In The Beautiful South, Heaton shared the lead singer's role with Hemingway and female singer Briana Corrigan to create a trio of lead vocalists. This set-up helped to characterise the bittersweet kitchen sink dramas played out in Heaton's often-barbed songs.
The band's music might sound like bubbly, catchy, lightweight pop but Heaton's sour, savage and amusing worldview on everything and anything (alcoholism, religion, sex, politics and, mostly, the down side of relationships) is always lurking beneath the surface of the quirky melodies. The tastes and smells of the local pub are never far away either, with the band gaining a reputation for boozing. The band's first album was Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989) and spawned the hits Song For Whoever and You Keep It All In. The release of 1990's Choke album saw the band claim its only Number 1 hit to date, A Little Time. 0898 followed in 1992, with hits including Old Red Eyes Is Back.
In 1994, after Corrigan quit the band when she saw Paul's lyrics for the forthcoming album Miaow, St Helens supermarket shelf-stacker, Jacqui Abbott, was brought on board to fill in. Heaton had heard her sing at an after show party in St Helens and remembered her vocal talents.
Jacqui's first album with the band was Miaow in 1994. Hits included Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud) and a cover of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talking, previously popularised by Harry Nilsson. The end of that year saw the release of Carry on up the Charts, a "best of" compilation consisting of the singles to date plus new track One Last Love Song. The album was massively successful and it is said that 1 in 7 homes in the UK owns a copy.
Blue Is the Colour (1996), Quench (1998) and Painting It Red (2000) followed with varying success. Jacqui also quit the band in 2000. After a second Greatest Hits album Solid Bronze in 2001, they recorded Gaze in 2003 with yet another female vocalist, Alison 'Lady' Wheeler. Wheeler was still in place for 2004's Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs, an album of unusually arranged cover versions including Livin' Thing, You're The One That I Want, Don't Fear The Reaper and I'm Stone In Love With You. In 2006 the band released their tenth studio album, Superbi.
The band broke up in January 2007, releasing the statement: "The Beautiful South have split up due to musical similarities. The band would like to thank everyone for their 19 wonderful years in music."
Former members of the group have since played Beautiful South songs together as 'New Beautiful South' and more recently 'The South'.
In 2007, Mercury Records released Soup: The Best of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, a compilation album containing 7 hit singles by The Housemartins ("The Housemartins Condensed") and 15 tracks The Beautiful South ("Cream of The Beautiful South").
Artificial Flowers
The Beautiful South Lyrics
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As sweet a young child as you'd find
Her parents had gone to their final reward
Leaving their baby behind
Did you hear this poor little child
Was only nine years of age
When mother and dad went away
At the one thing she knew
To earn a few pennies a day
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Fashioned from Annie's despair
With papers and shears, with wire and wax
She made up each tulip and mum
As snow flakes drifted in to her tenement room
Her baby little fingers grew numb
From artificial flowers, those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of high fashion to wear
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Made from Annie's despair
And they found little Annie all covered with ice
Still clutching her poor frozen shears
Amidst all the blossoms, she had fashioned by hand
And watered with all her young tears
There must be a Heaven where little Annie can play
In heavenly gardens and bowers
And instead of halo, she'll wear round her head
A garland of genuine flowers
No more artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of society to wear
Those artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Fashioned from Annie's
Fashioned from Annie's despair
The Beautiful South's song "Artificial Flowers" tells the tragic story of a young girl named Anne who was left alone in the world at the age of nine when her parents passed away. Anne bravely worked hard to make a living for herself by making artificial flowers. The lyrics reveal the harsh reality of her situation, being forced to make ends meet despite her young age and the frozen conditions of her living quarters.
The song echoes the sad notes of Anne's story with its lyrics painting a picture of a brave little girl, whose only skill was making artificial flowers. She worked tirelessly to earn a few pennies a day, and the song takes the listener on a journey of the young girl's life, including the pain and hardship she faced in the bitterly cold winters. The chorus emphasizes the sorrow of Anne's life, with the line of "artificial flowers, artificial flowers, fashioned from Annie's despair", which reinforces the fact that her creativity and hard work sprung from her difficult and tragic circumstances.
The song has a haunting quality to it, evoking an emotional response from the listener. It reminds us of how lucky we are to have had a better start in life, and the hardships that others can face with such bravery. It's a lament for the ones who are left behind and manage to pick up the pieces and carry on in life's harshest circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Alone in the world was poor little Anne
Little Anne had no one to turn to
As sweet a young child as you'd find
She was a nice kid
Her parents had gone to their final reward
Her parents died
Leaving their baby behind
Annie was orphaned
Did you hear this poor little child
The song is addressing the listener
Was only nine years of age
Annie was 9 years old
When mother and dad went away
Her parents died
Still she bravely worked
She kept on going despite the difficulties
At the one thing she knew
Annie had only one skill
To earn a few pennies a day
To make some money
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Annie created fake flowers
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear
Her creations were used as accessories
With papers and shears, with wire and wax
She used materials commonly found at home
She made up each tulip and mum
She crafted every single detail
As snow flakes drifted in to her tenement room
Her room was cold
Her baby little fingers grew numb
Her hands were cold
From artificial flowers, those artificial flowers
Again, she made fake flowers
Flowers for ladies of high fashion to wear
Her creations were for rich people
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Annie kept up with her work
Made from Annie's despair
Her art was inspired by her sadness
And they found little Annie all covered with ice
She died in the cold
Still clutching her poor frozen shears
She held on to her tools
Amidst all the blossoms, she had fashioned by hand
Her work was all around her
And watered with all her young tears
She must have cried a lot
There must be a Heaven where little Annie can play
The song offers a hopeful thought
In heavenly gardens and bowers
There is a better place after life
And instead of halo, she'll wear round her head
Annie will have a nice crown
A garland of genuine flowers
She will wear real flowers
No more artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Annie's creations are over
Flowers for ladies of society to wear
Her work will not adorn rich people
Those artificial flowers, artificial flowers
The song repeats itself
Fashioned from Annie's
Her creativity came from her sadness
Fashioned from Annie's despair
The song ends with this line
Lyrics © BOCK IP LLC, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEWIS BOCK JERROLD, SHELDON HARNICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind