| The Beautiful South were formed in the late 1980s by Paul Heaton, out of the ashes of his first successful band, the Housemartins. The Housemartins' second drummer, Dave Hemingway, now became a lead vocalist alongside Paul and an as yet undecided female singer. Along with Dave Rotheray, the guitarist for this new band, they recorded 8 demo songs in 1988: Amongst them were the future singles 'Song For Whoever' and 'Pretenders To The Throne'. Later additions were Sean Welch on bass guitar and Dave Stead on drums. They were signed immediately by the Housemartin's former label, Go! Discs. The final addition to the band was the female vocalist. Briana Corrigan was poached for The Beautiful South from a small indie band, and recording of their first album began in 1988. It was released under the apt name 'Welcome To The Beautiful South' in 1989. A fanbase of ex-Housemartin fans and an excellent debut single, 'Song For Whoever', propelled the bands debut album to No.2 in the charts. |
