PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT
Four years ago, Paul Heaton approached his former Beautiful South band member Jacqui Abbott to work with him on his latest project and they haven’t looked back since. They have released 3 top 5 albums since they reformed, with their debut album ‘What Have We Become?’ peaking in the UK charts at number 3 and their second ‘Wisdom, Laughter and Lies’ reaching number 4. Their latest album ‘Crooked Calypso’ has gone down a storm with the Northern duo reaching a record number of sales and peaking at number 2, their highest place in the charts to date.
CROOKED CALYPSO
For many, Paul Heaton is one of the smartest songwriters of his generation. His lyrics are often witty and straight to the point, no matter the subject of the song. From politics to love, Paul Heaton can certainly knock out a tune. However, its Jacqui Abbott that really compliments Heaton’s songwriting on this album. The pair have struck up a fantastic relationship which is evident in their songs.
The album starts off with the heart-warming love song ‘I Gotta Praise’ which has a lovely gospel country feel to it, bringing out the best of the harmonies between Heaton and Abbott.
Crooked Calypso continues the happy feel all the way through with stand out songs ‘She Got The Garden’ and ‘People Like Us’. ‘The Lord Is A White Con’ is another political song which takes on the issues of the social and racial injustices in the world. The track starts with a distorted riff which then kicks off into a joyful rock n roll swing which sets the tone for the rest of the song.
Each song on the album is as good as the last which is a true reflection on Heaton and Abbotts’ qualities of songwriters and musicians. With Paul Heaton starting out in the Housemartins over 30 years ago and then progressing to the Beautiful South where Jacqui Abbott joined, its refreshing to know that these two legends won’t settle for letting their music grow gracefully old, but instead release new music which people can still love and relate to. Listen to ‘Crooked Calypso’ on Spotify below:
Here I Go Again (Whitesnake Cover)
In the run up to the release of ‘Crooked Calypso’, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott covered the infamous Whitesnake song ‘Here I Go Again’ on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. This is just another piece of work which expresses how well Heaton and Abbott work together as a duo.
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott Tour
Get tickets for the Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott tour HERE