The Beautiful South - are they forgotten?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by pwhytey, May 23, 2022.

  1. pwhytey

    pwhytey Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The Beautiful South were massively successful in the UK during the 1990s. An estimated one in seven households owned their 1994 Carry On Up the Charts singles compilation. Their studio albums Blue is the Colour (1996) and Quench (1998) sold in the millions. They had a number one single with 'A Little Time' and both 'Song For Whoever' and 'Perfect 10' peaked at #2.

    But The Beautiful South were a uniquely British phenomenon — their success at home wasn't repeated elsewhere around in the world. Even during their mid-90s peak, they remained largely unknown here in Australia. I only knew about them because I'd been in London in 1990 when 'A Little Time' was number one.

    Anyway, I was playing their albums over the weekend and wondering: three decades later, are The Beautiful South still remembered and loved in the UK, or have they been forgotten?
     
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  2. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    One of those bands I considered getting into but never did. Maybe I'll give them a listen one of these days.

    What album would make the best starting point?
     
  3. pwhytey

    pwhytey Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I don't own them all, but I really like Quench and 0898. Probably the best place to start is the Carry On singles compilation — you'll know pretty quickly if you like them or not. I find a whole studio album can be a bit... much, but their singles were all pretty great.
     
  4. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Carry On it is. Thanks... :righton:
     
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  5. HorseyAnn

    HorseyAnn Equine-loving, rhyme-artist

    Location:
    U.K.
    They definitely aren't. I love most of their songs & listen to their music & sing along sometimes. (I don't care for perfect 10. I prefer Rotterdam or anywhere & A little time.)
     
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  6. sennj

    sennj I'm slower than I look...

    Location:
    Muskegon, Michigan
    Not "forgotten" at my house. Love the Beautiful South. I have all of their CDs and several of the LPs on vinyl and play them fairly regularly. UK pop at its best in my humble...
     
  7. MrCJF

    MrCJF Best served with coffee and cake.

    Location:
    United Kingdom
  8. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    I bought Blue is the Colour back in the day after hearing "Don't Marry Her" on the radio. The radio version goes "Don't marry her, have me". The CD version uses a different verb.

     
  9. HorseyAnn

    HorseyAnn Equine-loving, rhyme-artist

    Location:
    U.K.
    I love "Don't marry her".
     
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  10. Radiophonic_

    Radiophonic_ Electrosonic

    Location:
    Royal Oak MI
    I still own everything through Blue is the Colour, but I feel like the quality dropped off a cliff after that record. From what I’ve heard of Heaton’s solo work, it’s an improvement over those later Beautiful South records.
     
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  11. Josip

    Josip Forum Resident

    Location:
    Croatia
    Nice place to start is Paul Heaton comp, The last king of pop - great mix of old and new, Housemartins, Beautiful south and solo Heaton.

    By the way, for me, he's up there with Ray Davies and Noel Gallagher in terms of songwriting, great hooks, clever lyrics...
     
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  12. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    They were never big in the US to begin with. I don't own any of their individual cds except the covers one, borrowed them from a friend in the 90s and put together my own comp that I listen to a LOT. They also had some really good UK cd singles with cover songs.

    definitely one of the most unusual Harry cover songs ever:


    But it works!
     
  13. Beamish13

    Beamish13 Forum Resident


    Their singles collection was released in North America, but they’re incredibly obscure in the States and Canada, unfortunately
     
  14. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    I haven’t forgotten them and continue to enjoy Paul Heaton’s new releases :cheers:
     
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  15. BD2665

    BD2665 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee
    I think their first album Welcome to the Beautiful South was their best but they always had some solid songs on each record. My favorite was always Woman in the Wall. Such a dark twisted theme with an absolutely beautiful melody.
     
  16. citizensmurf

    citizensmurf Ambient postpunk will never die

    Location:
    Calgary
    I still listen to them have since 0898 came out. I don't know any stuff after Blue is the Colour, but very familiar with the early stuff.
     
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  17. hutlock

    hutlock Forever Breathing

    Location:
    Cleveland, OH, USA
    Grabbed the Paul Heaton compilation The Last King Of Pop dirt cheap on Deep Discount a few months back—collects key tracks from The Housemartins, Beautiful South, solo, and with Jacqui Abbott on a single disc. Taken as a whole, it really does make the case for Heaton as a hall-of-fame level talent.

    Playing the collection in the car led me to bust out my Housemartins LPs and later the first 3 Beautiful South albums. Happy to report that all of them have stood the test of time quite well.
     
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  18. pwhytey

    pwhytey Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yes, The Housemartins had some great songs — I think 'Build' is my favourite of their singles, but 'Happy Hour', 'Think For A Minute', 'Five Get Over Excited' and 'Me and the Farmer' are all very strong.
     
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  19. pwhytey

    pwhytey Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I think Quench is my favourite, but that one doesn't seem to be very popular with fans? I actually don't know Blue is the Colour. I'll have to give it a listen.
     
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  20. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    Carry on up the Charts was all I had for many many years. It wasn't until I came to Canada that I actually started buying the individual albums. It is hard for me to get totally into the albums because I am so ingrained with the songs off the compilation. However I have now got all the albums up to and including Painting it Red and the Solid Bronze compilation that encompasses their hits up to that album. Playing them today for the first time in a long time and finding them very strong indeed. Some great vocal harmonies between the three singers. Amazed to find the albums in Canada, usually in thrift stores as they seem a quintessentially British group to me. I love the little "Kitchen Sink Dramas" and sideway glances at the British way of life.

    Actually, looking today, I don't have Quench. I need to fix that.
     
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  21. John Lloyd

    John Lloyd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    I enjoyed all of their albums through Quench and managed to see them in concert 4 times. I just listened to Welcome to the Beautiful South a few days and it has held up very well. I agree that Woman in the Wall is one of their iconic songs.
     
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  22. markreed

    markreed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Imber
    Not forgotten as much as you might think. Paul Heaton/Jacqui Abbott seem to play pretty dang big venues here in the UK. Including some stadium shows! Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott

    Now, "The South", a tribute band of ex-Beautiful South members that now probably has no original Beautiful South members left... that's a grisly tale.
     
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  23. Dreaddazzman

    Dreaddazzman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland
    I loved The Beautiful South and 0898 and recall seeing them in a small Cleveland club in 1992. Kind of lost track of them after that, but this thread has me wanting to go back and revisit their stuff again.
     
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  24. Mr. D

    Mr. D Forum Resident

    Canada's a geographically large country, so I cannot comment on the entire land mass but I can tell you that the Beautiful South were a modesty successful band in the Toronto/Southern Ontario area, especially if you went to university in the late 80's, early 90's. Even when I saw them live in 2000, they were able to draw a good crowd at the fairly cavernous Warehouse nightclub in T.O.

    Albums #1 and #3 and the singles comp. all made the top 50 album chart in Canada.
     
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  25. Beamish13

    Beamish13 Forum Resident


    Sure, but hitting the top 50 at the time might have meant less than 2,000 units selling in a week
     

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