Paul Heaton first found chart success as part of The Housemartins prior to penning his first hit with The Beautiful South, the 1989 No.2 Song For Whoever. Here, the British songwriting great looks back on a cynical classic...

There was a Ray Charles album called Dedicated To You, which had song titles like Nancy, Margie, Ruby, Stella By Starlight, Sweet Georgia Brown and Josephine, and he dedicated songs to ‘all the sweet ladies’. I don’t think he was serious, but ...