 1986 and 1988. (Heaton was with the Housemartins for their entire existence; Hemingway joined in time for their second and final album.) The band was known for blending overt socialist politics and a form of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, having baited the

British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

, the building industry, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in their songs as well as including gospel elements in their music. The Housemartins said they had set a fixed lifespan for themselves; the members duly brought the band to an end in 1988 at the height of its success. Heaton and Hemingway immediately began work on setting up a new band, naming it "the Beautiful South" as a sarcastic comment on their staunch Northern roots. The third initial bandmember was Dave Rotheray, a songwriting guitarist who had previously played with Hemingway in two other Hull bands, the Newpolitans and the Velvetones. At the time Rotheray was studying for a PhD at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

and living on Grafton Street, where Heaton also lived. Rotheray and Heaton became the songwriting team for the Beautiful South, which was conceived as a quintet with Heaton and Hemingway (who was no longer drumming) as the two lead singers. The core band was completed by Dave Stead (ex-Luddites/Vicious Circle) on drums, and former Housemartins roadie Sean Welch on bass guitar. Also important to the band's sound was studio keyboard player Damon Butcher—although never an official member of the group, he ended up playing virtually all the piano and keyboard parts on the band's albums.

1989: ''Welcome to the Beautiful South'', addition of Corrigan

Their first album, ''

'', was released in 1989 and promptly produced a number two UK singles chart hit, " Song for Whoever". With the follow-up single "

You Keep It All In "You Keep It All In" is the second single released from English pop rock group the Beautiful South's debut album, ''Welcome to the Beautiful South'' (1989). It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in October 1989 and number three in Irel ...

" reaching number eight and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" reaching number 31, the band were soon set to equal or surpass the success of the Housemartins, while the songwriting built on and expanded the trenchant social critiques which the previous band had been known for. Topics included nationalism, domestic violence,

football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...

and the self-serving industry of love songs, and the album's disturbing cover art also drew attention. Northern Irish singer

was featured as a background vocalist on the album. Her contributions proved so successful that she was soon promoted to full membership status, as the band's third vocalist.

1990-91: ''Choke''

In 1990, the Beautiful South released their second album, '' Choke''. Two singles—"My Book" and "Let Love Speak Up Itself"—charted outside the Top 40, but the album also provided the band's only Number 1 hit, a Hemingway/Corrigan duet called "

A Little Time "A Little Time" is a song by English pop rock group the Beautiful South, the first single to be released from their second album, '' Choke''. It consists of a duet featuring vocalists Dave Hemingway and Briana Corrigan.BRIT Award for Best Video.

1992: ''0898 Beautiful South'', Corrigan's departure

The band's third album, '' 0898 Beautiful South'', followed in 1992. It provided another Top 20 hit, "Bell Bottomed Tear", as well as two further Top 30 hits, " Old Red Eyes Is Back" and "We Are Each Other", although a fourth single, " 36D", only placed in the Top 50. "We Are Each Other" also became the band's biggest hit in the United States, peaking at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1992. Both ''Choke'' and ''0898 Beautiful South'' illustrated the growing fullness of the band's sound. Both featured Pete Thoms and Gary Barnacle as regular contributors on brass and woodwind, and also featured Corrigan as lead vocalist on several tracks. Her contribution helped to characterise the bittersweet kitchen sink dramas played out in the band's often barbed songs, and allowed Heaton and Rotheray to explore and express female perspectives in their songwriting. However, the latter approach had mixed success, demonstrated later in 1992 when Corrigan chose to leave the band to pursue a solo career. Although her decision was partly prompted by a desire to record and promote her own material (which was not getting exposure within the Beautiful South), she had also had ethical disagreements over some of Heaton's lyrics, most notably "Mini-correct", "Worthless Lie" and the ''0898 Beautiful South'' single "36D", which criticised the British glamour industry via scathing comments about

glamour models Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in attractive poses ranging from fully clothed to nude, and often erotic. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to prod ...

. Five years later, Hemingway admitted, "we all agree that we should have targeted the media as sexist instead of blaming the girls for taking off their tops". Heaton corroborated this view in 2022, stating, "'36D' hasn't dated well. I like the idea of blaming the newspapers, but blaming the model involved was wrong."

1993: Abbot joins, ''Miaow''

In 1993, St Helens supermarket shop-worker Jacqui Abbott was brought on board to fill in as the new third lead vocalist for the band. Heaton had heard her sing at an after-show party in St Helens and remembered her vocal talents. Heaton referred to her as "the lass from the glass"—a reference to the

Pilkington Pilkington is a glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, England. It includes several legal entities in the UK, and is a subsidiary of Japanese company Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG). It was formerly an independent company ...

factory in St Helens. Abbott's first album with the band was '' Miaow'' in the same year. Hits included "Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud)" and a cover of

Fred Neil Fred Neil (born Frederick Ralph Morlock Jr.; March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularl ...

's " Everybody's Talkin'", previously popularised by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

1994-95: ''Carry On Up the Charts''

In November 1994 '' Carry On Up the Charts'' was released, a "best of" compilation consisting of the singles to date plus new track "One Last Love Song". Released at a time when the group's album sales had been waning, the album was a huge commercial success. It secured the Christmas number one spot on the charts and became the second-best selling album of the year. In 1995, the band briefly supported

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

on the British leg of their world tour when they covered for

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment McAlpine Stadium MacAlpine, McAlpine, MacAlpin or McAlpin is a Scottish surname. It may refer to: People * The Scottish House of Alpin * Its claimed descendants, the Siol Alpin and/or Clan McAlpin(e) * Kenneth MacAlpin, founder of said dynasty * His brother and ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

on July 25 and 26. The Beautiful South performed Oasis' " Some Might Say", dedicating the song to Oasis fans in the audience.

1996-97: ''Blue Is the Colour''

The 1996 album '' Blue Is the Colour'' sold over a million copies, and featured hit singles "

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

" and " Don't Marry Her". In 1997, the Beautiful South headlined stadium concerts for the first and last time, in Huddersfield and at

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...

in London. Support for the Huddersfield concert was provided by

Cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

and

the Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan (band), Big in Japan, Care (band), Care, and Ori ...

1998-99: ''Quench''

The album ''

Quench In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, gas, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such ...

'' (1998) was released with similar commercial success, again reaching number one in the UK album charts. " Perfect 10", the first single to be released from the album, also provided the band with further singles chart success. The album is also notable for being more uptempo, and being the first on which Heaton and Hemingway's former Housemartins colleague Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) was used in a consultancy role.

2000-00: ''Painting It Red'', Abbott's departure

Although 2000's '' Painting It Red'' album reached Number 2 in the UK charts, the band suffered difficulties in its promotion and in touring, and a substantial number of the CDs were faulty. Jacqui Abbott left the band in the same year, discouraged by the pressures of touring and needing to concentrate on looking after her son, who had just been diagnosed with autism.

2001-02: ''Solid Bronze'', band break, Heaton solo work

After completing their tour obligations, the band marked time with a second greatest-hits album, '' Solid Bronze'', in 2001, and took time off to refresh themselves. Heaton embarked on a solo career under the Biscuit Boy (a.k.a. Crakerman) alias and released the '' Fat Chance'' album in 2001. It did not sell well, although it was critically acclaimed and was reissued under Heaton's own name the following year.

2003-5: Wheeler joins, ''Gaze'' and ''Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs''

The Beautiful South regrouped in 2003, with new recruit Alison Wheeler taking on the role of female singer. The lineup recorded ''

Gaze In critical theory, philosophy, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze (French: ''le regard''), in the figurative sense, is an individual's (or a group's) awareness and perception of other individuals, other groups, or oneself. Since the 20th ...

'' in 2003, following it with 2004's '' Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs'', an album of unusually arranged cover tunes, including " Livin' Thing", "

You're the One That I Want "You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produced by John ...

", "

(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...

" and "I'm Stone in Love With You". A track from the album, " This Old Skin", was presented as a cover of a song by an obscure band called "The Heppelbaums"; it was later revealed to be an original Heaton/Rotheray composition.

2006: ''Superbi''

The final Beautiful South album, '' Superbi'', was released on 15 May 2006. The first single, "

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

", started off as a poem—"If rain makes Britain great, then Manchester is greater"—and was, in Heaton's words, "a sodden tribute" to the city in which he now lived.

2007-: Split, post-split projects

After a band meeting on 30 January 2007, the Beautiful South decided to split. They released a statement on 31 January 2007, in which they joked that their reasons for splitting were "musical similarities"—an ironic reference to "musical differences", which are often cited as the reason for a band's split. "The band would like to thank everyone for their 19 wonderful years in music", the statement said. In June 2007, the band's music was featured in a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

entitled ''The Slide'' (the book is by Adrian Davis); it premiered at the Phoenix Theatre at

New College, Swindon New College is a Further education, further and Higher education, higher education institution in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. There are two main campuses, Queens Drive and North Star, as well as an Adult Learning Centre in Swindon town centre. ...

. In 2009, band members Dave Hemingway, Alison Wheeler and Dave Stead joined with regular Beautiful South session musicians Damon Butcher, Gaz Birtles and Tony Robinson to form The South, performing the music of the Beautiful South as well as releasing a new album, ''Sweet Refrains'', in 2012. In 2013, Paul Heaton reunited with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott to perform as Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott.

Discography

*''

'' (1989) *'' Choke'' (1990) *'' 0898 Beautiful South'' (1992) *'' Miaow'' (1994) *'' Blue Is the Colour'' (1996) *''

'' (1998) *'' Painting It Red'' (2000) *''

'' (2003) *'' Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs'' (2004) *'' Superbi'' (2006)

References

External links

Complete DiscographyThe Beautiful South
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beautiful South, The English pop music groups English pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Musical groups from Kingston upon Hull Brit Award winners 1988 establishments in England 2007 disestablishments in England Go! Discs Records artists