The Beautiful South was an English group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums) and Dave Rotheray (guitar), all of whom stayed with the group throughout their 19-year career.
Later additions included female vocalist Briana Corrigan; she was replaced by Jacqui Abbott, who in turn was replaced by Alison Wheeler.
The Housemartins had a dower northern reputation – they came from Hull – so founders Paul Heaton and David Hemmingway sarcastically came up with their new name and where their previous group relied on jazzy guitars and witty, wry lyrics, the Beautiful South boasted a more sophisticated, jazzy pop sound, layered with keyboards, R&B-inflected female backing vocals and, occasionally, light orchestrations. Often, the group's relaxed, catchy songs contradicted the sarcastic, cynical thrust of the lyrics.
The group broke up in January 2007, claiming the split was due to "musical similarities", having sold around 6,500,000 records worldwide.
In January 2009, it was announced that the former members Dave Hemingway, Alison Wheeler, and Dave Stead would reform under the name New Beautiful South which was later changed to The South.
Though the group never found a niche in America -- by the middle of the decade, their records weren't even being released in the U.S. -- their string of melodic jazz-pop singles made them one of the most successful bands in Britain.
Their popularity was confirmed by the astonishing success of their 1994 singles compilation, Carry on Up the Charts, which became one of the biggest-selling albums in British history.
"Perfect 10" was released in 1998. It reached number two in the UK charts. The song also appeared on their album Quench.
The song consists of a series of comments and puns about a relationship between a man and woman using clothing sizes and penis length in the lyrics.
The title itself has a double meaning - "Perfect 10" referring to a person who scores 10 out of 10 for attractiveness and desirability, but also referring to a size 10 (in UK women's clothing measurement) which the male singer (Paul Heaton) suggests is the perfect size for his woman, while the female singer suggest 8 inches is the perfect penis size.
Other weight and size-related lyric puns in the song include: "Anorexic chicks, the model 6, they don't hold no weight with me", and from the female singer (Jacqui Abbott): "If he's XXL, well what the hell, every penny don't fit the slot" and "When he's at my gate, with a big fat 8, you wanna see the smile on my face".
"Perfect 10" was seen as a 'tour classic' by The Beautiful South and it has been stated by Dave Stead that "There are certain songs you just can't leave out...I think we would be lynched if we didn't play "Keep It All In", "Don't Marry Her" and "Perfect 10"."
Notably, the song lyrics contain the phrase "what the hell", which usually remains uncensored on radio stations.
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