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 one 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", "You Keep It All In" and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone".
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
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.
Painting It Red is the seventh album by the Beautiful South, released in 2000. A concept album about impending middle age, Painting it Red is among the band's longest. A two-disc UK bonus version contains 20 tracks. The American release on Ark21 has only 17 tracks.
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.
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.
Hugh Whitaker is an English musician and the former drummer for the British indie rock band The Housemartins. He replaced original drummer Chris Lang and drummed for the band's first album, London 0 Hull 4, and its attendant single releases. He left the band before the recording of their second album, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death. Whitaker left the band on amicable terms and even participated in the promotional video for the band's first single without him, "Five Get Over Excited", wherein he was kidnapped by his replacement, Dave Hemingway, and locked in a hessian sack.
Alison Wheeler is a British singer, best known as the female vocalist for The Beautiful South from 2003 until they disbanded in 2007.
Soup is an album released in November 2007 by The Housemartins and The Beautiful South on Mercury Records. It is in effect a greatest hits album for both of the bands, the first seven tracks bracketed together as "The Housemartins Condensed" and the remaining fifteen as "The Cream of The Beautiful South". All twenty-two songs were released as singles by the bands, and the track listing runs in chronological order by year of song release from 1985's "Flag Day" to 2003's "Just A Few Things That I Ain't". An associated DVD of the bands' music videos was also released.
Five Get Over Excited is a song by The Housemartins released as a single from their album The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death.
