Paul Heaton has announced his 23rd album and an accompanying UK tour. Paul Heaton tickets go on general sale at 9.30am today.

The follow-up to 2024's 'The Mighty Several' is titled 'Jenius' and will arrive on August 21. Produced by Ian Broudie of Lightning Seeds and recorded at Manchester's Blueprint Studios, the album features 15 original songs performed by Heaton, his band and regular live vocalist Rianne Downey, with additonal vocals on the track The Whisky Did by Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke.

On the record's title, which reflects Heaton's modest personality, he said: “If someone calls me a genius, I joke and say, ‘What?! Spelled with a J?!’ because that spelling would be wrong."

Alongside the announcement, the former Beautiful South and Housemartins vocalist has shared the album's first single, Favourite Kind Of Idiot, a playful romantic pop song. Heaton explained:

"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."

Heaton and band will be accompanied by Downey for a UK arena tour in the autumn, with shows lined up in Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff, Plymouth, Sheffield, London, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

Each night will feature a career-spanning set, including tracks by The Beautiful South and The Housemartins, with support on all dates coming from special guests Lightning Seeds. 

'Jenius' tracklist:

1.  Can’t Get Next To You
2.  Favourite Kind Of Idiot
3.  I Want The Job
4.  Sad Songs And Lawsuits
5.  She Ain’t Pretty
6.  One Eye Open
7.  Send In The Clowns
8.  Do Not Ask Me
9.  Don’t Lean On Me
10. Jet Black Sky
11. The Whisky Did
12. Before Before
13. Good For The Bees
14. Go Upstream
15. A Son A Father

Paul Heaton Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows

Thu October 29 2026 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Utilita Arena Newcastle
Fri October 30 2026 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Sat October 31 2026 - LEEDS First Direct Bank Arena
Mon November 02 2026 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena
Tue November 03 2026 - PLYMOUTH Plymouth Arena
Fri November 06 2026 - SHEFFIELD Utilita Arena
Sat November 07 2026 - LONDON O2 Arena
Tue November 10 2026 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena
Wed November 11 2026 - LIVERPOOL M&S Bank Arena
Fri November 13 2026 - BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena Birmingham
Sat November 14 2026 - MANCHESTER Co-op Live

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