History Music / TheBeautifulSouth

The Beautiful South were a British SophistiPop band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as JanglePop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, an IndiePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Burt Bacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Hemmingway up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

The band is best known for their biting wit and mastery of LyricalDissonance. Heaton and bandmate Dave Rotheray often wrote pleasant-sounding pop tunes that were pared with lyrics that were dark, satirical, political or otherwise atypical in some fashion.

With two lead singers, The Beautiful South emphasized vocal harmonies, especially between female vocalists. The first of these was Northern Irish singer Briana Corrigan, who left after their third album, ''0898 Beautiful South''. Jacqui Abbott sang on the next four albums, while Alison Wheeler was a member for the final three. With three-part vocal harmonies and smooth playing from the band, the Beautiful South exhibited a honeyed sound that could cover very barbed lyrics.

The band broke up amiably in 2007, citing "musical similarities." Since then, members Dave Stead, David Hemingway and Wheeler have toured with other musicians as the New Beautiful South, and Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott have started recording as a duo.

* 1989 - ''Welcome to the Beautiful South''
* 1990 - ''Choke''
* 1992 - ''0898 Beautiful South''
* 1994 - ''Miaow''
* 1996 - ''Blue is the Colour''
* 1998 - ''Quench''
* 2000 - ''Painting It Red''
* 2003 - ''Gaze''
* 2004 - ''Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs''
* 2006 - ''Superbi''

* TheAlcoholic: "Old Red Eyes Is Back" is a song about poorly disguised alcoholism. Also, most of the denziens of "Liar's Bar".
* AnimatedMusicVideo: "How Long's A Tear Take To Dry," courtesy of none other than Creator/HannaBarbera.

--> "Prevent the hoards of impressionable young fans from blowing their heads off in a [[CrossesTheLineTwice gun-gobbling frenzy]]. ''Or taking up smoking''."

** Their first hit was "You Keep It All In", a pleasant-sounding ditty with the lyrics "Last night, the conversation we had last night/When all I wanted to do was stab you in the heart..."
** "A Little Time" is a warm, soft song from the point of a man and a woman whose relationship is crumbling.

* TakeThat: A hallmark of Paul's writing, even back in his Housemartins days.

* BigBeautifulWoman: "Perfect 10": "She's a perfect ten/But she wears a twelve/Baby, save a little two for me."

The band is best known for the biting wit and their mastery of LyricalDissonance. Heaton and bandmate Dave Rotheray often wrote pleasant-sounding pop tunes that were pared with lyrics that were dark, satirical, political or otherwise atypical in some fashion.

* MuseAbuse: "Song For Whoever" is about a songwriter who cynically sees his lover's grief as inspiration, and doesn't even remember her name.

* CoverVersion: Their covers include Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'", already CoveredUp by Music/HarryNilsson. Eventually the band released an (almost)[[note]]"This Old Skin" is presented as a cover of The Heppelbaums, who are actually The Beautiful South[[/note]] all-covers album, which featured songs by Music/WillieNelson ("Valentine"), Music/RufusWainwright ("Rebel Prince"), Music/TheRamones ("Blitzkrieg Bop") and Music/BlueOysterCult ("Don't Fear the Reaper")!

** Taken UpToEleven with "Hold Me Close (Underground)", where the singer promises that they'll carry on making love, even when they're dead.

* IntercourseWithYou: "Hold Me Close (Underground)" takes this UpToEleven, where the singer promises that they'll carry on making love even when they're dead.

* IntercourseWithYou: "Hold Me Close (Underground)" takes this UpToEleven, where the singer promises that they'll making love even when they're dead.

* {{Retraux}}: The "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" video is done in the style of a Creator/HannaBarbera BandToon. As an added bonus it was even animated by the duo themselves!

The Beautiful South were a British SophistiPop band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as JanglePop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, an IndiePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Music/BurtBacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Hemmingway up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

With two lead singers the Beautiful South emphasized vocal harmonies, a trait that went further when they brought lead female vocalists into the mix. The first of these was Northern Irish singer Briana Corrigan, who left after their third album, ''0898 Beautiful South''. Jacqui Abbott sang on the next four albums, while Alison Wheeler was a member for the final three. With three-part vocal harmonies and smooth playing from the band, the Beautiful South exhibited a honeyed sound that could cover very barbed lyrics.

* {{Bowdlerization}}: The single "Don't Marry Her" changed the rather unsubtle line "don't marry her, fuck me" to "don't marry her, have me". It also changed the line "sweaty bollocks" to "[[Creator/SandraBullock Sandra Bullocks]]"

* LyricalDissonance: A hallmark of the band's work. Their first hit was "You Keep It All In", a pleasant-sounding ditty with the lyrics "Last night, the conversation we had last night/When all I wanted to do was stab you in the heart..."

* {{Retraux}}: The "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" video is done in the style of a Hanna-Barbera BandToon.

* CoverVersion: Their covers include Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'", already CoveredUp by Music/HarryNilsson. Eventually the band released an (almost) all-covers album, which featured songs by Music/WillieNelson ("Valentine"), Music/RufusWainwright ("Rebel Prince"), Music/TheRamones ("Blitzkrieg Bop") and Music/BlueOysterCult ("Don't Fear the Reaper")!

'''The Beautiful South''' were a British SophistiPop band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as JanglePop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, an IndiePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Music/BurtBacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Hemmingway up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

'''The Beautiful South''' were a British SophistiPop band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as JanglePop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, an IndiePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Music/BurtBacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Rotheray up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

* {{Retraux}}: The "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" video is done in the style of a Hanna-Barbera BandToon.

* QuarrellingSong: "I Keep it All In" and "A Little Time" are both musical lovers' quarrels.

The Beautiful South were a British band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as SophistiPop, JanglePop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, a JanglePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Music/BurtBacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Rotheray up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

With two lead singers the Beautiful South emphasized vocal harmonies, a trait that went further when they brought lead female vocalists into the mix. The first of these was Northern Irish singer Briana Corrigan, who left after their third album. Jacqui Abbott sang on the next four albums, while Alison Wheeler was a member for the final three. With three-part vocal harmonies and smooth playing from the band, the Beautiful South exhibited a honeyed sound that could cover very barbed lyrics.

* 1996 - ''Blue Is the Colour''

!!Tropes

* BigBeautifulWoman: "Perfect Ten": "She's a perfect ten/But she wears a twelve/Baby, save a little two for me."

* LyricalDissonance: A hallmark of the band's work. Their first hit was "You Keep It All In", a pleasant sounding ditty with the lyrics "Last night, the conversation we had last night/When all I wanted to do was stab you in the heart..."

The Beautiful South were a British band active from 1988 to 2007. Variously classed as SophistiPop, Northern Soul[[note]]A flexible term first applied to American R&B records and the provincial British scene that sprang up around them.[[/note]] and Alternative Pop Rock, the Beautiful South formed after the breakup of the Housemartins, a JanglePop group that had gained traction in the mid-1980s. While the Housemartins' former bassist Norman Cook went in a house/funk direction that would eventually lead him to become Music/FatboySlim, leader Paul Heaton started a new band that would be more influenced by Music/BurtBacharach, soul and jazz. He pulled Housemartins drummer Dave Rotheray up front with him to serve as a secondary lead vocalist.

* OdeToSobriety: "Liar's Bar" is the "subverted drinking song" version; the bar's regulars are such a terrible example that they'd discourage anyone from drinking, or at least from drinking ''there''.

* TheAlcoholic: "Old Red Eyes Is Back" is a song about poorly disguised alcoholism.

* NobleBirdOfPrey: A falcon stares into the camera on the cover of ''Gaze''.

* CoverVersion[=/=]CoverAlbum: Their covers include Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'", already CoveredUp by Music/HarryNilsson. Eventually the band released an (almost) all-covers album, which featured songs by Music/WillieNelson ("Valentine"), Music/RufusWainwright ("Rebel Prince"), Music/TheRamones ("Blitzkrieg Bop") and Music/BlueOysterCult ("Don't Fear the Reaper")!

The band broke up amiably in 2007, citing "musical similarities." Since then, members Dave Stead, David Hemingway and Wheeler have toured with other musicians as the New Beautiful South.