Blue Is the Colour

Infobox Album
Name = Blue Is the Colour
Type = studio
Longtype =
Artist = The Beautiful South


Released = October, 1996
Recorded =
Genre = Pop, Rock
Length = 49:56
Label = Go! Discs Records
Producer = Jon Kelly
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0xfoxqrhldse link]
Last album = "Miaow"
(1994)
This album = "Blue Is the Colour"
(1996)
Next album = "Quench"
(1998)

:"This article is about the album. For the song of the same name performed by the Chelsea football squad, see Blue is the Colour (Chelsea)."

"Blue Is the Colour", released October 1996, is The Beautiful South's sixth album following the two singles "Pretenders to the Throne" and "Dream a Little Dream", which never featured on any album until the release of the second greatest hits "Solid Bronze" in 2001. It was named after a pub in Sheffield.

The album continued the mellow theme of its predecessor Miaow, and is generally considered to be the band's darkest moment, Reflecting Heaton's life at the time. This comes across in songs such as "Liar's Bar" (about alcoholism), "The Sound of North America" (a sarcastic look at capitalism), "Mirror" (Prostitution), "Blackbird on the Wire", "Have Fun" (which Heaton has cited as his saddest song), and the self-explanatory "Alone".

The album spawned 4 singles, the first being "Rotterdam", which flew to number 5 in the charts in September 1996. The follow ups were "Don't Marry Her" which got to number 8 in December, "Blackbird On The Wire", which got to number 23 in March of 1997 and finally the single "Liar's Bar" which got to number 43 in June. The lyrics to "Don't Marry Her" were substantially altered for radio release - changing from "Don't marry her, fuck me" to "Don't marry her, have me", and with "sweaty bollocks" becoming "Sandra Bullocks". On "Liar's Bar", Paul Heaton's vocal consciously imitates the style of Tom Waits.

The album itself was a hit, getting to number 1 on November 2 1996.

Track listing

# "Don't Marry Her"
# "Little Blue"
# "Mirror"
# "Blackbird on the Wire"
# "The Sound of North America"
# "Have Fun"
# "Liars Bar"
# "Rotterdam"
# "Foundations"
# "Artificial Flowers"
# "One God"
# "Alone"

succession box
before = "Greatest Hits" by Simply Red
title = UK number one album
years = November 2 1996 – November 8 1996
after = "A Different Beat" by Boyzone