Andy York

I'll Sail This Ship Alone
(The Beautiful South)

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by former members of Hull group The Housemartins - Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums) and Dave Rotheray (guitar), all of whom stayed with the group throughout their 19-year career. Later additions included female vocalist Briana Corrigan; she was replaced by Jacqui Abbott, who in turn was replaced by Alison Wheeler.

The group broke up in January 2007, claiming the split was due to "musical similarities", having sold around 6.500,000 records worldwide. In January 2009, it was announced that the former members Dave Hemingway, Alison Wheeler, and Dave Stead would reform under the name 'New Beautiful South' which was later changed to The South.

"I'll Sail This Ship Alone" was the third and final single to be taken from The Beautiful South's debut album Welcome to the Beautiful South. The single reached a low number 31 in December 1989, compared to the band's first two singles "Song For Whoever" and "You Keep It All In", both of which made the top 10 in the UK singles chart. The track was remixed for its release as a single. Whereas the album version was a simple piano and strings production, drums were added for the single version.