The warm, mellifluous voice of Paul Heaton often masks the jagged satirical content of his lyrics. From pointed political jabs like “The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death” to darkly comical love stories such as “Something That You Said,” Heaton′s work with the Housemartins and the Beautiful South has had countless listeners obliviously humming along to his biting wit. In the ′80s, Heaton was the leader of the Housemartins. Like the Smiths, the Housemartins were college radio all-stars in the U.S.; although the group′s jangly riffs and brainy, humorous songs couldn′t draw mainstream acceptance in America, the band shared a portion of the Smiths′ sizable cult of devotees. In 1986, the video for the Housemartins′ “Happy Hour” was selected as a Hip Clip of the Week on MTV; the rollicking single is still a favorite of′80s flashback shows on modern rock stations.
After the Housemartins disbanded in the late ′80s, Heaton then fronted the Beautiful South, a group that mirrored the Housemartins′ no-frills approach. Nevertheless, the Beautiful South expanded Heaton′s musical canvas, exploring jazz and even country influences. While many critics and student-run radio stations in the U.S. continued to laud Heaton′s talent, the Beautiful South became far more successful in England, where they charted several number one albums. The group called it quits in 2007 and Heaton shifted his focus to his solo career. Although Paul′s first solo release was back in 2001 [albeit under the pseudonym Biscuit Boy], it wasn′t until 2008, with the release of The Cross Eyed Rambler, that Heaton started putting out records under his own name.
In Autumn 2009 Paul teamed up with Manchester musicians Jonny Lexus (aka Jonny Wrong), Jonny Wright and Pete Marshall, and set about working on his third solo album Acid Country.
The album was recorded in Colne, Lancashire at Modern English Studios with The Earlies members Christian and Nicky Madden and mixed by Tom Dalgety In May 2010 Paul and his band headed off on their "Pedals and Pumps" tour, playing local pubs in an attempt to promote the local pub. Paul combined this tour with another passion of his, cycling. He cycled from show to show, accompanied by the support act and long term friend, Gus Devlin, covering nearly 1000 miles.
Heaton and his band played in the Left Field Tent at Glastonbury 2010, closing the stage on the Sunday evening with a duet with tent-curator and old Go! Discs cohort Billy Bragg.
His third solo album, Acid Country was released in September 2010 and charted at number 51.
In November and December 2010 he supported Madness on their “Do Not Adjust Your Nut Tour” performing mostly songs from Acid Country, as well as material from his second album. He also sang Housemartins hits Caravan of Love and Me and the Farmer and covered White Man In Hammersmith Palais by The Clash.
In between touring Acid Country, Paul and the band started work on putting together a series of demos Paul had recorded with fellow Beautiful South member, Dave Rotheray, and current guitarist Jonny Lexus.
The 8th, commissioned by The Manchester International Festival, was based around the concept of the 7 deadly sins, the 8th sin revealed by Heaton himself during the performance. For the piece, each sin is given a section of the song, and is sung by a different singer representing that sin. The guest singers featured on The 8th were London based soul singer Wayne Gidden (Lust), Scottish singer/songwriter Aaron Wright (Wrath), Scottish singer/songwriter King Creosote (Gluttony), Manchester singer/songwriter Simon Aldred from Cherry Ghost (Greed), former Beautiful South Singer Jacqui Abbott (Envy), Manchester based gospel singer Yvonne Shelton (Sloth) and Hull based country singer Mike Greaves (Pride).
The sections were linked together with a narration written by English actor/playwright/producer Che Walker.
It was narrated by American actor and star of The Wire Reg E. Cathey
The debut performance was in July 2011, in the Festival Pavilion Theatre in Albert Square, Manchester. This was the first time in over 10 years that Paul and Jacqui Abbott had shared a stage, and the first time Jacqui had sung publicly since leaving The Beautiful South in 2000.
The 8th is set to be toured in July 2012 alongside an album release of the song.
First ever album?
Madonna, the immaculate collection.
Shoe size?
Generally a 10...occasionally a 9
Top 5 heroes - why?
Bonnie Greer, only recently became a hero for showing Griffin what's what. Charlie Brooker, he's my hero of sarcasm. Pedro Almodovar for my favourite films. Alan Partridge for bouncing back and Marty Mcfly for asking his mum to the dance and maintaining the time/space continuum.
Top 5 bands - why?
Booker T & the MG's for playing on an awful lot of favourite records. The Beatles for their songs. The Stones for their attitude. The Roses for their cool and Girls Aloud for their talent (ahem).
Worst gig (you've taken part in)
Supporting 5ive and Jambo from Hollyoaks on the Mizz roadshow circa '99. Miming.
Best gig you've been to
Neil Finn and friends (friends being Johnny Marr, Tim Finn and a couple of lads from Radiohead)
What is your signature dish, Johnny L? (Ingredients please, method and cooking instructions)
Sausage Pasta. You'll need some sausages, some pasta, an onion, some chillies and some herbs. Part fry the sausages in a heavy based frying pan in a little oil, meanwhile stick the pasta in a pan and bring it to the boil. When the sausages don't look completely minging on the outside remove them and set them aside (you don't need to worry about them being cooked through just yet.) Dice the onion and put it in the pan with a good knob of butter, allow to soften for 7 minutes and season well. Add some finely chopped chillies. Stir. Use a knife to slice the half cooked sausages into 2cm pieces, this bit is a bit disgusting so if you do have an assistant then get them to do this. Wash your hands. Add the sliced sausages to the onion pan and stir the whole thing together. At this point start adding dried and fresh herbs, if you've got fresh then I always like to finely chop the stalks and throw them in too. If you've got a Lloyd Grossman sauce then you can use this at this point. I prefer to work the seasoning myself and then add some chopped tomatoes. It may be the case that you've forgotten to get either the sauce or the tomatoes because I didn't mention them at the start of this recipe, if this happens then here is the number for Domino's Pizza: 0161 273 5666. Continue to stir the sauce whilst the pasta cooks - don't overdo the pasta because if it's soggy, it's wrong. Serve with finely grated parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper, you may either throw the sauce over the pasta or mix it all together.
Football teams, top 5
Man Utd, Rochdale, Coventry City, Barcelona, Bamford Primary (my first team).
Where are you from? Describe your home town.
Rochdale, often described as Rochvegas.
5 words that sum up Sting for you
Don't stand so close to me...that's six, I needed six.
5 predictions for 2010
My own cookery show. A very exciting world cup. Some BIG songs. Bad weather and a new sting album.
First ever album?
First album i remember listening to by choice was the War of the Worlds soundtrack (Richard Burton, Phil Lynott, David Essex... awesome). The first album i actually bought with my own money i think was Pink Floyd The Wall or Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden - i was young, i didn't need the money...).
Shoe size?
10 in Adidas, 11 in Nike.
Top 5 heroes - why?
- Pete Townsend (Gibson SG, white boiler suit - made me pick up a guitar for the first time after seeing Woodstock film aged 12...)
- Luke Skywalker / Han Solo (made me realise no job could ever be interesting enough when i could be out there fighting in the rebellion against the Empire - come on i was about 6. Settled for being a musician... - it's close enough).
- Ben Johnson (disgraced Canadian 100 metre runner. Just thought he was dead cool at the time - before the drugs scandal, although, i have to say, it didn't really bother me).
- Stephen Fry (brain).
- Dennis Pennis (i wanted that job so much).
Top 5 bands - why?
- The Who (as a kid i thought "The Who Live At Leeds" meant they lived in Leeds, which was only just down the road, which i thought was pretty cool, never saw them in the Merrion Centre though...).
- Public Enemy (made me a proud militant black man for a summer or two).
- Elliott Smith (suicidally beautiful music, start with the album XO and work outwards).
- DJ Shadow (never thought samplers could be so musical til i heard "Endtroducing"...)
- John Barry (love film scores in general but JB is the Don, the big cheese, the head honcho, the numero uno, da capo, the boss, the bomb, the shit etc etc).
Worst gig (you've taken part in)
so hard to choose... been stopped mid song for the bingo in Keighley, fell off stage aged 12 supporting my sister's boyfriend's band in a church hall in Starbeck, vomited all over back of WEM Dominator amp - it was never the same again - at gig in Bradford, did gig on crutches (unrelated to earlier fall) aged 18, did Blues Brothers style gig in Cardiff where we were ducking bottles (the promoter told us that meant we'd gone down ok...), and a gig in Amsterdam just before which we kind of over indulged and the drummer ended up knocking out the bass player mid set. But it wasn't all good times...
Best gig you've been to
Ozomatli bout 5 or 6 times, amazing every time. (But I've got to mention seeing KISS on a school night with my sister and the guy who's band we supported (see above) in about 83 or 84 - explosions, drums on a tank... school was never quite the same once i'd seen that).
What is your signature dish, Johnny L? (Ingredients please, method and cooking instructions)
my 5 gear chili is pretty good though i say it meself! Fry garlic, paprika and crushed black peppercorns into the meat for a while first, then soak in tomato for a wee bit longer on a low heat, meanwhile fry up peppers, onions, mushrooms, fresh chilis, more garlic and herbs (rosemary and whatever else smells right), black pepper, add a couple of spoonfuls of mustard (English or French) and slowly add medium and hot chili powder (you need both for it to go through the gears correctly) til it tastes pretty hot. Bung it all in a big pan and leave for a couple of hours, have a couple of beers, taste it, and add more chili, leave overnight if possible but if not at least for another couple of hours, then get stuck in.
Football teams, top 5
- Leeds United.
- Leeds United.
- Leeds United.
- Leeds United.
- Leeds United.
Where are you from? Describe your home town.
Originally from Knaresborough, then Harrogate - both good places in which to be born and to die, the bits inbetween, not so good.
5 words that sum up Sting for you
"used to write good tunes".
5 predictions for 2010
- collapse of world capitalism following fresh round of petrol wars leading to Mad Max style existence wherein bankers and politicians will be rendered useless and people with actual skills will come to the fore again but constant skirmishes with semi mutated road warriors will eventually lead to the rise of a new fascistic government (lead by Tina Turner) that will cause us to wonder if anything has really changed but one man will bring us hope - that man is Mel Gibson (provided he can curb his hideous drunken anti-semitic rants).
- That'll be about it for 2010 really...
- I mean, seriously, that's not enough for you?
- Ok, er
- Katie Price / Jordan to have freakish love child by each of those weird twins off X Factor, the births live on ITV2 ("it's entertaining" Louis Walsh might say, "I have to agree with Luis", Cowell will say, before having them all killed).
And finally, if i was a cheese i'd like to be Wensleydale. Or Gouda.
First ever album?
Divine Madness by Madness
Shoe size?
7, small feet, small shoes!
Top 5 heroes - why?
My mate Varnom, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, Ruben (my cat), Ferdinand Porsche
Top 5 bands - why?
The Police, because I love Stewart Copeland's drumming, Blur, because there ace and everyone else at school I was at were Oasis, Michael Jackson (I know about the kid thing, but his music is ace) Madness, there ace! Aerosmith - of all the big cheesey Amercan Rock bands, these guys managed to stay just out of the cheese zone, while still fulfilling the 'big rock, guitar solo, Harley Riding credentials of being an 80's rock band. (before you all tell me, I know they started in the 70's, but the big hits were in the 80's) These are just 5 off the top of my head, but I really do like too many bands to have a top 5!
Worst gig (you've taken part in)
Playing drums for Jimmy Cricket, the 80's comedian, at a charity do in Rochdale, then I had to play for Ken Dodd, he was on the same bill, it was a long night!
Best gig you've been to
Radiohead at the MEN for the hail to the thief tour, or Neil Young at Glasto 2009
What is your signature dish, Johnny L? (Ingredients please, method and cooking instructions)
Mine, even though you've not asked for it is Veggie Lasagne. Make a Sauce (onions, mushrooms, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes, garlic, chick peas, veggie oxo, basil, tomato puree) make a bechamel sauce (milk, flour, I use olive oil instead of butter, black pepper). I put cheese in the bechamel, layer it up with lasagne sheets in an oven proof dish, oven it for 30 mins, serve with garlic bread and a rocket salad with balsamic vinegar dressing, sorted!
Football teams, top 5
I'm not that into football, which normally means my mates love to take the piss and make comments regarding me not being a proper man! That said, I am from Rochdale, and I did go and watch them for a few seasons with my school friends in the mid 90's, I still check to see how they're doing, quiet well at the moment, will we go up this time?
Where are you from? Describe your home town.
I'm from Rochdale in Lancashire. Its 16 miles north of Manchester (where I now live) and is a working class, ex cotton industry town. It has nice countryside all around, but the town centre is, well, what it is! It has a beautiful town hall, that hitler had down on a list of building to dismantle and rebuild in Germany if he had won the war! Its a friendly town and its most notable people are, Gracie Fields, Lisa Stansfield (she went around the world but couldn't find her baby, have you seen it?) and Anna Friel
5 words that sum up Sting for you
The Police yes, Sting No or Sting Stung me for £30! (yes thats right, I paid to see him, I felt stung!)
5 predictions for 2010
Rochdale will go up, I'll get a year older, not sure after that...........
If I were a cheese I'd be stilton, Blue and a bit smelly!!!