The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by former Housemartins members Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. The other original members were guitarist Dave Rotheray, bassist Sean Welch, and drummer Dave Stead. All five original members remained with the band throughout its existence. The band's original material was written by Heaton and Rotheray. After recording their first album, Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989), as a five-piece, they were joined by a succession of female vocalists; Briana Corrigan from 1990 to 1992, Jacqui Abbott from 1993 to 2000, and Alison Wheeler from 2003 to the band's split in 2007. The group are known for wry and socially observant lyrics. They broke up in January 2007, saying the split was due to "musical similarities", having sold around 15 million records.