Welcome to the Beautiful South

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Welcome to the Beautiful South
Studio album by The Beautiful South
Released	October, 1989 (UK)
Recorded	1988
Genre	Rock
Length	50:17
Label	Go! Discs Records
Producer(s)	Mike Hedges, The Beautiful South
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (4.5/5) link
The Beautiful South chronology
	Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989)	Choke (1990)

Welcome to the Beautiful South was the debut album by The Beautiful South released in August 1989. Three singles were released from the album: "Song for Whoever" (#2 in the UK), "You Keep It All In" (#8) and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" (#31).

Jan Saudek's album cover originally depicted two pictures, one of a woman with a gun in her mouth, and another with a man smoking. The cover was banned by Woolworths because they thought it might cause people to take up smoking; the picture of the woman with a gun in her mouth also offended. So a second cover was made, depicting a fluffy bunny rabbit and a Teddy bear.

The album made it to number 2 in the charts, and contains some odd songs, including "From Under the Covers" (a song about oversleeping) and "Woman in the Wall" (a song that is popular in concert, about a man who kills his wife.) "Song for Whoever" - sung from the point of view of an insincere songwriter who romances women solely to get material for love songs - would set the mould for much of the band's future work, with its lush musical backing and cynical lyrics.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Song for Whoever" - 6:10
2. "Have You Ever Been Away" - 5:12
3. "From Under the Covers" - 4:05
4. "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" - 4:41
5. "Girlfriend" - 2:54
6. "Straight in at 37" - 4:29
7. "You Keep It All In" - 2:54
8. "Woman in the Wall" - 5:16
9. "Oh Blackpool" - 3:01
10. "Love Is" - 7:04
11. "I Love You (But You're Boring)" - 4:31