JOHN EARLS
Over the course of a three decade-plus career, Paul Heaton has channelled British society’s peculiarities into infectious, chart-friendly pop songs
© Alex Lake
Paul Heaton was the subject of a Twitter storm recently. Don’t worry – he’s much too decent to face being cancelled for a dubious outburst. Instead, social media’s consensus wondered why someone who’s been making smart, funny pop music look easy and natural for 35 years has never won a major award. Whether in The Housemartins, The Beautiful South or Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Paul hasn’t been blessed with a BRIT or Ivor Novello, nor has his music been recognised by NME or Q’s ceremonies.