0898 Beautiful South

0898 Beautiful South, released March 1992, was The Beautiful South's third album. The album reached number 4 on the UK charts, unlike their previous two albums which reached number 2; the record company blamed this on the cover which showed ladies' faces on the back of terrapins' shells.

The full title of the album is 0898 Beautiful South, but it is usually shortened to just 0898. The title is meant to be in the form of a telephone number. In the UK at the time, 0898 was a premium rate dialling code associated with sex hotlines, hence the cover. While the first two singles, "Old Red Eyes Is Back" and "We Are Each Other", charted in the UK at #22 and #30, respectively. third single "Bell Bottomed Tear" was the only Top 20 hit from the album, reaching #16. "36D" was a relative disappointment after this success, only managing #46 in the singles charts. "We Are Each Other" was also a success on American alternative rock radio and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1992. It was the band's biggest hit in the United States.

Inside, there were a number of illustrations by artist David Cutter, including a picture per song; these pictures were also used for the singles. Four singles were released from the album, two of them before it was released.