The South rise again

Aug 12 2009 by Will Harris, Crewe Chronicle

THE Beautiful South are heading west to Crewe.

The legendary Hull group play The M Club in High Street on Saturday, August 22, having reformed under the name New Beautiful South following their split two years ago.

At the time they cited ‘musical similarities’ as the slightly unorthodox explanation for their disbanding, but almost all of the group decided to get back together in January and have hit the road in a comeback tour.

The notable absentee is singer Paul Heaton, who continues to pursue a solo career.

The outfit feature Dave Hemingway and Alison Wheeler on vocals, Dave Stead on drums, Damon Butcher on keyboards, Gary Birtles on alto sax and Tony Robinson on trombone, flugel and trumpet.

They will also be introducing new members – original guitarist Phil Barton and new bass player Winston Blissett.

Stead says the band did not really split, but took time to decide what to do after Heaton’s departure. “Dave, Alison and I wanted to continue,” he said. “We’ve been twiddling our thumbs for a while, but this is what we do best.

“There are still an awful lot of people out there who want to hear our music and we still want to play it.”

Hemingway said a mix of songs would be performed on tour, with some new tracks and old hits. He added: “It is understandable that there will be some questions concerning the intentions of the band and the reason to go out on the road again.

“Alison, Dave and myself thought it would be exciting to get together again to play some songs that we haven’t had the chance to play live for quite a while, and some other songs we have never played live at all.

“There will be new songs as well, but the intent is to concentrate on a back catalogue of songs going back over several albums.”

The original Beautiful South were formed in Hull in the 1980s by Heaton and Hemingway, former members of The Housemartins. Over the next two decades, they sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.

The New Beautiful South played a homecoming gig in Hull earlier this year, as a prelude to their UK tour.

Doors open at 8pm and tickets are £20. For more details, visit www.themclub.co.uk.