In Conversation: Alison Wheeler of The South

Some songs just stay with you. Rotterdam, Perfect 10, Song For Whoever, Don’t Marry Her… you probably know more Beautiful South songs than you think you do. You definitely know more than you’d admit to.

That’s exactly the point Alison Wheeler made when she joined me on Drivetime on MIX56 this week.

Alison sang with The Beautiful South in their final years, and she’s now one of the voices fronting The South, the nine-piece band keeping those songs alive. They’re at Blackpool’s Viva on Friday 6 November, and they’re coming to Cheshire next summer for Deva Fest at Cholmondeley Castle.

From Temping at a Record Label to The Beautiful South

Alison’s route into the band is a proper sliding doors story.

She’d spent years trying to make it in music and had almost given up. She was temping at record labels, and one day, while she was making a coffee in the sales department at BMG, a colleague asked her to join a gospel choir. She wasn’t keen at first, but she went along and stayed for two and a half years.

Then the choir got the call that changed everything. Three of them were picked for a studio session with Dave Hemingway, who was recording a solo album away from The Beautiful South. Afterwards he took Alison to one side and asked if he could put her name forward for the band.

“I was like, ‘Uh, yes, please,'” she laughed. It was the early 2000s, when The Beautiful South were, as she put it, “a British staple.” She stepped in after Jacqui Abbott left, and she’s still grateful for the chance.

Big Boots to Fill

The South formed in 2009, two years after The Beautiful South split. Alison doesn’t pretend that singing songs made famous by Jacqui Abbott and Brianna Corrigan is easy.

“They’re big boots to fill,” she said. “Every time I sing their songs, it feels a privilege, but obviously a bit of a worry as well.”

The band see themselves as an homage to Paul Heaton’s songwriting, so they’re not about to start reinventing the classics. The public has been on their side all along. Next year The South will have been together for 18 years, which is longer than The Beautiful South themselves managed.

Four Generations in One Room

The thing that really stood out for me was how wide their audience is. Alison says they can now reach four generations at the same gig: the original fans, their kids (now in their thirties), and grandkids who’ve grown up with the songs because their parents and grandparents kept playing them.

Festivals bring in new fans as well. People have come up after a set to say they’ve gone home, worked through the whole back catalogue and become converts.

And she promises it’s a proper night out. “At our age, we know how to have a good time,” she told me. “We don’t worry about what other people are thinking.” Singing and dancing are positively encouraged. Given everything going on in the world at the moment, I think we could all do with a bit of that.

The Hits, Plus a Few for the Hardcore Fans

You’ll get the big hits, of course. A Little Time, The Beautiful South’s only number one, is still a highlight. But the band also slip in a few album tracks for the fans who know every record inside out, including songs that never made it into the original band’s live sets.

They do it as a nine-piece because the songs need it. Paul’s writing leans heavily on brass, and Alison says the songs “deserve to be heard in all their glory.”

Life on the Road

Add the crew and there are usually about 13 of them on tour. These days they mostly drive themselves and meet at the venue, but when they do all share a tour bus or a minibus, Alison says it’s like “the best Saga holiday you could ask for.” Everyone knows how lucky they are to still be doing it.

Big festival or small room, she gets the same buzz. In a smaller venue she can see each person’s reaction. At a festival, thousands of people sing the words back at her. “It’s the smiles on the faces,” she said. “It’s the euphoria that these songs create.”

I’m with her on that. There’s something special about a huge crowd singing along, but an intimate gig can sometimes beat it.

See The South Live

The South play Viva in Blackpool on Friday 6 November, followed by Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Saturday 7 November and two nights at the Holmfirth Picturedrome on 5 and 6 December.

They’re also confirmed for Deva Fest at Cholmondeley Castle next summer, which is right on our doorstep.

• Tickets and full tour dates are at thesouth.co.uk

Let’s carry on… regardless!