The Housemartins

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Template:Infobox band The Housemartins were a British indie rock band that was active in the 1980s.

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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. After the band's split, Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed 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 single "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.

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.

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Discography

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Albums

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Singles

  • "Flag Day" / "Stand at Ease" (Oct 1985)
  • "Sheep" / "Drop Down Dead" (Mar 1986, UK #54)
  • "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)
  • "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)
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Compilations

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External links

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