Gig at The Big Top

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot play The Beautiful South, The Housemartins and Themselves.

Following their ecstatically received, sold out performance at Dublins Academy this past June, Paul and Jacqui have announced details of an extensive Irish tour dates this Autumn including a "Live at the Big Top" show in Limerick's iconic Milk Market on Friday Oct 31st.

‘What Have We Become’ is the new album from Paul & Jacqui. Paul & Jacqui return together on record for the first time since the multi-million selling days of The Beautiful South, who in the 1990s and early 2000s released a string of critically-acclaimed records.

‘What Have We Become’ is a wonderful contemporary record, full of lyrical wit and humour, whilst retaining a strong social conscience that touches on the changing social landscape of Britain (‘One Man’s England’, ‘When I Get Back To Blighty’), stereotypes in music (‘I Am Not A Muse’), whilst ‘The Snowman’ and ‘Some Dancing To Do’ deal with issues of loss.
Both are clearly delighted to be working together again as they explain:
Paul Heaton: “Working with Jacqui again was like going into your garage and discovering a beautiful, covered up Rolls Royce that hadn’t been started in years. Jacqui is one of the best singers I’ve worked with and is also part of my past. It was only a matter of time before I asked her.”

“I always wrote songs with Jacqui in mind. Even before I met her I pictured a voice that could carry the songs into people’s hearts in a particular way. When I first heard her sing I almost laughed because it was SO right for the songs.”
Jacqui Abbott: “It’s just great to be singing again after such a long time, especially with Paul. We had such a good run together previously and it’s just a real pleasure to be working with him again and singing these fantastic songs”