Paul Heaton – Live Review – Bramhall Lane, Sheffield

By Graham Clark, June 2025

Whilst the majority of the audience were still outside Bramhall Lane queuing to get into the football stadium, they missed a storming set from the Lightning Seeds, which concluded fittingly with ‘Three Lions’.

“I’ve just seen a rainbow – there’s another one coming soon,” offered Shed Seven frontman Rick Witter as the band took to the stage. The York act have a back catalogue of tracks that seemed perfect for a stadium crowd. Though not playing in front of their own fans, the 30,000-strong audience appeared to know at least a handful of the band’s songs.

The three-piece brass section added flair to ‘Getting Better’ and ‘Disco Down’, and – as Witter promised earlier – a rainbow did appear again, in the form of probably one of Shed Seven’s biggest tracks, ‘Chasing Rainbows’. As the audience sang back the chorus in unison, it almost felt like the York band were the headline act tonight.

Shed Seven

“Exuberance”

The songbook of The Beautiful South is arguably one of the richest in pop music over the last thirty years. After the band split up, there were several reincarnations featuring former members – none of which reached the level of success and large venues that lead singer Paul Heaton has.

Besides launching a successful solo career, the Sheffield United fan has a policy of not overcharging his fans for concert tickets. Even if tonight’s concert had been priced higher, there’s no doubt that he and his band would still have sold out the venue.

The vocal interplay between Heaton and his many female co-vocalists over the years has always been a strong element of his songs. His new discovery, Rianne Downey, brings youthful exuberance to the line-up; her voice blends country blues with a pop flair.

Paul Heaton, with Rianne Downey

“Hit-laden”

Tonight, however, was a journey through Heaton’s career to date. For every Beautiful South song, there was a Housemartins track, or one from his solo career, to call upon. ‘Old Red Eyes Is Back’ was as regal as ever, ‘Sheep’ sounded as melodic and upbeat as always, while ‘Small Boats’ proved that Heaton still has his finger on the pulse of current events.

Recalling his first visit to Bramhall Lane in 1969 with his dad added a personal touch to the evening as the hit-laden gig continued. Hearing the tracks back-to-back was a reminder of how well they’ve stood the test of time: melodic songs with a wry and observational twist.

As a sea of balloons – naturally in Sheffield United colours – bounced around the audience during ‘Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud)’, and streamers were fired across the crowd, these were the only concessions to stadium-style theatrics. The music had remained firmly centre stage throughout.

As ‘Caravan of Love’ closed the two-hour show, Heaton and his band, along with the audience, had been part of a performance that felt welcoming, genuine – and just like the beautiful North.

images: Graham Clark