Paul Heaton of Beautiful South to Cycle from Pub to Pub

In 1994, the Beautiful South had an unexpected hit in the U.K. with their greatest-hits compilation 'Carry on Up the Charts.' The title turned out to be eerily prescient as the album debuted at number one on the British charts and remains one of the most popular and best-selling records in U.K. history. But that was 1994 and the Beautiful South officially disbanded in 2007.

And although he quietly launched a solo career since then, perhaps frontman Paul Heaton (ex-Housemartins) has been keeping busy drinking pints or cycling across the countryside. Hopefully not in that order.

Heaton -- an avid cyclist and an admitted fan of the British pub -- has announced a solo tour in which he'll combine his three loves. Dubbed the 'Pedals and Pumps' tour, Heaton will cycle 720 miles from one British pub to the next, performing shows and staying the night afterwards. Full details of the tour, which will start in Manchester in May, have yet to be revealed and Heaton is currently still considering pubs to include on his 15-pub path.

The tour is designed to "promote cycling and the British pub," Heaton told NME.com this week. "It saddens me to hear about so many British pubs closing on a weekly basis, so I want to do all I can to get people back to their local." In other words -- bottoms-up. And that's an order!