One of the North West’s most celebrated musical figures has announced a massive hometown arena performance, accompanying the launch of a new studio record recorded entirely within the city.
Paul Heaton has announced a huge October/November UK tour including shows at Manchester Co-op Live, London’s The O2, Leeds First Direct Arena, Glasgow OVO Hydro, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena & Sheffield Arena.
Paul will be performing songs from throughout his career, including classic tracks by The Beautiful South and The Housemartins.
Special guests on all dates will be Lightning Seeds.
The highly anticipated homecoming fixture follows a significant creative milestone for the veteran musician, who chose a local institution to craft his latest collection of material.
Paul Heaton will release a brand new album ‘Jenius’ on 21st August ‘26 featuring new single ‘Favourite Kind Of Idiot’ (out now).
Produced by legendary producer Ian Broudie of Lightning Seeds and recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, ‘Jenius’ features 15 new original songs, performed by Paul and his band + his regular live vocalist, Rianne Downey. Additional vocals on ‘The Whisky Did’ are provided by Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke.
Hometown Recording Sessions Emphasise Melodic Craft and Relatable Storytelling
The upcoming record’s title reflects the artist’s characteristically self-deprecating approach to his extensive body of work.
He said:
“If anybody ever calls me a genius, I always say, ‘What?! With a J?!’ The spelling would obviously be wrong.”
Fortunately, there’s nothing bashful about these songs, something reflected in the LP’s cover, a striking black and white shot of Paul.
Indeed, Jenius betrays the truth of his talents, and its songs, of love and loneliness, pubs and booze, community and counsel, a nod to football, the state of the nation, and the overall wisdom of kindness – are distinguished by his notably tender voice, his enchanting melodies and a meticulous, effortless craft.
He continued:
“If I can get a variety of people of all sorts of backgrounds to say, ‘Oh, that could be about me or you’, then I’ve been successful”.
The project’s lead promotional track delivers a rhythmic, lighthearted exploration of interpersonal relationships.
The first single, ‘Favourite Kind Of Idiot’, a lighthearted love story set to a deliciously infectious anthemic pop groove written by Paul Heaton, is available today.
Of the song Paul said:
“It’s a love story between two people who see the same fallibilities, the same daftness, in each other, and instead of moaning – “God, it’s taken you two hours to change that light bulb!” – they see it’s what brings them together.
“I point out the niceness in not getting things right and not being perfect, especially with “You ain’t no beaut/ But I don’t date you for the view…”
“It’s a song in favour of the idiotic people and how charming they can be, in a similar vein to Chip Taylor’s ‘Fuck All The Perfect People’.
“Even though it’s a bit silly, I think it’s probably the most romantic song on the album.”
Box Office Details Confirmed Under Transparent Flat-Rate Pricing Policy
The tour implements a deliberate, accessible financial strategy across all involved venues, including the major new East Manchester arena.
All tickets are priced at an affordable £39.50 (plus ticket fees) and go on sale on Friday 5th June at 9.30am from on Ticketmaster and also here.
Co-op Member Presale windows will activate slightly earlier on 3 June 2026 at 09:30am.
The digital and physical distribution networks for the upcoming studio release will activate simultaneously in late summer, across vinyl, CD, and cassette formats.
