Paul Heaton reminisces about his love of Lancashire, playing the Guild Hall in Preston & football rivalries
Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Heaton speaks to the Lancashire Post about all things music, performing at BBC Radio 2 in the Park in Preston, and local football rivalries.
As soon as he’d said it, Paul Heaton started having second thoughts. “When I actually said [that this was the first time I’d played in Preston] out loud, I suddenly had a feeling…” he says. “Have you got a place called the Guild Hall in Preston? I’ve got a feeling I’ve played there at some point.”
He’s met with enthusiastic nods and seems to slip back into his memory, recalling a long-forgotten gig from decades ago. “Yeah…” he says. “But anyway, I don’t think I’ve played Preston more than once.”
Famous for a litany of hits with The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, Heaton was in Preston once again for BBC Radio 2 in the Park, taking to the stage alongside self-described ‘Scottish country-folk fairy’ Rianne Downey, who sings Jacqui Abbott’s vocals alongside Heaton.
“I like Lancashire,” says Heaton. “I deliberately wound people up by mentioning Blackburn, Burnley, and Blackpool because I knew [about the footballing rivalries]! And I was going to make a reference to the empty stand [at the festival] at the back in the rain and say ‘is that Deepdale?’ But I thought I’d better not push it too far.
“I like playing everywhere - the Beautiful South played King George’s Hall in Blackburn, which is a great venue,” adds Heaton. “Lancashire and parts around Manchester like Warrington - a lot of them have lovely parks which we’ve kept coming back to.
“Through years of touring with The Housemartins and The Beautiful South to now, we’ve got a real connection with northern counties.”