Paul Heaton (The Academy, Dublin) – October 6th 2010
As the popular and charismatic front man of first The Housemartins, and then The Beautiful South, Paul Heaton came to represent to many what a pop singer should sound like. Quirky, witty and original, Heaton managed to produce a host of tracks that were accessible and life-affirming without too much in the way of cheddary tinges and not even the slightest hint of that modern chart infection, autotune. Ah, for days like his.
Not that his days are over, as his new material quickly shows. While there are brief spattering of The Housemartins material tonight, and still briefer moments when The Beautiful South come to the fore, most of Heaton’s performance is about exploring the Sheffield native’s newfound (in his terms, if not the music industry’s) solo career, one which once again places his soaring vocals right in the spotlight.
The heavy emphasis on newer material might mean fewer sing along moments, but the kind of fans who have drifted in to a half-full Academy to see Heaton tonight are here more for the voice than anything else. They’ll not only forgive him a lack of ‘Old Red Eyes Is Back’ (which is requested on at least a dozen occasions), but are also willing to ignore his bassist’s former membership of a cover group known as The Corrz (ouch) and the tendency to clear his nose under the spotlights at regular intervals, creating a slightly less than pleasant shower of… you get the picture.
Tonight’s highlights are all drawn from the solo era, with the likes of ‘Young Man’s Game’, the pointedly political and subtly vicious ‘Acid Country’, old-school pop song ‘This House’ and a Northerner’s take on the UK’s divisions in ‘Welcome To The South’ all given note-perfect airings. We’re left in absolutely no doubt that – even 27 years after first bursting onto the scene – Heaton’s voice hasn’t faded one jot.
If there’s one criticism of Heaton, though, it has to be that his songs lack a little bit of variety. The greatness of The Beautiful South came largely in their ability to take his distinctive vocals and mould them around tracks, producing a varied style that – whilst fiercely dependent on the power of his words – didn’t allow them to dominate every song. As a soloist – albeit one surrounded by an undeniably impressive backing band – he lacks the same range. Still, we can’t have it all: this is an undeniably impressive performance, and yet another display of just how lyrically varied and vocally powerful Heaton is.
Time to start celebrating yet another comeback? Given the relative lack of interest in tonight’s show, at least numbers wise, perhaps not. Heaton’s music can probably be consigned to a different generation of pop music, but he’ll certainly be doing the rounds for some time to come, and with ample originality, too. It might be a touch nostalgic, but the continued effort and touching feel – the personal touch involved in dedicating a track on alcoholism to Paul McGrath and talking a little bit about his own past, for example – is to be applauded. Thanks, Paul, for the continued passion and total lack of self parody.