THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH

SONGS FROM THE 80S AND 90S

The Housemartins "Happy Hour"

by Mark Nobes, chief editor

Our video playlist above features all of the biggest hits from the The Beautiful South. The band's back catalogue is pretty extensive, so we haven't included every song as it's hard trying to find decent videos for the more minor hits. I hope you enjoy listening to the bigger hits, nonetheless.
Carry On Up The Charts - The Best of The Beautiful South

"SONG FOR WHOEVER" (1989)

"I love you from the bottom of my pencil case...". Wonderful lyrics and the first of twenty two British Top 40 hits for The Beautiful South. This debut single reached #2 here in the UK, and also peaked at #5 in Ireland.

The video clip is from Top Of The Pops and the band are introduced by DJ Nicky Campbell.

Song For Whoever was the first track to be released as a single from the band's debut album Welcome To The Beautiful South and it was penned by band members David Rotheray and Paul Heaton. Two tracks were included on the B-side; Straight In At 37 and You And Your Big Ideas.
The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever

"YOU KEEP IT ALL IN" (1989)

Released in September 1989, the second single from Welcome To The Beautiful South reached #18 here in the British Isles. Once again, the Irish were even more grateful for the band's top quality, easy-listening tunes, pushing the single to No.3 in the Irish charts.
The Beautiful South - You Keep It All In (single sleeve)

"A LITTLE TIME" (1990)

This was The Beautiful South's only No.1 single, topping the UK charts on 21st October 1990. The easy listening pop tune was released as the lead single from the British band's second studio album Choke.
Paul Heaton was replaced by the softer voice of Dave Hemmingway for this song, with help from the band's first female vocalist Briana Corrigan. She left the band in 1992 to start a solo career and, apparently, argued with Paul Heaton over the lyrics to certain tracks.
Choke was as equally successful as the debut album Welcome To The Beautiful South, reaching #2 in the British album charts and achieving Platinum sales. The 11 track album isn't regarded as the band's best work by critics and fans, but, nonetheless, features an interesting array of foot-tapping tunes. Strangely, the follow-up singles My Book and Let Love Speak Up failed to break into the UK Top 40.
Watch the video for The Housemartins - Happy Hour
The BEautiful South - A Little Time

"ROTTERDAM" (1996)

Released on 30th September 1996, Rotterdam was the debut single from the sixth studio album Blue Is The Colour, reaching #5. The song features the vocals of Jacqui Abbott who took the place of Briana Corrigan on vocals. This was the start of the band's most successful period with two consecutive multi-Platinum albums. 
The Beautiful South - Blue Is The Colour (album sleeve front cover)

"PERFECT 10" (1998)

This was the last Top Ten British hit for The Beautiful South, reaching #2. The lead single from the band's sixth studio album, Quench, reached #2. Quench topped the UK album charts and achieved 3x Platinum.
Welcome To The Beautiful South - The BEautiful South (album)

 

The Beautiful South - Quench

 

Studio Album Discography

1989  Welcome To The Beautiful South #2
           (Platinum)


1990  Choke #2 (Platinum)

1992  0898 Beautiful South #4 (Gold)

1994  Miaow #6 (Gold)

1996  Blue Is The Colour #1 (5x Platinum)

1998  Quench #1 (3x Platinum)

2000  Painting It Red #2 (Gold)

2003  Gaze #14 (Silver)

2004  Goildiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs #11 (Silver)

2006  Superbi #6

Chart positions are for Great Britain


The Singles

1989 Song For Whoever  #2

1989 You Keep It All In  #8

1989 I'll Sail This Ship Alone #31

1990 A Little Time  #1

1990 My Book  #43

1991 Let Love Speak Up Itself  #51

1992 Old Red Eyes Is Back  #22

1992 We Are Each Other  #30

1992 Bell Bottomed Tear  #16

1992 36D  #46

1994 Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud)  #23

1994 Everybody's Talkin'  #12

1994 Prettiest Eyes  #37

1994 One Last Love Song  #14

1995 Dream A Little Dream  -

1995 Pretenders To The Throne  #18

1996 Rotterdam  #5

1996 Don't Marry Her  #8

1997 Blackbird On The Wire  #23

1997 Liar's Bar  #43

1998 Perfect 10  #2

1998 Dumb  #16

1999 How Long's A Tear Take To Dry?  #12

1999 The Table (feat. The London Community Gospel Choir) #47

2000 Closer Than Most  #22

2001 The River/Just Checkin'  #59

2001 The Root Of All Evil  #50

2003 Let Go With The Flow  #47

2004 Livin' Thing  #24

2004 This Old Skin (feat. Chip Taylor)

2005 This Will Be Our Year  #36

2006 Manchester  #41

2006 The Rose Of My Cologne  #99

 

The Beautiful South - Choke

 

0898 Beautiful South (album)

The Housemartins - Happy Hour

The Housemartins - Caravan Of Love

Solid Brone Greatest Hits The Beautiful South