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").
TATTOO
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before that there was just a hole
At least now there's sadness on my face
My lower lip has finally found it's role
So the wind and the rain and the snow
Had no particular place to go
So they thought they'd come and spend some time with me
There's a tattoo, a small tattoo
Waiting there unpaid for you
And if you ever bump into Unlucky
Don't forget who broke your heart in two
You better get there early, there's a million in the queue
Just waiting for the name on their tattoo
Emptiness has filled a vacant heart
Finally found a place for it to hide
And as I wander like a fool from bar to bar
Empty has become my greatest guide
And the tears and the pain and the despise
Looked at me through bankrupt eyes
They had nowhere else that they could land
So I invited them to take my bloody hand
So queuing for a tattoo and I can't decide the name
I've been wondering night after night
When they put that needle in me I'll scream your name in pain
And I hope he spells 'you bastard' right
B-A-S-T-A-R-D, stick that needle deep in me
The lyrics to The Beautiful South's song Tattoo are about the pain and sadness someone feels after a break-up. The singer notes that they used to feel empty and lonely, but now they have sadness on their face and have finally found a place for their emptiness to hide. The wind, rain, and snow had no purpose, so they came to spend time with the singer. These elements are better friends than the person who broke their heart in two. The singer mentions a tattoo waiting unpaid for the person who broke their heart, and warns them not to forget who caused them this pain.
The chorus mentions a million people in the queue for a tattoo with the name of their lost love. The singer has welcomed the tears, pain, and despise that have come with their heartbreak, and invites them to take their hand. The final verse mentions the singer queuing for a tattoo with their lost love's name, but not being able to decide which name to get. They plan to scream the name in pain as the needle digs deep, hoping that the tattoo artist spells "you bastard" correctly.
Line by Line Meaning
Sadness has filled a lonely place
A sad feeling has occupied a previously empty space that felt lonely
Before that there was just a hole
The space was unoccupied and felt like an empty hole
At least now there's sadness on my face
The feelings of sadness are now visible on my face, at least it's not hidden anymore
My lower lip has finally found it's role
My lower lip now trembles with sadness just like it should, it has found its purpose
So the wind and the rain and the snow
The elements of nature - wind, rain, and snow - had no destination to go
Had no particular place to go
They had nowhere specific to go or purpose to serve
So they thought they'd come and spend some time with me
They decided to visit me and be my company for a while as they had nowhere else to go
They're better friends than you could ever be
Nature's elements are better companions than the person who broke my heart
There's a tattoo, a small tattoo
A tattoo exists, a small one
Waiting there unpaid for you
The tattoo is still unpaid for and is waiting to be claimed by the person who broke my heart
And if you ever bump into Unlucky
If you ever come across an unfortunate situation
Don't forget who broke your heart in two
Remember that you were the one who broke my heart
You better get there early, there's a million in the queue
There are many people waiting in the queue for tattoos, so you should come early if you want to claim yours
Just waiting for the name on their tattoo
They are waiting for the name to be inscribed on their tattoo
Emptiness has filled a vacant heart
A feeling of emptiness has taken up the space in my heart that was once unoccupied
Finally found a place for it to hide
The emptiness found a place to hide within my heart
And as I wander like a fool from bar to bar
I wander aimlessly from place to place, feeling lost and foolish
Empty has become my greatest guide
My feeling of emptiness has become my greatest guide and companion
And the tears and the pain and the despise
Feelings of tears, pain, and hatred exist
Looked at me through bankrupt eyes
I see these feelings through impoverished eyes, as if I have nothing
They had nowhere else that they could land
These feelings had nowhere else to go, they had to land somewhere
So I invited them to take my bloody hand
I invited these feelings to take my hand and accompany me, even if it is with bloodshed
So queuing for a tattoo and I can't decide the name
I'm waiting in line for a tattoo and I can't decide what name to inscribe
I've been wondering night after night
I've been thinking about it constantly, night after night
When they put that needle in me I'll scream your name in pain
When the tattoo artist starts tattooing me, I'll scream in pain while thinking of you
And I hope he spells 'you bastard' right
I hope that the tattoo artist spells 'you bastard' correctly as it is the name I've decided to inscribe on my tattoo
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVE ROTHERAY, PAUL HEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind