FEATURE T IN THE PARK
Hllll who SIIII'ICd DUI. in IllCll‘ 0W1] out in the Studio and gm paid {0}" _ it's word-S ‘35 11 TOPC)’ fiVC'PlCCC gllllm‘ easy to see tltat behind the Northern band'. Fame and fortune. F1181 Cill'S. bruyudg anrl [he infmnoug algohol- Fancy “WW3”. Thcy “NM “1ch Wm Induced antics there lurks a stncere Beautiful SOUth all. but they're just “0! imCTCSICd- SO commitment to real pop ntttsic. in the unimpressed their own ’tlt’eprobletn‘?Guitaristlh‘ve‘ classic liritish tradition... ' . . Us!) Itttnll) LkpldanL Wt IL Thctr appearance at this year s f tn chart-toppmg SLICCCSS. just not cool enough. We're never goittg the Park may eome as a surprigc i0 IO N C001. WW6 just 100 Old {OF all tltose who question their ability to The Beautiful South are more popular that.‘ And therein lies their secret: they reproduee [he imimuey of [heir songs than Michael Jackson. Nearly. Their just don't care. Two million albums on a larger stage a sentiment shared. greatest hits package. the aptly-titled means an extra hag ofcrisps in the pub. in mm by Hemingway himself, Carry On Up The Charts. has sold So no sex. drugs and rock 'n' roll. ‘Personally. we prefer to play venues almost two million copies in less than then? like The Barrowland.‘ he says. pausing nine months. making it the third- ‘We haven‘t done ntttch since the [Hid-genlcncc i0 reeiin the delights of fastest-selling albtttn of all time in the album came out.‘ admits founder- drinking in Glasgow. ‘But we seem to UK. surpassed only by Mr Jackson and metnber attd keyboardist Dave be playing [hcgc fcglivul [hinge more Phil Collins. So how do they feel about Hemingway. ‘We did a couple of and more iii (he moment. [Tummy their success? Ecstatic? Thrilled. festivals itt Europe recently, in Finland enough, we're even doing a couple of maybe? A bit excited? Nope. Just and Switzerland. where we don‘t sell REM supports soon. which ought to be embarrassed. that many records. so the pressure was very interesting. ()asis were meant to Not surprising. perltaps. when you off us a bit. Then we did the Fleadlt itt he doing them originally but had to pull consider that this is a band who Finshury Park with Van Morrison and out. so a lot of people are going to he recently described the songs on their Sinead O‘Connor. which went really mere expeeiing m scc ihem and we‘ll chant-topping Ll’ as ‘shit’. Singer- well considering we didn‘t really know he [her-e) songwriter and reluctant star Paul what we were doing on the hill.‘ Aren‘t they worried about me regieiion Heaton offered this piece of advice: ‘If It would be difficult to begrudge The they‘ll get'.’ ‘Not really.‘ he says you want to buy a good record. btty Beautiful South their success. Their castiull)" ‘we might get homer] off but something else.‘ Not exactly what you unique and uncompromising brand of iii least we‘ll gei to [he pub quieker, might expect from the man the NM];~ Brit-pop positively overflows with ‘When we rim sinned our we were tagged the best soul singer itt Britain. distinctly unfashionahle concepts such pretty ropey. On our very first tour. just bttt at the very least it makes a welcome as romance. rejection and good old- utter we‘d gene to Number Two in the change frotn the tiresome ‘we‘re the fashioned love. Given the state of the charts with “Song For Whoever“. best band iii the universe‘ formula current music scene. with its halls 'n‘ whieh sounded very lush and trotted ottt by so many of today‘s all. tits out for the lads attitude. their professional, we used [0 go on and play JOIN THOUSANDS OF hopefuls. sensitivity stands out a mile. A bit of [his [mushy sci and I think people were Most bands would sell their mothers hard work doesn‘t go amiss either. a bit surprised at how crap we were. CREATORS AND FANS to be in The Beautiful South‘s position. Despite claims to the contrary — lleaton I‘m hoping those days are over. though Two million albums — that's 11 In! of told The List last year. ‘Music just isn‘t we're far too old to he dodging flying 0': SF BOOKS, FILMS: ntoncy fora working—class band front . that itttpottant. It‘s just something I piss t bottles)
VIDEO, ART, COMICS, GAMES AND MUSIC FOR TALKS, DISCUSSIONS, FILMS, HUGE DEALERS' ROOM, SPECTACULAR MASOUERADE, ART SHOW, THE HUGO
AWARDS AND MUCH, MUCH MORE AT THE SF EVENT OF THE DECADE
INTERSECTION
THE 53RD~WORLD
SCIENCE FICTION
CONVENTION
24’28 AUG 1995 SECC GLASGOW
SECC BOX OFFICE 0141 248 9999/0141 227 5511 .‘Lo
WorldSctmrt Pinion ( 'omwnmfl'aidrm and Hugo mm see
Awad at regurnedxmtrl marl: q/Iiw Wald Same , " l" "m
From Sandy "lfllfJ'lrflm" u amid! nan! q/
The Beautiful South: more songs tor whoever confinuw
10 The List 28 Jul-10 Aug 1995