Paul Heaton, a beautiful South vocalist, pays for birthday cocktails
To commemorate his 60th birthday, pop artist Paul Heaton has put money behind the bar of dozens of pubs.
Due to the epidemic, the ex-Housemartins and Beautiful South singer had to cancel a tour of the 60 locations he had picked. Instead, he’s invited supporters to quench their desire by raising a glass to him.
“Enjoy a birthday drink on me (until the money runs out, or the bar runs dry!” Heaton said on Facebook. He explained that the cocktails were a means of saying “thank you” to “those who bought my recordings or supported me over the years.”
The Grafton in Hull, where Heaton and his Housemartins bandmates frequented and where the group’s 1986 hit Happy Hour was inspired, is one of the pubs on the list.
Heaton returned to the bar a few years ago with performing partner Jacqui Abbott to make a song video. Pubs in Cornwall, Scotland, Wales, Belfast, Dublin, and the West Coast of Ireland are among the 60 locations.
Heaton’s first tour plan, which would have seen him ride between venues across the UK, had to be shelved as the pandemic caused delays in the making of his new album.
In the early 1980s, Heaton rose to prominence with Hull’s Housemartins. They had two successful albums and a string of hit singles, including a cover of Caravan of Love that charted at number one in the UK in December 1986. He founded the Beautiful South in 1988 when the band disbanded.
Over the course of nine years, the band released 15 albums, most of which were certified platinum or gold.
Heaton is now in a duo with Jacqui Abbott, another member of the Beautiful South.
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