Rianne Downey
I first noticed Rianne Downey on stage with Paul Heaton at Glastonbury in 2024. I knew that Jacqui Abbott had stepped back from touring and performing but I had not heard of a new singer joining the old boys. As Rianne emerged on stage, I sat up straight. She looked like Stevie Nicks or Dolly in their prime, and sounded every bit as good. Who on earth was she? And why on earth would she sing with these old gits?
The story is even better than I could have imagined. Yet another lockdown triumph. With time on her hands, Rianne had knuckled down to work on her music and started broadcasting on YouTube. Somehow, partly by luck and partly because the universe works in ways like these sometimes, her videos were seen by Paul. He loved the sound and asked to meet her. This led to a few rehearsals and gigs, then to Glastonbury and other festivals, then to a significant contribution on his album The Mighty Several. She is now a firm favourite with the fans and, seemingly, with the band.
Rianne has her own following of course, and her own songs, and regularly performs live. She is like a perfect Nashville country star but with a Scottish accent and a glint in her eye. She exudes positivity and fun. She is everyone's BFF within five minutes of meeting her. She turned herself blonde for understandable reasons, and usually wears a cowgirl outfit on stage. She is the real deal.
I only love Rianne Downey so much because of her association with Paul Heaton, a man who became a hero to me and my school friends at the back end of the 1980s. We were in Hull with Paul and The Beautiful South. He recorded songs round the corner from our house, at Fairview. He sang about Hull once in a while, and even when he wasn't naming Hull it was an obvious influence on the band. But Rianne has now become a figure in her own right. Paul was just the gateway.
I think it would be wrong to compare Rianne to Jacqui or Briana or Alison. That starts to sound like Song for Whoever. All their voices are right for Paul Heaton. Rianne might be the latest but she is also a unique presence. You can tell she loves spending time with her old gits. Perhaps, and I find this quite incredible, she even feels safe in their presence. They're far too old to be interested, and old enough to know when to halt the drinking, one hopes. It seems likely that they are old enough to offer some sage advice about the music business, and I am sure their collaboration runs both ways. She will keep the boys honest, keep the fun in the air, and energise them when they just want to have a lie in.
These songs were the soundtrack to our Anlaby childhood for sure. Then later they became the soundtrack as I took my first journey to Manchester and university, and they were still going strong when I first arrived in London in the late 1990s. And still they record new music today. Some different voices and different styles of course, but still the same ethos and gritty outlook. Still the sense of humour.
As I begin a new direction in my own life, writing seriously about music for the first time, I listen to these songs to find answers all over again.
Rianne's solo tunes such as Lost In Blue and Alright are just as good. I'm resisting the urge to turn this into one of my famous love letters. She really is too young, and she really is very close to home in so many ways. I appreciate her from a distance, and look forward to seeing her live with Paul and the boys this year.
