N.K Pop [Amazon Signed Exclusive]

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Do you think musicians and bands are more reticent about being overtly political nowadays than they were in the 80s and 90s? HilsLM Heaton It wouldn’t be a giggle for me and you can’t sing Flag Day and then reform for charity. We did reform for an interview 10 years ago, which was lovely. I love spending time with them and we’re all really good friends. Paul, I saw you fronting the Housemartins at the Leadmill in Sheffield and remember you saying : “This one is for anyone who voted Tory. Get up off your knees, you bastards.” Do you think we ever will [escape Tory rule]? Flashbleu Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott will release their fifth studio album ‘N.K-Pop’ on EMI on 30th September 2022. ‘N.K-Pop’ adds another clutch of deliciously barbed pop songs to Heaton’s Ivor award winning song collection. Paul & Jacqui’s previous album ‘Manchester Calling’ went straight to No 1 on its release in March ’20.

Heaton I was about 30 and somebody passed a comment about my facial lines. I started writing about how each wrinkle was because of having fun, but then twisted it and made it about my mum and dad and their happiness as they aged together. Heaton seems remarkably unmoved by money and success: he lives a modest, neighbourly existence with his wife in a terraced house in Withington, Manchester. “I’m determined that money won’t rule my decisions. Because money is controlling, and it’s incredibly discomforting for some people. And it can be for me. So I try not to let it control me. So what probably comes across as socialist, is I actually get quite angry about how much I’m paid, and think I want to do something about it. And what I do is try to make other people happy with what I’ve received. It sounds a bit corny and cliched. But it’s a more positive thought about what you can do with your money.” Although he’s primarily a storyteller, Heaton does delve into more personal songs this time round, sometimes with devastating effects. Still is easily the highlight of the record, a beautiful ballad about miscarriages and still births. Lines like “still feel your heartbeat, the tiniest drop…your departure destroyed us but we’re so glad you could come” are stark, poignant and affecting. Songs on the duo’s fifth album mix storytelling with the personal and the political to confirm their musical chemistry Heaton I still prefer to put it in songs or the odd humorous comment on stage. Social media is like Speakers’ Corner, everyone shouting at each other.Paul, in the 1989 song Love Is … you estimated your life expectancy as 52. Given that you are still going strong, any reason why you envisaged such a short lifespan? BernardMunch Heaton It’s actually “especially the lies”. The jousting of the lyric is that they’re kidding themselves and each other about their bodies. He especially loves the way she doesn’t tell the truth about hers – he finds that shyness quite endearing. Bushell, Garry (29 September 2022). "Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot – N.K-Pop album review". Daily Express . Retrieved 12 October 2022. He’s owned a pub, The Kings Arms in Salford, and for his 50 th birthday underwent a pub tour, cycling 2,500 miles over 40 days. “I suppose it’s microcosm of society, isn’t it? A pub is a weird mix of characters that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. And people are quite frank in the pub. I like that.”

In narrative songs like The Good Times, how much of the story is mapped out in advance before you put pen to paper? We started off with about 21, 22 songs for this album,” Heaton tells us, “but some of them didn’t sound right or they’ve been ignored because somebody in the band doesn’t like them, and then they drop away and you’re left with your favourites.” Heaton, now in his sixties, has reached the ‘respected elder statesman’ era of his career (Gareth Paisey of Los Campesinos! regularly cites The Beautiful South as his favourite band), but the barbs have become no blunter. While much of N.K. Pop is firmly in the tradition of radio-friendly pop, it’s the lyrics that give these songs their extra dimension.I can get myself together to speak at a funeral,” confides Heaton. “In that way, I’m not a crier, but obviously I’ll get upset and I also cry at unusual things – the BBC1 daytime soap Doctors often gets me roaring.” Well, we gave the label the LP and said we think this, this and this could be a single,” he explains. “I preferred I Drove Her Away With My Tears because it’s quite immediate and it’s always sounded good in my head. But also When The World Would Actually Listen. It’s a kind of handicap race.”

I once saw the Beautiful South support Pere Ubu on Morecambe Bay. Any chance of playing live on sand again? LeeBirch You’ve always been capable writing from unusual perspectives, but who are the lyricists you most admire yourself? Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge.N.K-Pop (also written N.K. Pop [3] [1]) is the fifth studio album by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, both formerly members of the Beautiful South. The album was released on 7 October 2022 by EMI Records, and preceded by the release of the lead single "Still". [2] The album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.