| Welcome to the Beautiful South | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original cover art by Jan Saudek | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 October 1989[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop[2] | |||
| Length | 50:17 | |||
| Label | Go! Discs, London | |||
| Producer | Mike Hedges, The Beautiful South | |||
| The Beautiful South chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Welcome to the Beautiful South | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Amended album cover | ||||
Welcome to the Beautiful South is the debut album by the English band the Beautiful South.[3] It was released in October 1989 by Go! Discs and the next year in the United States by Elektra Records. Three singles were released from the album, which became top 40 hits in the United Kingdom: "Song for Whoever" (No. 2), "You Keep It All In" (No. 8) and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" (No. 31).
The original album cover depicted two pictures by Jan Saudek, one of a woman with a gun in her mouth, and another with a man smoking. Woolworths refused to stock the album, in the words of the band, to "prevent the hoards [sic] of impressionable young fans from blowing their heads off in a gun-gobbling frenzy, or taking up smoking";[4] An alternative cover featuring a picture of a stuffed toy rabbit and a teddy bear was therefore made. A second alternative cover was also prepared for the Canadian edition of the album; this version omitted the picture of the woman, and featured only the smoking man.
- ^ Smith, Robin (21 October 1989). "This Week: Releases". Record Mirror. p. 28.
- ^ Stavropoulos, Laura (9 May 2023). "'Welcome To The Beautiful South': The Beautiful South's Subversive Pop Debut". udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ Gittins, Ian (7 October 1989). "Beautiful South: Fanfare for the Common Man". Melody Maker. Vol. 65, no. 40. p. 30.
- ^ "Welcome To The Beautiful South". BeautifulSouth.co.uk. 21 May 2000. Archived from the original on 21 May 2000. Retrieved 8 June 2009.