- Born
- Birth namePaul David Heaton
- Paul Heaton is one of the most successful and acclaimed British pop songwriters to have emerged from the 1980s. His ability to write catchy tunes with lyrics that are both humorous and melancholic has earned him comparisons with Morrissey.
He came to prominence in The Housemartins, who scored a number three hit in 1986 with "Happy Hour" and achieved a number one single with "Caravan of Love". He then went on to even greater success in The Beautiful South, who achieved a number two single with their 1989 debut, "Song For Whoever", followed by "You Keep It All In", which went to number eight. They went on to become one of the most consistent chart bands of the 1990s. They had a number one single with "A Little Time", and their other top ten singles were "Rotterdam", "Don't Marry Her" and "Perfect 10". Their albums Blue Is The Colour and Quench topped the album chart, as did the compilation Carry On Up The Charts. The band split in 2007 and had sold an estimated 15 million albums during their career.
In 2014, Heaton reunited with his former Beautiful South bandmate Jacqui Abbott to release a new album, What Have We Become?.
As well as his songwriting, Heaton is known for his avowed left-wing political views. He was interviewed on Sky News following the death of Margaret Thatcher in 2013. He is also not afraid to criticise other musicians; What Have We Become? includes a song, "When I Get Back to Blighty", with the lyric "Phil Collins must die".- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- Spouse?(? - present) (2 children)
- Singer-songwriter, famous as frontman for The Beautiful South and his long-running songwriting partnership with Dave Rotheray.
- Television presenter Richard Osman once described him as the best songwriter of his generation.
- I have actually talked to Dave Rotheray about getting our catalogue nationalised, about putting it forward to David Cameron and saying, 'Nationalise this', and testing them, because it would bring money into the country, it would bring revenue into the country. I've already been paid sufficiently for my job as a pop singer and why don't they nationalise it? They wouldn't nationalise it because they refuse to nationalise things. Safe bet really.
- It shows where our politics are as a nation when the Daily Mail isn't sure who to back. (Speaking in 2010)
- The opportunity to release slightly controversial songs comes from not selling records as well. It's been brilliant for me and Jacqui to be able to sing "Phil Collins must die!" and for the record company not to raise an eyebrow.
- My rough plan is to go somewhere cold and miserable to write lyrics, and somewhere warm to write the music. When people say your lyrics are quite dark, well, it's simple. I go to Hull in the middle of winter to write them, and then to Gran Canaria in the summer for the tunes.
- I can't stop Cameron [David Cameron] liking one of my albums, but who can stop him and his mates destroying the NHS?
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