In one of the most unforeseen comebacks, The Beautiful South’s Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott played to a sold-out Leadmill (or “DMILL” according to the retro, vertical, lit-up sign over the entrance) last night – on the seventh part of a 12-date, sold-out tour – during the week that their first album together in over a decade debuted at #3. Of course, it isn’t unforeseen due to their talents; Paul has played a part in writing hit after kitchen-sink hit since his time with The Housemartins in the 80s – and has continued to write, record and tour ever since – while it was Jacqui who took lead vocals on many of The Beautiful South’s biggest numbers, including ‘Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)’ and ‘Don’t Marry Her’.
With their latest collection together, Heaton and Abbot (both names often chanted during the evening) have picked up where they left off, marrying memorable melodies with humorous, relatable words. “I want to be a beautiful mermaid, not just some half piece of fish,” Jacqui sings during opener ‘Some Dancing To Do’, while songwriter Heaton tackles lost loves of the seniors during ‘Costa Del Sombre’ and politics during ‘When I Get Back To Blighty’ (“I hate everything UKIP stand for but at least they stand for something,” he tells the crowd, before suggesting that the current government should stand for, “lobbing Gary Barlow out of the country.”)
While the new tracks are appreciated (the die-hard fans have already learned the majority of the words within a week), the Beautiful South numbers get the sort of warm welcome that would greet an old friend who you genuinely did want to see again, and who you’ve been thinking about since you parted ways. While the aforementioned ‘Rotterdam…’ and ‘Don’t Marry Her’ almost drowned Jacqui out due to the mass-crowd singalongs, the Mamas & Papas’ cover ‘Dream A Little Dream’ allow for her to showcase the voice that’s been missing from households since she left the group at the height of their career. Often coarse, sometimes sweet but always strong, it’s a surprising vocal from a performer who rarely speaks between numbers, but is content with delivering her message through the rich songbook the duo are able to pick from.
Surprisingly, considering that this is more of a Beautiful South reunion, it’s the Housemartins’ tracks that are greeted with the biggest applause. ‘We’re Not Deep’ and ‘Build’ merge within the bulk of the set perfectly (with Jacqui’s input bringing the story full circle), while the two encores are closed with the raucous ‘Me And The Farmer’ and an all acapella ‘Caravan Of Love’ respectively.
With appearances at Glastonbury and V among other festivals this summer, Paul & Jacqui’s story continues stride by stride, in a way that makes the idea of an actual Beautiful South reunion seem unnecessary; for here we have the essence of the band, backed by musicians who genuinely make it look like each date is the time of their lives, and with new music – including the Radio 2 A-listed ‘D.I.Y.’ – as equal in quality to their greatest hits. For many of the tours attendees, the hope is surely that this album and tour is not a one off, and that Paul’s writing – which mainly went unnoticed – and Jacqui’s voice – almost completely unheard – will continue as a dream-duo, portraying their everyday stories in extraordinary ways.
Dan Bull
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