''Superbi'' is the tenth and final album by the British group

The Beautiful South The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's exi ...

, released on 15 May 2006 by

SonyBMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...

. The album entered the British chart at No. 6 before dropping to No. 20 and No. 37 in its second and third weeks respectively. It was released before their split on 30 January 2007. The album was produced by the former

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

keyboard player

Ian Stanley Ian Christopher Stanley (born 28 February 1957) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was previously a member of the English band Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-plat ...

Track listing

All tracks composed by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray #"The Rose of My Cologne" - 3:47 #"

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

" - 3:54 #"There Is Song" - 4:08 #"The Cat Loves the Mouse" - 3:36 #"The Next Verse" - 4:53 #"When Romance Is Dead" - 3:01 #"Meanwhile" - 3:18 #"Space" - 3:37 #"Bed of Nails" - 4:10 #"Never Lost a Chicken to a Fox" - 4:14 #"From Now On" - 4:43 #"Tears" - 4:05

Singles

"Manchester" was released on 8 May 2006 in the UK. It reached 41 in the singles chart, a very disappointing position compared to other first singles. This is thought to be due to the decline of CD singles which, by 2006, were increasingly the preserve of an older audience. "The Rose of My Cologne" was released on 10 July 2006 in the UK. It reached 99 in the singles chart for the first week. This made this single the worst performing out of all of those released by the band. As was their usual modus operandi, ''The Beautiful South'' included unreleased material on the B-sides of the singles taken from their albums. from the "Manchester" CD single *"Manchester" *"If Teardrops Were Silver" from "The Rose of My Cologne" CD single *"The Rose of My Cologne" *”Farewell” (although its title is a coincidence, this turned out to be the last new track released by the band)

Personnel

;The Beautiful South *

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles " Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then form ...

– vocals *

Dave Hemingway Dave Hemingway (born David Robert Hemingway, 20 September 1960) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as a vocalist for the Hull-based band The Beautiful South until they disbanded in 2007. Previously he had been a member of The House ...

– vocals *

Alison Wheeler Alison Wheeler (born 4 March 1972) is a British singer, best known as the female vocalist for The Beautiful South from 2003 until they disbanded in 2007. Wheeler's career in music began at university in a cover band called Melt City, alongside ...

– vocals *

Dave Rotheray David Rotheray (born 9 February 1963, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English rock and pop musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for The Beautiful South. Rotheray was born the last of five children. His parents were ...

– guitar *

Sean Welch Sean Welch (born 12 April 1965, Enfield, England) was the bassist for The Beautiful South and previously roadie for The Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and chart ...

– bass *

Dave Stead David Stead (born 15 October 1966), is a drummer from Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. Stead was the drummer for the alternate pop / rock band, The Beautiful South. After his parents separated, Stead moved with his mother and siblings to Co ...

– drums with: *Damon Butcher - keyboards *Gary Hammond - percussion *Johnny Scott - banjo, dobro, mandolin *The London Session Orchestra - strings; arranged by

Simon Hale Simon Hale is a British composer, arranger, and keyboardist. Life Hale was born in Birmingham, England in 1964, being dually raised there and in South Manchester before moving to London, where he studied popular music at Goldsmiths College, Uni ...

;Technical *Bruno Ellington, Kieran Lynch - engineer * Bill Price, Richard Rainey - mixing * Martin Parr - cover photography

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums The Beautiful South albums Albums produced by Ian Stanley Sony BMG albums