{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Manchester Calling | type = studio | cover = Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott - Manchester Calling.png | alt = | artist = Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott | released = {{Start date|2020|03|06|df=y}} | recorded = | studio = Blueprint Studios (Salford, Manchester)<ref name="UDM"/> | genre = * Pop<ref name="Guardian"/> * folk<ref name="Guardian"/> * ska<ref name="Guardian"/> * soul<ref name="Guardian"/> | length = 64:54 | label = Virgin EMI | producer = John Owen Williams | chronology = Paul Heaton | prev_title = The Last King of Pop | prev_year = 2018 | next_title = N.K-Pop | next_year = 2022 | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = Jacqui Abbott | type = studio | prev_title = Crooked Calypso | prev_year = 2017 | title = Manchester Calling | year = 2020 | next_title = N.K-Pop | next_year = 2022 }} {{Singles | name = Manchester Calling | type = studio | single1 = You and Me (Were Meant to Be Together) | single1date = 14 February 2020 }} }} '''''Manchester Calling''''' is the fourth studio album by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, both formerly members of the Beautiful South. The album was released on 6 March 2020 by Virgin EMI.
Heaton wrote the songs in various locations in North Holland and Belgium, and composed the music between a hotel in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, and in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany.<ref name="UDM">{{cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/paul-heaton-manchester-calling/|title=Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott Announce 'Manchester Calling' Album, UK Tour|website=UDiscoverMusic|last=Peacock|first=Tim|date=23 January 2020|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref>
Heaton and Abbott were set to tour the UK in support of the album across April and May 2020, but this was postponed until later in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also performed several songs on ''The Late Late Show'' on 6 March.<ref name="UDM"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/paul-heaton-jacqui-abbott-set-perform-late-late-show-tonight-22807942|title=Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott set to perform on The Late Late Show tonight|work=Hot Press|date=6 March 2020|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref>
==Background== Heaton called the theme of the album "anti growth, anti greed, [and] against the continuous tearing down of old buildings and sticking up soulless offices, and the disappearance of local accents on TV, along with the creeping spread of Americanese" in the United Kingdom, and more specifically Manchester.<ref name="UDM"/> The cover of the album is a composite picture of two skyscrapers, one of which is the Beetham Tower, the location of the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/interviews/paul-heaton-interview-say-music-sharons-traceys-worst-kind-snobbery/|title=Paul Heaton interview: 'To say our music is for Sharons and Traceys is the worst kind of snobbery'|work=Telegraph.co.uk|last=Winwood|first=Ian|date=9 March 2020|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | MC = 79/100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/manchester-calling/paul-heaton-jacqui-abbott|title=Manchester Calling by Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott Reviews and Tracks|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref> | rev1 = ''The Guardian'' | rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/06/paul-heaton-jacqui-abbott-manchester-calling-review|title=Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott: Manchester Calling review – rich vignettes on life's vagaries|work=The Guardian|last=Simpson|first=Dave|date=6 March 2020|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref> | rev2 = ''The Scotsman'' | rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="Scotsman">{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/album-reviews-deacon-blue-paul-heaton-jacqui-abbott-sergio-mendes-sound-yell-2445439|title=Album reviews: Deacon Blue {{!}} Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott {{!}} Sergio Mendes {{!}} Sound of Yell|work=The Scotsman|last=Shepherd|first=Fiona|date=10 March 2020|accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref> }} Writing for ''The Guardian'', Dave Simpson called the songs "richly observed, gently acerbic vignettes about the vagaries of British life, delivered over a mix of steadily uptempo pop, folk, ska and soul".<ref name="Guardian"/>
In a review for ''The Scotsman'', Fiona Shepherd felt that ''Manchester Calling'' is about Heaton disliking "what he sees in Brexit Britain" as well as his "tribute to The Clash's ''London Calling'', broadly inspired by commercial expansion in the city he calls home", although Heaton also still writes about "the man on the street or in his home" with "wry lyrics in diverse, celebratory sonic settings".<ref name="Scotsman"/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = ''Manchester Calling'' track listing | title1 = The Only Exercise I Get Is You | length1 = 3:20 | title2 = If You Could See Your Faults | length2 = 3:51 | title3 = Somebody's Superhero | length3 = 3:57 | title4 = Big News in a Little World | length4 = 4:01 | title5 = You and Me (Were Meant to Be Together) | length5 = 3:35 | title6 = The Outskirts of the Dancefloor | length6 = 4:38 | title7 = So Happy | length7 = 3:17 | title8 = A Good Day Is Hard to Find | length8 = 4:12 | title9 = Fat of the Land | length9 = 3:59 | title10 = All of My Friends | length10 = 3:37 | title11 = The Prison | length11 = 3:56 | title12 = House Party 2 | length12 = 4:45 | title13 = He's Got What I Had | length13 = 3:35 | title14 = New York Ivy | length14 = 5:24 | title15 = MCR Calling | length15 = 4:52 | title16 = My Legal High | length16 = 3:48 | total_length = 64:54 }}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''Manchester Calling'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2020) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Ireland3|3|date=20200313|rowheader=true|accessdate=14 March 2020}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|2|date=20200313|rowheader=true|accessdate=14 March 2020}} |- {{album chart|UK2|1|date=20200313|rowheader=true|accessdate=14 March 2020}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Paul Heaton}} {{Jacqui Abbott}} {{Authority control}}
Category:2020 albums Category:Albums produced by John Owen Williams (record producer) Category:Folk albums by British artists Category:Jacqui Abbott albums Category:Paul Heaton albums Category:Ska albums by British artists Category:Soul albums by British artists Category:Virgin EMI Records albums