TEN years ago to the weekend, The Beautiful South were playing to a home crowd in Dalby's sunlit forest glade.
On Saturday, Paul Heaton returned to the Forestry Commission woodland: same weather; same picnicking Yorkshire full house; hopefully not the same East Is East anorak; probably plenty of the same fans; and the same giant bouncing, bursting balloon finale. Different singing partner, however, in Jacqui Abbott from the Hull band's middle years, rather than Alison Wheeler.
Jacqui was always the best Tammy Wynette to Paul's George Jones, the natural yin to his yang, and last November they reunited for What Have We Become, an album of cussed humour, political fury and pretty soul and country tunes that weaved seamlessly into the familiar pattern of Beautiful South and even earlier Housemartins hits at the weekend.

York Press:

Jacqui Abbott at Dalby Forest. Picture by Mike Cowling for Forestry Commission

Each voice is better for being entwined with the other, here wrapped inside probably the best soul revue band in the world from the pub next door. Heaton's supreme songs always have the common touch, a nostalgic melody and a familiar subject, but shot through with waspish northern nous, and the new Some Dancing To Do, where the dancing turns to drinking, and the self-explanatory Costa Del Sombre are a fresh squeeze of lemon as zestful as ever.
Newest of all, The Austerity Of Love, from a putative second H&A album, introduced a ska flavour in another canny gear change, before everyone in the country went wild for the ruder version of Don't Marry Her, Heaton's extemporized Let Love Speak Up Itself and the encore closing-time joys of Happy Hour and a cappella Caravan Of Love.
For the perfect ten out of ten, Heaton had even played his part in The Leisure Society's supporting set of pastoral and urban pop pleasures.