Paul Heaton Brings ‘Heatongrad’ to The Piece Hall in Halifax [Photos]

National treasure Paul Heaton turned The Piece Hall in Halifax into ‘Heatongrad’ for two nights with shows that spanned his musical career with not one, not two, but three hit-making bands.

With another national treasure in Billy Bragg in tow, the show eventually began quietly with a gentle “St Swithin’s Day,” after a false start where the keyboardist had started the intro to the wrong song, to Billy’s dismay.

As always, there were plenty of political statements between songs from Billy, but his biggest statement is still the classic “Sexuality” now reworked in support of the trans community, which is both beautiful and a shame, as other people’s sexuality shouldn’t be an issue for anyone 34 years after the song was first written.

Paul Heaton took the stage to a hero’s welcome alongside Glaswegian singer Rianne Downey, who became his new vocal partner after posting a cover online that impressed him enough to offer her the job – and what a job she does – Heaton’s iconic voice has always sounded perfect alongside a strong female vocal and Rianne is the perfect foil for the descriptive storylines of the songs to play off.

With a rich history to draw from, with The Housemartins and The Beautiful South back catalogues in particular, the setlist was a wondrous and nostalgic trip down memory lane for everyone in attendance. The first big sing-along came from the epic tale of the perils of alcoholism, “Ol’ Red Eyes is Back,” but it was the first of many.

“Me and the Farmer,” with Paul on guitar, was a fantastic stomper and “A Little Time” was more restrained, but both got massive reactions.

With a joke about how you can judge a town by the names of its pubs, and that local drinkery The Three Pigeons name maybe wasn’t as grandiose a choice as the likes of something like a Kings Arms or Golden Lion, and introducing the band by name, instrument and the football team they supported it felt like an intimate conversation with the man. He also promised he’d be having a drink in the Pigeons the following day.

As the sun set Paul declared it to officially be night time and launched straight into a frenetic “Happy Hour” which saw the collected bodies of the middle-aged audience bouncing and lurching around the courtyard in a shared moment of pure joy, and it signalled a closing barrage of hit after hit after hit.

“Perfect 10,” “Good as Gold,” “You Keep it All In,” “Rotterdam” and finally a euphoric “Caravan of Love,” all combined to make the closing of the show a truly emphatic success.

Halifax. The Piece Hall. A Paul Heaton show… what a good place to be!

Our photographer, Frank Ralph Photography, was at the show. Check out his photo gallery and Paul Heaton’s set list here:

Set List:

1. Just Another Family
2. Bow Down
3. Old Red Eyes Is Back
4. Sheep
5. Bell Bottomed Tear
6. Quicksand
7. Five Get Over Excited
8. I’ll Sail This Ship Alone
9. D.I.Y.
10. Fish ’N’ Chip Supper
11. Song for Whoever
12. Me and the Farmer
13. Small Boats
14. A Little Time
15. Don’t Marry Her
16. Heatongrad
17. Build
18. Pretenders to the Throne
19. Happy Hour
20. Perfect 10
21. Let Love Speak Up Itself
22. Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud)
23. One Last Love Song
24. You Keep It All In
25. Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)
26. Caravan of Love

Paul Heaton (w/ Billy Bragg) @ The Piece Hall, Halifax (July 23rd, 2025)

37 photos