Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. Heaton was a member of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles "Happy Hour" and the number-one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988.He then formed the Beautiful South, whose debut single and album was released in 1989 to commercial success and continued with a series of hits throughout the 1990s, including the number-one single "A Little Time".They disbanded in 2007.He subsequently pursued a solo career, which produced three albums, and in 2014 he released What Have We Become?, a well-received collaboration with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott.In 2015 he released another album with her, Wisdom, Laughter and Lines, and in 2017 a third one Crooked Calypso. The British newspaper The Guardian has described Heaton as "one of our finest songwriters: his music reveals an exuberant ear for melody, his lyrics a keen eye and a brilliant wit".AllMusic said: "The warm, mellifluous voice of Paul Heaton often masks the jagged satirical content of his lyrics."