Towa Bird
Heaton has also announced a UK arena tour for October and November.
Paul Heaton has announced details of his new album ‘Jenius’, which is due for release on 21st August.
Produced by Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, the 15-track record features Heaton’s regular live vocalist Rianne Downey throughout, alongside a guest appearance from Irish songwriter Declan O’Rourke on ‘The Whisky Did’.
It marks the 23rd album of Heaton’s career and arrives almost exactly 40 years after The Housemartins released debut album ‘London 0 Hull 4’.
Alongside the announcement, Heaton has shared new single ‘Favourite Kind Of Idiot’, which he describes as “a love story between two people who see the same fallibilities, the same daftness, in each other”.
“I point out the niceness in not getting things right and not being perfect,” he explains. “It’s a song in favour of the idiotic people and how charming they can be. Even though it's a bit silly, I think it's probably the most romantic song on the album.”
The album title, meanwhile, comes from Heaton’s typically self-deprecating sense of humour. “If anybody ever calls me a genius,” he says, “I always say, ‘What?! With a J?!’ The spelling would obviously be wrong.”
‘Jenius’ follows 2024’s ‘The Mighty Several’ and continues a career that has spanned The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and a string of solo and collaborative releases with Jacqui Abbott.
Heaton has also announced a UK arena tour for October and November, featuring support from Lightning Seeds and appearances from Rianne Downey.
OCTOBER
29 Newcastle, Utilita Arena
30 Glasgow, OVO Hydro
31 Leeds, First Direct Bank Arena
NOVEMBER
2 Cardiff, Utilita Arena
3 Plymouth, Arena
6 Sheffield, Utilita Arena
7 London, The O2
10 Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
11 Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
13 Birmingham, Utilita Arena
14 Manchester, Co-op Live
The free London show gathers Oasis lyrics, a Blur set list and the Astoria's original sign.
