The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members 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.
Paul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles "Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then formed The Beautiful South, whose debut single and album were released in 1989 to commercial success. They had a series of hits throughout the 1990s, including the number-one single "A Little Time". They disbanded in 2007. He subsequently pursued a solo career, which produced three albums, and in 2014 he released What Have We Become?, a collaboration with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott. As of 2022, he has recorded four more albums with her: Wisdom, Laughter and Lines in 2015, Crooked Calypso in 2017, Manchester Calling in 2020 and N.K-Pop in 2022.
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band. The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" was a UK Number 1 single in December 1986.
Welcome to the Beautiful South is the debut album by English band The Beautiful South, 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, which became top 40 hits in the United Kingdom: "Song for Whoever" (#2), "You Keep It All In" (#8) and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" (#31).
Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs is the ninth and penultimate album by The Beautiful South, released in 2004. It is almost entirely a covers album, with one notable exception. The track "This Old Skin" was originally claimed to have been written by Bobby Christiansand/Barry Klein, and to have been originally performed by an obscure band called "The Heppelbaums" in the 1970s, but it was later revealed to have been an original composition by the usual Beautiful South writing team, Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray. This was confirmed in 2006 by frontman Paul Heaton during a Question and Answer session entitled "Ask the Band". Prior to that, a website for The Heppelbaums had been created, in which many more clues to the real identity of the band were revealed. The domain was created on 5 August 2004 and registered to Sony, the band's record label. Although the website no longer exists, the contents can still be found on Archived 7 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
Choke is the Beautiful South's second album, released in 1990. It was pushed to number 2 in the charts after the release of the band's only number-1 single, "A Little Time".
0898 Beautiful South, also referred to as 0898, is the third studio album by English band the Beautiful South. After the success of their previous work over 1989–1991, the band hired prolific record producer Jon Kelly and recorded the album at AIR Studios in London. The album contains a more "muscular" yet sometimes more sombre sound than their previous albums, although still entirely retains lyricist Paul Heaton's witty and bitter lyrical style. The album "deals in fragile melodies and harmonies, soulful but low-key instrumentation, and lyrics full of subtle social commentary and humour." The album title refers to the 0898 premium rate dialling code associated with sex hotlines in the UK at the time.
Miaow is the fourth album by English pop rock group the Beautiful South. It was released in 1994 via GO! Discs. As with most Beautiful South albums, the songs were written by Dave Rotheray and Paul Heaton. The cover originally depicted numerous dogs seated in a music hall with a gramophone on the stage. However, HMV made the band withdraw it as it mocked their trademark dog, and the band put out a second cover depicting four dogs in a boat. Both paintings were created by Michael Sowa.
Carry On Up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South is an album by English Alternative rock band The Beautiful South. It is the group's fifth album and their first greatest hits collection. It was a major commercial success, reaching number one in the UK Albums Chart and going on to become the second biggest selling album of 1994.
Blue Is the Colour is the fifth studio album from English band the Beautiful South, released in October 1996 through Go! Discs and in America through Ark 21 Records. The album was released following the two singles "Pretenders to the Throne" and "Dream a Little Dream", which never featured on any album until the release of the second greatest hits Solid Bronze in 2001.
Quench is the Beautiful South's sixth original album, released in the UK on 12 October 1998. Including the compilation Carry On Up The Charts, it was the band's third album in a row to reach the top of the charts.
Solid Bronze: Great Hits is The Beautiful South's ninth album and second greatest hits compilation. It was released in November 2001 and contains 19 tracks. The album contains two songs that were released between Carry on up the Charts and Blue Is the Colour, and never made it onto any album.
"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. Produced by Mike Hedges, "A Little Time" is the band's only single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, and it peaked inside the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Gaze is the eighth studio album by the rock band The Beautiful South. It was released in 2003 on Mercury Records. The release was accompanied by the Gaze With The Beautiful South tour. This was also the band debut for Allison Wheeler who replaced the departing Jacqui Abbott. All songs were written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray.
David Rotheray is an English rock and pop musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for The Beautiful South.
"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" is a single by British pop rock group the Beautiful South from their sixth album, Quench (1998). It was written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray. The lyrics, which take the form of a conversation between two reconciling lovers, are noted for a reference to the TARDIS from Doctor Who. According to the book Last Orders at the Liars Bar: the Official Story of the Beautiful South, "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" was originally to be called "She Bangs the Buns" due to its chord structure reminiscent of Manchester's the Stone Roses. The song reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's 12th and final top-20 hit.
"Perfect 10" is a song by English pop rock band the Beautiful South, released on 21 September 1998 as the first single from their sixth studio album, Quench (1998). It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, selling 89,000 copies during its first week of release, and is the band's last UK top-10 single to date. It received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry in 2021 for sales and streams exceeding 600,000 units.
Superbi is the tenth and final album by the British group The Beautiful South, released on 15 May 2006 by SonyBMG. The album entered the British chart at No. 6 before dropping to No. 20 and No. 37 in its second and third weeks respectively. It was released before their split on 30 January 2007. The album was produced by the former Tears for Fears keyboard player Ian Stanley.
"Checkin' Up on My Baby" is a song recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson II in 1960 that has become a classic of the blues. The song was not released as a single, but was included on Williamson's The Real Folk Blues album released after his death in 1965. The song has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists, making it one of Williamson's most recorded songs.
"Old Red Eyes Is Back" is a song written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray and performed by the Beautiful South. The song was originally released on the album 0898 Beautiful South. It features as the opening track and was the first single released from the album in late 1991. The single reached a peak of No. 22 in the UK and became the band's 5th UK top 40 single.
