Live Review: Paul Heaton at The Leadmill, Sheffield

A happy hour well spent

“You're a nervous gig goer, aren't you?”

I was a little surprised at this statement from my mate as we sat in the pub earlier this week. My mind whirred back to the most recent gigs I've attended, and “nervous” was not a word I would have used. Not once the gig was in full-flow, anyway.

They clarified what they meant. That I worried about getting to gigs on time.

Yes, I do like to get to a gig early, but I have good reasons. For seated concerts, I'll roll up at a decent time, safe in the knowledge my seat will remain empty until I put my butt on it.

But for standing-only gigs? Yes, I’ll happily admit to wanting to try and get to a venue early enough so that all 5-foot nothing of me will not be stuck behind a vast sea of average-to-tall folk and struggle to see anything, even on tip-toes (as it turns out, I got stuck behind a taller woman and her partner, but I managed to catch glimpses of the performers onstage).

And that brings me nicely to the gig we were due to see that evening: Paul Heaton at The Leadmill, Sheffield.

Photo taken by lifting hands high above me, hitting the button, and hoping for the best

This was the first of two gigs Heaton was playing at the venue that evening. About halfway through the set, he asked if everyone was aware that this was only a 50-minute gig. A few groans from the audience, suggested that no, not everyone knew this. Because the second gig’s “doors open” was at 8:50pm and this first gig started at 7pm, I figured it wouldn't be a full set, anyway.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We arrived at the venue no more than five minutes after doors opened, and when we entered, the audience was already five-people deep. We still had fifty-five minutes until the gig began, but I didn't want to move from our spot - I could see the tops of the microphones from our vantage point, and with my general bad luck, I had a feeling if we moved off then we’d find ourselves at the very back, struggling to see anything at all.

Cut to fifty-five minutes later, and with aching feet (I stupidly wore flat boots instead of comfy trainers), we watched as the lights dimmed and Heaton, Rianne Downey - his collaborator on his latest album - and two guitarists (it was an acoustic set) took to the stage. I didn't catch the two gentlemen's names, but I recognised them from past gigs on YouTube (there was also a third guitarist, sat away from the audience, on the back right, as if he wasn’t part of the group).

Launching into Just Another Family, from the new album, The Mighty Several, the song was well-received but a much-loved hit from The Beautiful South era, Old Red Eyes Is Back, saw the crowd really join in. Across the course of the hour (the show ran over a little), we were treated to choice pieces from Heaton’s decades-long discography. Happy Hour and Five Get Over Excited from his first era of success with The Housemartins, and more classics from his time in The Beautiful South, such as I'll Sail This Ship Alone, Bell-Bottomed Tear, Don't Marry Her, One Last Love Song, and Rotterdam. The last three sung fantastically by Downey.

I don't know if Jacqui Abbott has ended her musical collaboration with Heaton for good (huge shame if so), but I regret not seeing them both live, especially since I became a fan of The Beautiful South during her era.

Paul Heaton and Rianne Downey on stage

That's not to detract from Downey, at all. She has an astonishingly good voice (and as someone currently taking singing lessons myself, listening to her made me almost feel like giving up), and was very engaging throughout the performance.

From the interviews I've seen, Heaton comes across as a very humble, down-to-earth guy, and he seemed exactly the same that night, telling a humorous story of the first time he came to that very venue many years ago as a young man. He was very apologetic that it was a short gig and mindful that he wanted to pack as many songs in as they could (if you want to see the running order of songs, it’s been added to setlist.fm). He also admirably ignored the constant demands to sing 36D or other songs from one or two very vocal, insistent fans in the audience.

There were five songs performed from The Mighty Several. I'll be honest, and say that it’s not one of my favourite albums, despite a few full listens. There's a definite country sound to many of the tracks which I don't enjoy as much as other genres.

Only one song performed that night I'd not heard before. The East European-flavoured, Heatongrad, from Heaton and Abbott’s 2015 album, Wisdom, Laughter and Lines (an album I still need to check out). It was quite a rousing track.

As with shortened gigs, some songs were left understandably omitted from the running order. However, I was surprised Perfect 10 - which went to no.2 in the UK charts in 1998, and serves as The Beautiful South's last Top Ten hit - was left out, and songs like A Little Time was also missing - but since Heaton didn't sing on that at all, I can see why it wasn't included.

A few minutes after 8pm, the doors of The Leadmill were opened and we all filed out into the dark Monday night, everyone satiated by time well-spent in the company and sound of an unassuming legend.