The Beautiful South is one of my favorite bands and easily my favorite one that very few people in the US know about. Those who are introduced to them by me tend to dislike them, though I’ve had a few converts over the years. Most people have heard of, and prefer, The Housemartins, from which a few members came before that group split.
Why do folks have a hard time getting into them?
One, they are very British.
Two, their music is often upbeat, but not punk upbeat. I read a book written about them in which one of the three vocalists described their sound as a sort of (white) British R&B/pop blend.
Three, their lyrics can be very dark. The contrast between upbeat music and dark lyrics is honestly what drew me to them in the first place. This song, “We Are Each Other,” originally included the line in the chorus, “Closer than a cat to the child that she’ll smother,” but in later releases, that was replaced with the line, “Closer than a secret agent working undercover,” which is a shame. I still have a copy of the original.
This was the first song I heard from them, played on a local alternative rock station, and it was love at first listen. I grabbed the album it was on, and well, yeah, it took a few listens. There was a song about a local drunk dying, a song about how love songs are murder songs…
“We Are Each Other” really hits the lyrical sweet spot in my head, although I interpret it differently than the singer, Paul Heaton. For him, this is a song about the drudgery of long relationship. For me, it’s super romantic.
I also used to play this one when I did my “name the original artist for a beer” bit on acoustic guitar. This was back when wasn’t easy to look these things up on a phone. More often than not, there would be someone with a genuine look of surprise and glee that I was playing this song, but it was never more than one.
Music That Matters (To Me) 