Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott Stripped Back acoustic shows announced
PAUL HEATON + JACQUI ABBOTT
STRIPPED BACK ACOUSTIC SHOWS ANNOUNCED
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott have today announced 3 special stripped back acoustic shows at Stockport Plaza, Blackburn King Georges Hall Windsor Suite & Chesterfield Winding Wheel to celebrate the release of their new album ‘Manchester Calling’. Tickets for these intimate shows go on sale Friday at 9:30am from http://gigst.rs/PHJAAS.
Full list of dates:
18th June Stockport Plaza
20th June Blackburn King George’s Hall Windsor Suite
21st June Chesterfield Winding Wheel
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott will release their fourth studio album ‘Manchester Calling’ on Virgin EMI on 6th March 2020. ‘Manchester Calling’ boasts all the hallmarks of Heaton’s beautifully bittersweet songwriting – effortlessly catchy melodies allied with an everyman’s biting exasperation at the modern world alongside some truly heartfelt love songs.
Produced by long time collaborator John Williams who produced both Housemartins albums and the previous three Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott albums – ‘What Have We Become’ (’14), ‘Wisdom, Laughter & Lines’ (’15), and ‘Crooked Calypso’ (’17) – the record was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Salford, Manchester. As is Paul Heaton’s habit the lyrics were written in various locations in North Holland and Belgium while the music was composed in a hotel in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria and in Limburg An Der Lahn in Germany.
Says Paul: “I’ve lived in Manchester for 17 years now and recording an album here for the first time, was looking forward to cycling to work. That was never possible as Manchester is now being turned into a business centre for the rich, which I can’t stand. If there’s a theme to the record, it’s anti growth, anti greed, against the continuous tearing down of old buildings and sticking up soulless offices, and the disappearance of local accents on TV, along with the creeping spread of Americanese. So, some curmudgeonly moans, plus some hopefully uplifting love songs. Originally it was set up to be a double LP like ‘London Calling’ but alas the double album has also become a victim of time”
Says Jacqui: ““I’m so pleased and excited about the new album, it was wonderful to work on new songs and even more so that we did double what we have done for the last few records. It’ll be a joy to see others react to something we took such pleasure out of making”
To coincide with the album release Paul, Jacqui and the band will be embarking on a tour of the UK in April & May. As with the previous live shows, Paul & Jacqui have requested that the ticket price for the tour remains at £30. A full list of all tour dates is below.
PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT UK/IRELAND TOUR 2020
April
Tue 7th Donegal Balor Arts Centre – SOLD OUT
Thur 9th Galway Leisureland – SOLD OUT
Fri 10th Dublin Arena
Sat 11th Belfast Ulster Hall – SOLD OUT
Sun 12th Killarney INEC
Thurs 16th Glasgow SEC Armadillo – SOLD OUT
Fri 17th Leeds First Direct Arena – SOLD OUT
Sat 18th Newcastle Utilita Arena
Tue 21st Hull Bonus Arena – SOLD OUT
Wed 22nd Hull Bonus Arena – SOLD OUT
Fri 24th Birmingham Arena
Sat 25th Liverpool M&S Arena – SOLD OUT
Sun 26th Leicester De Montfort Hall- SOLD OUT
Wed 29th London Palladium – SOLD OUT
Thur 30th London Palladium – SOLD OUT
May
Fri 1st Cardiff Motorpoint Arena- SOLD OUT
Sat 2nd Stoke Victoria Hall- SOLD OUT
Sun 24th Warrington, Neighbourhood Weekender
June
Sat 6th Barcelona, Primavera Sound 2020
Fri 26th Bristol Sounds
July
Sat 4th Jul Manchester Castlefield Bowl – SOLD OUT
Tickets for the tour are available from www.gigsandtours.com
Paul Heaton, one of the UK’s most successful songwriters with some 15 million album sales under his belt, first came to public attention in the early 80s as front man of Hull-based indie poppers The Housemartins (the same group that spawned Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook), best known for their third single ‘Happy Hour’ and their No 1 acapella Isley Bros cover ‘Caravan Of Love’. The Housemartins released two albums ‘London 0 Hull 4’ (’86) and ‘The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death’ (’87).
In ’88 Heaton formed The Beautiful South, who released 10 hugely successful albums – ‘Welcome To The Beautiful South’ (’89), Choke (’90), ‘0898 Beautiful South’ (’92), ‘Miaow’ (’94), ‘Blue Is The Colour’ (’96), ‘Quench’ (’98), ‘Painting It Red’ (2000), ‘Gaze’ (’03), ‘Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs’ (’04) and ‘Superbi’ (’06). In 2001 Heaton took a break from The Beautiful South and released his first solo album ‘Fat Chance’. The Beautiful South called it a day in 2007 citing ‘musical similarities’.
Jacqui Abbott was lead vocalist in The Beautiful South from ’94 to 2000 and she sang many of their signature hits including ‘Rotterdam’, ‘Perfect 10’, ‘Don’t Marry Her’ and ‘Dream A Little Dream’. Paul Heaton went on to release two further solo albums: ‘The Cross-Eyed Rambler’ (’08) and ‘Acid Country’ (’10). In 2011 Heaton wrote a musical called ‘The 8th’ based on the Seven Deadly Sins and asked Jacqui to sing one of the parts. They have since released three acclaimed albums as a duo: ‘What Have We Become’ (’14) and ‘Wisdom, Laughter and Lines’ (’15) and ‘Crooked Calypso’ (’17). Last year Paul released a career spanning compilation of his biggest hits and more entitled ‘The Last King Of Pop’.
PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT
NEW VIDEO ‘YOU AND ME (WERE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER)’ AVAILABLE TODAY FEB 13
ALBUM ‘MANCHESTER CALLING’
RELEASE DATE – FRIDAY 6th MARCH 2020