The Housemartins
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The Housemartins were a British indie rock band that was active in the 1980s.
The band was formed in 1983 by Paul Heaton on vocals, Stan Cullimore on guitar, Ted Key on bass and Chris Lang on drums. The bands membership changed quite a lot over the years. on bass Ted Key was replaced by Norman Cook The future Fatboy slim. And drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whitaker who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway. After the bands split Paul, Dave and roadie Sean Welch went off to form The Beautiful South
The band often referred to themselves as "the 4th best band in Hull," referring to 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, the band broke through with the innovative Happy Hour, which reached No.3 in the UK charts helped by a claymation animated pop promo of a type that was in vogue at the time. At the end of the same year, they had a No.1 single with a cover version of Isley Jasper Isley's Caravan of Love.
They released three albums: London 0 Hull 4, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, and the greatest hits Now That's What I Call Quite Good!.
The Housemartins lyrics were an odd mixture of Marxist politics and born-again Christianity - reflecting Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time.
The band split in 1988 and the members have since remained friends and worked on each other's projects. Despite repeated requests from fans, they have never reformed.
Discography
- London 0 Hull 4 (1986)
- The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death (1987)
- Now That's What I Call Quite Good! (1988)
- Greatest Hits (2004)
External link
- Fan site (http://www.pater50.freeserve.co.uk/housemartins/)de:The Housemartins