PAUL Heaton, singer with the Beautiful South and the House Martins, is to play a gig at the Bull s Head in St Neots on Saturday, May 15 – after a story in The Hunts Post. The visit is part of Mr Heaton s 16-date Pedals and Beer Pumps Tour. He is cycling

PAUL Heaton, singer with the Beautiful South and the House Martins, is to play a gig at the Bull's Head in St Neots on Saturday, May 15 - after a story in The Hunts Post.

The visit is part of Mr Heaton's 16-date Pedals and Beer Pumps Tour. He is cycling through England, playing at traditional pubs, to promote his campaign to save "the local".

In January, the star, 47, put out a call to pubs saying he was looking for venues where he could perform.

The Bull's Head landlady Cecile Neale saw an article about the appeal, contacted Mr Heaton's people and secured herself what should be a superb evening of music.

Mrs Neale told The Hunts Post: "I am over the moon. I was a big fan of Beautiful South and the House Martins. My daughter, Sharon, saw the article, we sent off an e-mail and we didn't hear for a few weeks. I had forgotten all about it until his people rang me in March."

Mrs Neale said she had 50 tickets to sell for the gig at �15 each and all of them had gone - the promoters have another 50 - her pub can accommodate 100 people for gigs such as this.

It will be a busy day for the venue as Saturday is also the FA Cup Final which the pub is showing live.

"I will have to close the pub at 6pm and let people with tickets back in for the gig at 7pm. If the pub is packed we may relay the show into the beer garden."

Mr Heaton's tour, which started in Rochdale on Wednesday, May 5, will take him to pubs in Cheshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey and London, before St Neots and then on to Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire before ending in Manchester.

Mr Heaton, who helped to set up Beautiful South in the 1980s (they disbanded in 2007) and was previously a member of the House Martins, said: "Both cycling and British pubs are very close to my heart.

"I've been cycling all my life and the British pub has provided most of my favourite stop-off points. It saddens me to hear about so many pubs closing. I want to do all I can to get people back to their local."

He is spot on in St Neots. Mrs Neale said she was the last of 11 pubs that were once along Cambridge Street.

Caption: SAILING THIS BIKE ALONE: Paul Heaton starting his cycle tour outside The Rover's Return on the set of Coronation Street in Manchester.