The Beautiful South

Following the disbandment of the British indie pop group The Housemartins in 1989, vocalist Paul Heaton and drummer David Hemmingway formed The Beautiful South. Where their previous group relied on jazzy guitars and witty, wry lyrics, The Beautiful South boasted a more sophisticated, jazzy pop sound, layered with keyboards, R&B-inflected female backing vocals and, occasionally, light orchestrations. Often, the group's relaxed, catchy songs contradicted the sarcastic, cynical thrust of the lyrics. Nevertheless, the band's pleasant arrangements often tempered whatever bitterness there was in Heaton's lyrics, and that's part of the reason why The Beautiful South became quite popular within its native Britain during the '90s. Though the group never found a niche in America -- by the middle of the decade, their records weren't even being released in the U.S. -- their string of melodic jazz-pop singles made them one of the most successful, if one of the least flashy, bands in Britain. Their popularity was confirmed by the astonishing success of their 1994 singles compilation, Carry On Up The Charts, which became one of the biggest-selling albums in British history.

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