Rachel Watts witnesses a Beautiful Reunion.
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott,
Wolverhampton Civic Hall
It’s more than a decade since Jacqui Abbott left The Beautiful South, but she’s now reunited with Paul Heaton and judging by the huge smile on her face throughout their performance at Wolverhampton Civic Hall she couldn’t be happier with this turn of events.
Starting the set with tracks from their recent top three album What Have We Become, Heaton seems happy to work through his gloriously successful musical history. Revisiting his days with the Housemartins the audience was treated to a selection of his earliest work, including Build and Happy Hour, but the loudest responses from the crowd was saved for some of the biggest hits of The Beautiful South.
With such a huge back catalogue to choose from it would be impossible to please everyone, but the ones that did make it into the set list are more than enough to remind everyone just how good Heaton is at what he does. Classics such as One Last Love Song, Prettiest Eyes, Old Red Eyes and Good as Gold are played with such enthusiasm that they sound every bit as fresh as they ever did.
Taking the lead on Rotterdam, Don’t Marry Her, Everybody’s Talking and the recent single off the new album, DIY, Abbott reminds us of her vocal ability. Having seen the pair in Birmingham earlier this year, it’s clear how much her confidence has grown, how much she is enjoying being back on stage. This is a voice that seems to be getting better and better .
Heaton appeared more than happy to be back in Wolverhampton, dancing in his own unique way, chatting to the audience and sharing stories, including one about an elephant – I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t yet seen them, but I hope it wasn’t true.
Closing the gig with two encores, the duo performed a reworked version of their massive hit, Perfect 10, and closed with a faithful rendition of The Housemartins a cappella classic, Caravan of Love.
With a good mix of old and new material, this was definitely one of the best Friday nights out in a very long time. If you missed it, make sure you see them on their next tour. And if you haven’t already, take a listen to the new album. You won’t be disappointed.
For more details of the tour and the album visit: www.paulheaton.co.uk