. . .Continued

POP:  One thing that distinguishes The Beautiful South is that you have three singers. Where did that idea come from?

PDH:  It’s a result of the time with The Housemartins. When we split up, I was convinced that I didn’t want to be famous anymore. My idea was that Dave and Brianna would be like Womack &Womack and that I could just lean back and write the songs. A song like "You Keep It All In" was for example my version of Womack & Womack’s "Teardrops". Unfortunately Dave and Brianna didn’t have any perosnalities on stage ... Especially not Dave (big laugh). So I had to get back in.

POP:  There is a lot of gospel in your voice. Have you taken any lessons? Did you sing in a church choir?

PDH:  Never. I’ve never taken singing lessons. Well, yes, once I went to a singing teacher during the time with The Housemartins. I had these terrible pains from singing, and I needed help with my technique. We gave everything at our concerts. She stuck a mirror down my throat to take alook. It was bloody well black and blue. She took a picture of it that I kept. It looks as if I had bruises down there.

POP:  You sing in a totally different tradition than other British pop singers. Your aim seems to be to sound like Al Green or Sam Cooke.

PDH:  It’s what you aim for that counts. it’s what you aim for that determines how close you will get to the target. If you aim for Sam Cooke, which is a very flattering comparison, you’re aiming as high as is possible.

That’s what bothers me about our bassist. He likes The Smiths and Bluetones and stuff like that. Totally fucking pointless. What kind of role models are those? I keep telling him to go and get some Stevie Wonder records instead. Try to play like the bass sounds on those records. Then we can talk.

POP:  Which singers have you been listening to the most?

PDH:  I’ve got 26 albums with Al Green. I’ve got 23 album with The Isley Brothers and 19 albums with Aretha Franklin. That’s what I’ve been listening to. It’s all soul. But I like some white artists too. I have for example about 15 albums each with Van Morrison, Neil Young and Tom Waits. But as I said it is important to try to stretch yourself. I can’t settle for being just white and presbyterian.

For example I don’t want to sound like that guy in Oasis. I don’t wantto sound like a narcissist. I want to sound like Paul Heaton singing as good as he can. That bugger in Oasis despises his mother, singing that false all the time. If I would sing as badly in front of my mother, she would beat the hell out of me.

My mother used to play records for me. She wanted me to sing like Paul Anka or Neil Sedaka.

POP:  The new album contains a version of Bobby Darin’s "Artificial Flowers".It is almost kitsch, but you sound honest and sincere when you sing it.

PDH:  Bobby Darin’s own version is crazy. He’s singing the sad lyrics and it’s not a ballad, it’s a jazzy up-tempo song. But I like the text. I even think it’s beautiful and my goal was to make it even more miserable.

Someone told me that REM is the world’s most miserable band. I told him "No fucking way, we’re the world’s most miserable band.

Countries will be countries
Borders will be borders
Some have lost their folk at war
Some have given orders
Don’t wag your angers at them
And turn to walk away
Don’t shoot someone tomorrow
That you can shoot today

("Get Up Off Our Knees," The Housemartins 1986)

If you open the cover of "London 0, Hull 4", there is a slogan: "Take Jesus - Take Marx - Take Hope".

The lyrics were filled with the same aggressive yet hopeful combination of Marxism and religion. The hit single "Sheep" is about the frustration of seeing the people being led like a flock of sheep.

Sometimes I get so angry
with the simple life they lead
The shepherd’s smile seems to confirm my fears.

"The Beautiful South have continued along the same path. "I Think the Answer’s Yes" from the second album "Choke" is a melody cuter than The Stylistics, but the lyrics has lines such as "No amnesty for the murderers of poor old working class" and "I want to execute". Just as in The Housemartins, Paul has chosen to split his royalties between all the members of The Beautiful South. The songwriter in a band is making more money than the rest of the members, but of all the money Paul makes, everyone in the band gets an equal share. Paul Heaton has even written a will that will give the rights of his songs to the other band members when he dies.

POP:  In songs like "Get Up Off Our Knees" and "I Think The Answer’s Yes" it sounds almost as if you’re preaching a marxist revolution.

PDH:  I am. I can’t say that I’m encouraging a violent revolution, but a think that Marxist revolution is the only way to make the world equal. The capitalist system is based on the fact that some people succeed and some people are knocked out. That is how capitalism works.

See what the world is like. We have a ruling class and a class that is out in the cold. The ruling clas tends to get smaller and smaller. In the future there will perhaps be ten people ruling the whole world.

POP:  What do you think of Tony Blair who says he can bring Labour to avictory?

PDH:  Tony Blair can go and fuck himself with a broken bottle. The new Labour is a big fucking joke. It’s not a left-wing party anymore. How far right can you go and still claim to be on the left wing? The groundwork was made already under Neil Kinnock. He got rid of all the people who were considered too far left.

That is by the way something I can’t forgive Billy Bragg for. He supported Kinnock throughout that whole process.

I’m considering voting for John Major instead. Who would you rather took care of your bank business, John Major or Tony-Fucking-Blair? The Tory-gang are professionals at being capitalist bastards. If we get a new Labour leader that is a Conservative at heart, isn’t it better to vote for those who have got the competence and stand for what they’re doing.

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