The Beautiful South - Live

Wednesday 11th October 200, unremarkable morning, remarkable evening. I had not seen TBS live so I was weighed down with expectation, could expection ever pair off with dreams? The Forum is the sort of small, but fantastic venue that suits TBS, they seem to love and excell in these places, with their new album already released on the 9th, how would TBS, after 11 years and so many classic albums including the latest Painting It Red sound? I had decided to make a mental note of the track listing, I know it started with 'From Under the Covers' and they played lots of new songs from 'Painting it Red', which were warmly recieved with ...  Read the complete review

In 2000 the Beautiful South played to an almost capacity Nottingham Arena. In 2003 the venue was smaller – The Royal Concert Hall – and it was a sell out. Once again, it was a top class performance from the band who have been gracing our charts with their individual style for the past 15 years. At the time of this tour The Beautiful South had just released a new album, “Gaze” and this show was as part of their Gaze tour taking place throughout November 2003 up and down the country. For me, it was the third time I had seen the band live and not once have they disappointed. To get proceedings kicked off was an interesting warm-up act going ...  Read the complete review

FLASHBACK 1986. The first time I saw the video of Happy Hour, The Housemartins became my favourite group. I loved their wacky style, their quirkiness, their northern roots, their unfashionable clothes and gawky movements. I especially loved Paul Heaton. I wrote to them and received a signed photo of them all and a hand-written letter from Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook, which I still have. I then went to see them in concert in Nottingham - I think it was 1986 but it could have been 1987 – and once again, Paul was stunning with that angelic voice. TOO MUCH TIME ALONE 1990. A Little Time by The Beautiful South is number one ...  Read the complete review

As I have said in other opinions I am an unabashed fan of The Beautiful South, and would therefore take the opportunity to encourage you to go and see them live. I have been lucky enough to see them live (Wembley Arena in November 1995) and would say it was one of the best value for money nights I have ever had. The music is still top quality - there is no drop off in performance just because they are performing live. There is also great interaction between lead singer Paul Heaton and the surrounding audience. The best tracks to see live are "Pretenders to the Throne" (Heaton's look upon singing "and Hull with its musical ...  Read the complete review