Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott have announced that their 2021 tour, which had originally been pencilled in for April and May this year, will now be pushed back to the autumn as a result of the ongoing uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic. The Beautiful South stars will play 18 shows across the UK across in October; including two free concerts for NHS workers in London (13th October) and Nottingham (14th October), and a free gig for care home workers in Heaton’s native Sheffield on October 21st. The duo are also working to rearrange additional dates in Bristol, Manchester; as well as planned acoustic gigs in Blackburn, Chesterfield and Stockport.
A statement posted on Paul Heaton’s Twitter account read: “We’re very sorry and enormously frustrated to have to make this announcement, but due to the ongoing situation and social distancing rules around the UK and Ireland we have once again been forced into rescheduling our forthcoming tour dates. We’ve now moved the UK dates to October 2021 and we’re still working on new dates for Ireland which will be announced at some point in the coming weeks. Your tickets remain valid for all the new dates. We’re extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused by this but can’t wait to see and perform for you all. ‘Til then stay safe.”
We’re very sorry and enormously frustrated to have to make this announcement, but due to the ongoing situation & social distancing rules around the UK & Ireland we have once again been forced into rescheduling our forthcoming tour dates… pic.twitter.com/vHJonVvh9X
— Paul Heaton (@PaulHeatonSolo) February 2, 2021
The postponement of the shows extends the two-piece’s long wait to perform songs from their 2020 album Manchester Calling, which soared to the summit of the UK Albums Chart last March. Heaton has spoken about how the record was unafraid to issue some stern criticisms in the direction of his adopted home city. The former Housemartin told UDiscover Music: “Manchester is now being turned into a business centre for the rich, which I can’t stand. If there’s a theme to the record, it’s anti-growth, anti-greed, against the continuous tearing down of old buildings and sticking up soulless offices, and the disappearance of local accents on TV, along with the creeping spread of Americanese. So, some curmudgeonly moans, plus some hopefully uplifting love songs.”
Abbott and Heaton followed up Manchester Calling – their fourth collaborative record since Abbott’s departure from The Beautiful South in 2000 – with a Christmas single, Christmas (And Dad Wants Her Back’). The festive tune, which plays out as a wry depiction of a bickering couple at Christmas, was described by Heaton in NME as “a song that records some of the calamities that certain single parents face on the day itself; burnt dinners, toppled trees, disappointed children, and most importantly, loneliness.”
Heaton also made headlines in 2020 for his large donation to staff at Q Magazine, which closed down last July after 24 years in print. Q‘s last editor, Ted Kessler, took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Heaton for an “amazingly kind, selfless, generous act“. He added: “…a few days after Q closed, we got a message from him (Heaton) saying that to thank Q for all the support we’d given him over 35 years, he was going to donate a large sum to thank us in our turmoil. Obviously, I politely declined. He was insistent. I accepted the donation and shared it amongst over 40 staff and freelancers working for Q at the time, all of whose minds – like mine – were blown.”
The full schedule of Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott tour dates this year (as of 03/02/2021) is as follows:
09/10/21 – SEC Armadillo – Glasgow
10/10 – Caird Hall – Dundee
11/10 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle-upon-Tyne
13/10 – SSE Arena Wembley – London
14/10 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
16/10 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
17/10 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester
18/10 – Victoria Hall – Stoke
19/10 – Bonus Arena – Hull
20/10 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
21/10 – City Hall – Sheffield
22/10 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
23/10 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
24/10 – Bonus Arena – Hull
25/10 – Bonus Arena – Hull
27/10 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
29/10 – Palladium – London
30/10 – Palladium – London
