Paul Heaton’s new project The 8th gets it’s debut airing at the Manchester International Festival next week from 7th-9th July. He spoke to the Manchester Evening Standard about his project…

Get involved with a festival that prides itself on unique commissions, and any artist should see it as an opportunity to test themselves.

That’s certainly been the outlook of Paul Heaton, founding member of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, who has spent a 25-year career making his enduring impact on the music industry with a catalogue of familiar pop songs.

But give the man an inch to do something different and, as Manchester International Festival has discovered, he’ll take a royal mile. As with Bjork’s gig and Johnny Vegas’ theatre show for MIF, Paul’s ‘rock gospel’ The 8th has been one of the more unfathomable shows in the schedule.

Full Article Here

A new CD and DVD complitation of Live performances by The Beautiful South is due out this Easter.  The new box set contains 3 CDs and a DVD of Live appearanced by the band.  One can only assume that this will feature performances up until the band left the Universal label  (pre-Gaze).

The box set has been priced at a staggering £30 so we’re guessing it’s really only going to be us completists who go out to fill our boots!  Here’s a link for the set: