Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott share new video co-starring their soap alter egos Ron & Bev
PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT
NEW VIDEO CO-STARRING ‘RON & BEV DIXON’ FROM LEGENDARY SOAP ‘BROOKSIDE
’‘YOU AND ME (WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER)’IS AVAILABLE TODAY THURS FEB 13 TAKEN FROM HEATON & ABBOTT’S NEW ALBUM ‘MANCHESTER CALLING’(TO BE RELEASED ON 6th MARCH 2020)
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott today (13 Feb. 20) release a hilarious video for the first single ‘You And Me (Were Meant To Be Together)’ from their forthcoming new album ‘Manchester Calling’. Paul Heaton has been told for years he looks like Ron Dixon, the roguish character from legendary Liverpool-based TV soap ‘Brookside’, which dominated our TV screens from 1982-2003. The video is a cultural coup. Heaton & Abbott tracked down ‘Ron Dixon’ (actor Vince Earl, 75) and his onscreen wife Bev (Sarah White), who agreed to play Heaton and Abbott’s slightly older alter egos.
It’s their first performance together since the last ever episode of Brookside. The result, directed by longtime Heaton & Abbott collaborator Andy Hylton, is a rollicking barroom knees up, with double-takes a plenty when Paul and Jacqui and their uncanny (slightly more mature) lookalikes appear on screen together. “We found him in a pub, singing!” cackles Heaton, thrilled to find one of his many TV heroes in real life, “a right character”. It’s the kind of ruse which has defined much of Paul Heaton’s 35-year cultural contribution, his inherent comic mindset.
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott have previously announced a tour of the UK and Ireland in April & May with tickets at £30 each. 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 OUTFri 17th Leeds First Direct Arena – SOLD OUTSat 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 Sun 26th Leicester De Montfort Hall- SOLD OUTWed 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 2020Fri 26th Bristol Sounds JulySat 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