DON’T Marry Her was the comedic plea sent out by The Beautiful South in 1996, and now 26 years on it is one of Ali Wheeler’s favourite songs to perform whilst on stage with The South.

Ali is one member of the nine-piece band featuring former members of the iconic band that she provided vocals for on their final three albums before splitting in 2007.

And just as the band prepares to hit the road for their 2022 tour which will see them bring the classic songs of The Beautiful South back to life, Ali has spoken about a place where she has one of her fondest touring memories in – Barrow.

“We’ve been to Barrow a couple of times. I have one of my fondest memories of touring from when we went to a gig in Barrow and we ended up at a working men’s club afterwards with an Elvis impersonator. It was ace,” said Ali.

“He was amazing and we had the best night. Everyone made us feel so welcome.”

Despite Covid bringing live music to a halt The South made a return to performing in August, and if the audiences reaction is anything to go by, Barrow audiences are in for an electric night when they perform at The Forum on March 26.

Ali said: “If you’ve never been to see The Beautiful South or The South it’s a right knees up. We have people coming again and again.

“The first gig we did in August was really special, there was 6,000 people singing back to me and everyone was so excited. I feel very blessed to go back to it after a long period of no performing at all.

“It’s just elation. We’re only as good as our audience. We’re blessed with some amazing fans and they just carry us along. It’s so euphoric when they’re singing the songs.

“If you’re inquisitive and don’t know what to expect, come along and I guarantee you’ll have fun. The audience is always a lively bunch and it’s a weekend so what could possibly go wrong.

“It’s one of those bands that are under your skin, you might think you only know three or four songs but I guarantee you know 10, 11 or 12 and they’ve been buried in the back of your brain!”

If you would like tickets, visit: http://thesouth.co.uk/tour-dates/