The Housemartins

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The Housemartins

From left: Dave Hemingway, Paul Heaton, Norman Cook, Stan Cullimore
Origin Flag of England Hull, England
Years active 1983 – 1988
Genres Indie rock, College rock
Labels Go! Discs
Members Paul Heaton (vocals)
Stan Cullimore (guitar)
Norman Cook (bass)
Dave Hemingway (drums)
Past members Ted Key (bass)
Chris Lang (drums)
Hugh Whitaker (drums)

The Housemartins were an English alternative rock band that was active in the 1980s.

Contents

[edit] Career

The band was formed in 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals), Stan Cullimore (guitar), Ted Key (bass) and Chris Lang (drums). The band's membership changed quite a lot over the years. Ted Key was replaced by Norman Cook — the future Fatboy Slim — and drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whitaker, former drummer with The Gargoyles, who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway.

The band often referred to themselves as "the 4th best band in Hull", referring to Hull, the city in England where the band formed in 1983. (The three bands that were "better" were Red Guitars, Everything but the Girl, and The Gargoyles.)

In 1986, having recorded two John Peel sessions, the band broke through with the single "Happy Hour", which reached No.3 in the UK charts. The single's success was helped by a claymation animated pop promo of a type that was in vogue at the time, featuring a cameo by TV comedian Phill Jupitus, who toured with the band under the stage name "Porky the Poet". At the end of the same year, they narrowly missed out on the Christmas No.1 single with a cover version of Isley Jasper Isley's "Caravan of Love", when it was knocked off the top spot by Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite" on 23 December.

The a cappella style of "Caravan of Love" was not to the taste of all Housemartins fans and was even derided by some as a sell-out. However, a cappella material had always been part of the band's repertoire. "Caravan of Love" was first performed by the band in their second John Peel session in April 1986, prior to their initial chart success. At Peel's suggestion, the band then recorded another session (under the name The Fish City Five) consisting entirely of a cappella performances, and on at least one occasion played support act for their own performance under this alternative name. One of these a cappella songs, "When I First Met Jesus", formed the B-side of the "Caravan of Love" single.

The band released three albums: London 0 Hull 4, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, and the greatest hits album Now That's What I Call Quite Good. A "Best Of" compilation followed in 2004.

The Housemartins' lyrics were an odd mixture of Marxist politics and Christianity, reflecting Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time. He has since stated that he is an atheist.

The band split in 1988, but the members have since remained friends and worked on each other's projects. Norman Cook has enjoyed significant success with both Beats International and then as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed The Beautiful South. Despite repeated requests from fans, they have never reformed.

In 1993, former drummer Hugh Whitaker was convicted of assault after attacking his business partner James Hewitt with an axe. Whitaker has since been released from prison and now resides in Leeds, where he occasionally drums with local band Percy.

Following the 2006 release of the "In Session at the BBC" cd, some fans began a petition to rally the band into reforming, anyone wishing to sign can do so here :-http://www.petitiononline.com/hmback/petition.html

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • "Flag Day" / "Stand at Ease" (Oct 1985)
  • "Sheep" / "Drop Down Dead" (Mar 1986, UK #56)
  • "Happy Hour" / "The Mighty Ship" (May 1986, UK #3)
  • "Think for a Minute" / "Who Needs the Limelight" (Sep 1986, UK #18)
  • "Caravan of Love" / "When I First Met Jesus" (Nov 1986, UK #1)
  • "Caravan of Love", "We Shall Not Be Moved" / "When I First Met Jesus", "So Much In Love", "Heaven Help Us All (Sermonette)" (12" single)
  • "Flag Day" / "The Mighty Ship" (Feb 1987, US issue)
  • "Five Get Over Excited" / "Rebel without the Airplay" (May 1987, UK #11)
  • "Me and the Farmer" / "I Bit My Lip" (Aug 1987, UK #15)
  • "Build" / "Paris in Flares" (Nov 1987, UK #15)
  • "There Is Always Something There to Remind Me" / "Get Up Off Your Knees" (live) (Apr 1988, UK #35)

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Videography

(does not include "live" appearances on TV programmes)

  • "Sheep"
  • "Happy Hour"
  • "Think for a Minute"
  • "Caravan of Love"
  • "Five Get Over Excited"
  • "Me and the Farmer"
  • "Build"
  • "Always Something There to Remind Me"

[edit] External links

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