Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton is an English singer-songwriter, born in Bromborough on the Wirral in 1962 and known for sharp, satirical lyrics set to bright melodies. He first found fame fronting the Housemartins, whose cover of “Caravan of Love” went to UK number one in 1986, then formed the Beautiful South with the Housemartins' drummer Dave Hemingway; that band ran from 1989 through a decade of hits, including the number-one single “A Little Time”, and disbanded in 2007. His 2014 record with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott, What Have We Become?, began a late-career surge: Manchester Calling (2020) was their first UK number-one album for over twenty years and N.K-Pop followed in 2022. The Guardian has called Heaton “one of our finest songwriters”.