NEW SINGLE : PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT NEW SINGLE ‘TOO MUCH FOR ONE (NOT ENOUGH FOR TWO)’ – RELEASED AT MIDDAY TODAY

Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott will release a new single from their forthcoming fifth studio album ‘N.K-Pop’ at midday on Thursday 18^th August. Entitled ‘Too Much For One (Not Enough For Two)’ it is an effortlessly uplifting slice of gospel tinged pop and is produced by John Williams.

Says Paul Heaton: “I wanted to write a song about someone who was too over the top to handle. For years now, whenever I’m naughty, I say: “You’re just too much for one and not enough for two” to myself in an American accent. Since I got married, I’ve realised what a handful I am. I am too much for one, and I need to rein it in. My mum was the same, and so is my youngest daughter. My wife says: “When the two of you are at it, I have to run away,” and she’s a teaching assistant, so she’s used to errant behaviour. I now realise I’m not as mellow as I thought I was and that I’m a pain in the arse. The song is more of a tease than writing someone off. It has serious moments but, even though they’ve been caught texting and up to no good, the couple are still together. Jacqui sounds great on this song. You haven’t really heard her vocals, then she comes bouncing in fantastically on the chorus.”

Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott’s new album ‘N.K-Pop’ is released on 7^th October. They have already made one song available from the album – the poignant ballad ‘Still’, which was described as ‘beautifully heartbreaking’ by Dawn French. Paul & Jacqui’s previous album ‘Manchester Calling’ went straight to No 1 on its release in March ’20.

Paul Heaton’s songwriting genius was recognised at the prestigious Ivor Awards 2022 where noted author/radio DJ Stuart Maconie presented him with a long overdue gong for ‘Outstanding Song Collection’. Heaton is one of the UK’s most successful songwriters with some 15 million album sales under his belt. He first came to prominence in the early 80s as front man of The Housemartins (the same group that gave us Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook).  The Housemartins released two albums ‘London 0 Hull  4’ (’86) and ‘The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death’ (’87).  In ’88 Heaton formed The Beautiful South, who released 10 hugely successful albums – ‘Welcome To The Beautiful South’ (’89), Choke (’90), ‘0898 Beautiful South’ (’92), ‘Miaow’ (’94), ‘Blue Is The Colour’ (’96), ‘Quench’ (’98), ‘Painting It Red’ (2000), ‘Gaze’ (’03), ‘Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs’ (’04) and ‘Superbi’ (’06).   In 2001 Heaton took a break from The Beautiful South and released his first solo album ‘Fat Chance’. The Beautiful South called it a day in 2007 citing ‘musical similarities’.  Jacqui Abbott was lead vocalist in The Beautiful South from ’94 to 2000 and she sang many of their signature hits including ‘Rotterdam’, ‘Perfect 10’, ‘Don’t Marry Her’ and ‘Dream A Little Dream’.  Paul Heaton went on to release two further solo albums: ‘The Cross-Eyed Rambler’ (’08) and ‘Acid Country’ (’10).  In 2011 Heaton wrote a musical called ‘The 8^th’ based on the Seven Deadly Sins and asked Jacqui to sing one of the parts.  They have since released four acclaimed albums as a duo: ‘What Have We Become’ (’14), ‘Wisdom, Laughter and Lines’ (’15), ‘Crooked Calypso’ (’17) and ‘Manchester Calling’ (’20).  In 2019 Paul released a career spanning compilation of his biggest hits entitled ‘The Last King Of Pop’.

2022 saw Heaton reach a significant birthday, which he celebrated in typically idiosyncratic style by putting £1,000 behind the bar of 60 carefully chosen pubs across the UK and Ireland so that fans could have a drink on him.