Former editor Ted Kessler reveals that the former frontman of The Beautiful South reached out to the publication to make his generous offer just a few days after the magazine closed.
- Oct 12, 2020
AceShowbiz - Former The Beautiful South frontman PAUL HEATON made a "large" donation to help Q magazine staff following the publication's closure this summer.
The much-loved British music magazine was shuttered in July after more than three decades covering rock and pop.
In a post on Twitter, its former editor Ted Kessler revealed he had planned to honour Paul at their annual Q Awards next week (ends October 18) but, when the magazine closed, the "Song for Whoever" hitmaker made a surprising and generous offer.
"The only award we knew for sure was to Paul Heaton, as we'd heard he'd never won one," Ted wrote. "Think of all the brilliant songs he's written for The Housemartins, Beautiful South etc. Millions of records sold. No Q award (or Brit) for his songwriting. So we knew he'd be Classic Songwriter.
"Then, a few days after Q closed, we got a message from him saying that to thank Q for all the support we'd given him over 35 years, he was going to donate a large sum to thank us in our turmoil. Obviously, I politely declined."
Explaining how Paul insisted on making the gift and that it had helped Q staff through tough times, the editor added: "He was insistent. I accepted the donation and shared it amongst over 40 staff and freelancers working for Q at the time, all of whose minds - like mine - were blown. It really was the most amazingly kind, selfless, generous act. For some, it meant a bill could be paid."
Ted then went on to reveal he had passed on the award to the singer-songwriter, captioning a picture: "We got him that award in the end. Britain's greatest living pop star. A true legend."
Paul and his longtime musical partner Jacqui Abbott were also due to perform a free gig for National Health Service workers this month but it has been postponed until April, 2021 due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
