How do you solve a problem like an England crowd after a World Cup defeat? Quite easily actually, if you're Paul Heaton.
The singer who first made his name as the frontman of The Housemartins and later as one half of Beautiful South was a woman down. On Friday it was revealed his singing partner Jacqui Abbott had to bow out of several of their shows, including Manchester. She had an issue with her throat - but this didn't stop him - and his band - from delivering a set peppered with kitchen sink drama, escapism and tunes with the energy and passion of a footie anthem.
You might recall that when Paul celebrated his 60th birthday back in May he stuck his own cash behind the bar of 60 pubs across the UK - with two of Manchester's six tabs awarded to his locals - The Orion on Burton Road and Albert Wilsons on Wilmslow Road in Withington. We knew he was sound then, but when he heard that England would be facing France in the quarter finals on the same day as his Manchester gig, he pulled out all the stops to accommodate everyone coming to the show.
Read more: Jacqui Abbott forced to pull out of Manchester gig with Paul Heaton
He confirmed that fans attending the Manchester gig at the AO Arena would still be able to watch the England vs France World Cup match, while those not as fussed - or too nervous - could grab a glass of mulled wine and listen to a brass band amongst other support acts. What can we say, he's just a class act.
Before the match, support act Billy Bragg came on stage in the pre-match slot of 6.15pm and did his best to settle England fans' nerves. He did a cracking job and changed the lyrics to songs including 'sexuality' to express solidarity with the Trans community, before warning 'geezers my age' needed to get on board.
A tense 90 minutes of football ensued. A true rollercoaster of emotions - one minute stunned silence as France found the back of the net, the next uproar provoked by the referee's contentious first-half decisions, and elation when Harry Kane scored the equaliser. But, as so many of us have come to learn about watching England - it's the hope that kills you.
There could be only one antidote to the misery after England lost - a soul-pop singalong with Mr Paul Heaton. Walking on to the stage to the beat of 'I Drove Her Away With My Tears' from his and Abbott's latest album N.K-Pop - their spin on North Korean K-Pop - the disappointment felt by many in the room quickly began to melt away.
"I'm sorry about the football", he sighed, opening his arms out wide as he lets the crowd get our their last whimpers, boos and jeers. "I said we shouldn't put it on, but we're going to try and brighten you up and lift everyone's spirits. I think I can already spot the people here who have mulled wine.
"I also want to apologise for Jacqui's absence but she's having some throat problems, but I've got here my own Grealish, Foden and Rashford who have stepped in." Proving it's possible to do a great cover or a cover, Heaton and his bassist Chris launched in 'Everybody's Talkin' - exactly what the crowd needed and the atmosphere is lifted.
I'm a little too young to have a strong affinity with The Housemartins' back catalogue, but The Beautiful South is another story. As a 90s kid I can distinctly remember 'A Little Time' blaring out of the car speakers, and here served up alongside 'One Last Love Song' and 'Old Red Eyes is Back' - I'm transported back to a much simpler time, swaying along with the crowd who, like me, probably just needed a bit of nostalgia to cure the football blues.
One from Heaton and Abbott's 'A Good Day Is Hard to Find' captured the mood perfectly, before a smattering of Housemartins tunes including 'Five Get Over Excited' and 'The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death', before South's 'I'll Sail This Ship Alone' had the crowd swaying again.
Building to the crescendo of the night, Paul played an ode to his mother's "contrariness" with 'My Mother's Womb', and manifesto anthem 'Heatongrad' before treating a home crowd to our own anthem 'Manchester'. It's estimated at one point, one in seven households in the UK had a Beautiful South record, and as we enter the latter stages of the gig it's easy to see why.
Taking the crowds from 'Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)', which is sung like a footie song by the crowd, to 'Song For Whoever' - sung beautifully by drummer Peter with support from fans - Paul had the fans completely transported. One last joke about the football - he drew France in the band's World Cup sweepstake - and the set comes to a close, but not before two, yes that's right, two encores.
The hits everyone wanted to hear were accompanied by giant balloons filling the arena which floated around to The Housemartins' joyous Happy Hour and the unmistakable intro of 'Perfect 10' and 'You Keep It All In' - all of which the crowd fully embraced.
The all-important last tune had to be yuletide number one 'Caravan Of Love' - a song for a wholly connected audience stood with their arms around one another, fingers in the air - the sort of spinetingling stuff we were hoping from the match. This crowd has been on a rollercoaster of emotions tonight, but thanks to Paul Heaton and the band, they leave with their heads held high and spirits totally lifted.
READ MORE:
