The Housemartins

Last updated

The Housemartins
The Housemartins.jpg
From left: Dave Hemingway, Paul Heaton, Norman Cook, Stan Cullimore
Background information
Also known asThe Fish City Five
Origin Hull, England
Genres
Years active1983–1988
Labels Go! Discs, Elektra
Past members

The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s [2] and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. [3] Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band [4] (the back cover of their debut album, London 0 Hull 4 , contained the message, "Take Jesus – Take Marx – Take Hope"). The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" (originally by Isley-Jasper-Isley) was a UK number one single in December 1986.

Contents

After breaking up in 1988, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed the Beautiful South, while bassist Norman Cook became an electronic dance music DJ and producer, founding the groups Beats International, Pizzaman, and Freak Power, before rebranding himself as Fatboy Slim.

Career

Formation

The band was formed in late 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals, billed as "P.d. Heaton".) and Stan Cullimore (guitar), initially as a busking duo. The pair recorded a demo tape with Ingo Dewsnap and Sharon Green of Les Zeiga Fleurs which brought them to the attention of Go! Discs. The band often referred to themselves as "the fourth best band in Hull" - various candidates have been cited for the three better bands, including Red Guitars, Everything but the Girl, and the Gargoyles. [2]

With the start of the UK miners' strike in 1984, Heaton felt the angrier political songwriting that resulted from this required a full band lineup. [5] The band recruited the rhythm section from fellow Hull band The Gargoyles, initially recruiting guitarist Ted Key on bass, who then persuaded his bandmate Hugh Whitaker to join on drums. [6] [7] [2] [8] The band's first live performance as a four-piece was at Hull University in October 1984. [9]

John Peel sessions, London 0 Hull 4 and "Caravan of Love"

Key left at the end of 1985, after recording the band's first John Peel session and the band's first single Flag Day, saying he felt isolated in the writing process for the band's first album. [10] Heaton invited Norman Cook (later known as Fatboy Slim), who had been a member of Heaton's teenage band the Stomping Pond Frogs and had played on some early Housemartins demos, to replace Key. [11] [5]

In 1986, having recorded a second John Peel session, the band broke through with their third single "Happy Hour", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. [12] 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 comedian Phill Jupitus, who toured with the band under his stage name of "Porky the Poet". Their debut album, London 0 Hull 4 , was released later in 1986 and contained their previous two singles as well as alternative versions of first single "Flag Day" and follow-up to Happy Hour, "Think for a Minute".

At the end of 1986 they had their only UK No. 1 single on 16 December with a cover version of Isley-Jasper-Isley's "Caravan of Love". [2] The single was pipped to the Christmas number 1 by Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite , which the band later attributed to the track being pulled from the BBC Radio 1 playlist following a sexual reference to the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her husband Denis, made by one of the band in a radio interview. [6] [10]

"Caravan of Love" was first performed by the Housemartins in their second Peel session in April 1986, before 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 occasion played support act for their own performance under this alternative name. The "Caravan of Love" single featured four a cappella gospel songs on the B-side.[ citation needed ]

The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death

Drummer Hugh Whitaker left in 1987 on amicable terms, and suggested his school friend Dave Hemingway as replacement. [2] [13] [5]

The Housemartins' second album The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death was released in September 1987, and included their two previous singles "Five Get Over Excited" and "Me and the Farmer". A third single from the album, "Build", was released in November, and a final Peel Session from the same month provided a recording used for their final single.

Breakup and post-breakup activities

Following the release of their last single There Is Always Something There to Remind Me in April 1988, the Housemartins announced that the band was splitting up. A farewell compilation album, Now That's What I Call Quite Good was released later that year.

The members of the band have remained in contact and have worked on each other's projects. Norman Cook has enjoyed significant success with Beats International and then as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed The Beautiful South. In August 2009, Mojo magazine arranged for The Housemartins' original members (Heaton, Cullimore, Cook and Whitaker) to get together for a photo-shoot and interview, for the first time in many years, but in the interview all the members maintained that the band would not re-form. [6]

Cullimore became a children's author, [6] and in December 2009 co-wrote songs for (and appeared in) a pre-school music series called The Bopps , which first showed on Nick Jr. in the UK in April 2010. Cullimore and Whitaker joined Heaton on stage during a show by Heaton and Jacqui Abbott in 2014 at Hull's The New Adelphi Club, on the stage where the band had signed their Go-Discs record contract. The trio performed the Housemartins hit "Me and the Farmer", and Cullimore and Heaton closed the show with a performance of "Caravan of Love". [14]

In June 2024, Heaton performed on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, and was joined by Cook on bass for a performance of "Happy Hour". [15]

Musical style and lyrics

The band's early releases saw them described as jangle pop, which brought comparisons with bands such as the Smiths and Aztec Camera. [16] [17] David Quantick, writing for Spin , described them in 1986 as playing "traditional '60s-style guitar pop overlaid with soul vocals". [18] Cook described the band as "religious, but not Christians", and the band's repertoire included gospel songs. [16] [18]

Many of the band's lyrics have socialist themes, with Cook stating that "Paul realised that he hated writing about love...and that writing politically came easier to him", describing some of their songs as "angrily political". [18] [19]

Band members

Final lineup

Former members

Timeline

The Housemartins

Discography

Albums

YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions Certifications
UK
[3] 		AUS
[20] 		NZL
SWE
NOR
US
[21]
1986 London 0 Hull 4 3352139124
1987 The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
  • Released: September 1987
  • Label: Go! Discs
9563425—177
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

YearTitle UK
[3] 		CertificationsRecord label
1986The Housemartins Christmas Box Set84
1988 Now That's What I Call Quite Good 8 Go! Discs
2004The Best of the Housemartins29Go! Discs/Mercury
2006 Live at the BBC ― Universal
2007 Soup 15
  • BPI: 2× Platinum [22]
Mercury
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
UK
[3] 		NZL
[23] 		NLD
[24] 		BEL
[25] 		SWI
[26] 		AUT
[27] 		SWE
[28] 		NOR
[29] 		AUS
[20] [30]
1985"Flag Day"—————————London 0 Hull 4
1986"Sheep"56———————97
"Happy Hour"3382523—————
"Think for a Minute"18————————
"Caravan of Love"1235271224Non-album single
1987"Five Get Over Excited"11—96——————The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
"Me and the Farmer"15————————
"Build"15416527—————
1988"There Is Always Something There to Remind Me"35————————Now That's What I Call Quite Good
2003"Change the World" (as Dino Lenny vs The Housemartins)51————————Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Videography

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

Biography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatboy Slim</span> British DJ, musician and record producer (born 1963)

Norman Quentin Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for the Hull-based indie rock band the Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their a cappella cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split up, Cook formed the electronic band Beats International in Brighton, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me". He then played in Freak Power, Pizzaman, and the Mighty Dub Katz with moderate success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beautiful South</span> English pop group

The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group the Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's existence were former Housemartins roadie Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums), and Dave Rotheray (guitar). The band's original material was written by Heaton and Rotheray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Heaton</span> British musician (born 1962)

Paul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singles including "Happy Hour" and the UK number-one single "Caravan of Love" in 1986, before the band disbanded. Heaton then formed the Beautiful South with the Housemartins' drummer, Dave Hemingway, and the band's debut single, "Song for Whoever", and debut album, Welcome to the Beautiful South, were released in 1989 to commercial success. They had a series of hits throughout the 1990s, including the number-one single "A Little Time". They disbanded in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beats International</span> British dance music band

Beats International were a British dance music band and hip-hop collective, formed in the late 1980s by Norman Cook based in Brighton, East Sussex, England, after his departure from the Housemartins.

<i>London 0 Hull 4</i> 1986 studio album by The Housemartins

London 0 Hull 4 is the debut album by The Housemartins, released in June 1986. It contains the singles "Flag Day", "Sheep", "Happy Hour" and "Think for a Minute".

<i>The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death</i> 1987 studio album by The Housemartins

The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death is the second and final studio album by The Housemartins. It was released in 1987, and produced three singles - "Five Get Over Excited", "Me and the Farmer" (#15) and "Build". The title song is about the British Royal Family, which found them gaining controversy in the tabloid papers similar to that of other bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Smiths and The Stone Roses.

<i>Now Thats What I Call Quite Good</i> 1988 greatest hits album by The Housemartins

Now That's What I Call Quite Good was the post-breakup greatest hits album from The Housemartins, released in 1988. As well as singles, the compilation includes various album tracks, B-sides and radio session recordings. It includes many humorous liner notes from the band.

Isley-Jasper-Isley was a splinter group of the Isley Brothers formed in 1984 by brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards), Ernie Isley, and Marvin Isley (bass), due to creative differences that arose among the group.

David Robert Hemingway is an English musician and songwriter, best known as a vocalist for the Hull based band The Beautiful South until they disbanded in 2007. Previously he had been a member of The Housemartins.

<i>Miaow</i> (album) 1994 studio album by the Beautiful South

Miaow is the fourth album by English pop rock group the Beautiful South. It was released in 1994 via GO! Discs. As with most Beautiful South albums, the songs were written by Dave Rotheray and Paul Heaton. The cover originally depicted numerous dogs seated in a music hall with a gramophone on the stage. However, HMV made the band withdraw it as it mocked their trademark dog, and the band put out a second cover depicting four dogs in a boat. Both paintings were created by Michael Sowa.

<i>Painting It Red</i> 2000 studio album by the Beautiful South

Painting It Red is the seventh album by the Beautiful South, released in 2000. A concept album about impending middle age, Painting it Red is among the band's longest. A two-disc UK bonus version contains 20 tracks. The American release on Ark21 has only 17 tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Rotheray</span> Musical artist

David Rotheray is an English rock and pop musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for The Beautiful South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect 10 (song)</span> 1998 single by the Beautiful South

"Perfect 10" is a song by English pop rock band the Beautiful South, released on 21 September 1998 as the first single from their sixth studio album, Quench (1998). It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, selling 89,000 copies during its first week of release, and is the band's last UK top-10 single to date. It received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry in 2021 for sales and streams exceeding 600,000 units.

Ian Peter Cullimore is an English musician, journalist and actor. He played guitar, between 1983 and 1988, for the Hull-based indie rock band The Housemartins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caravan of Love</span> 1985 song

"Caravan of Love" is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of the Isley Brothers' 3 + 3 lineup of the 1970s.

<i>Soup</i> (The Housemartins and the Beautiful South album) 2007 greatest hits album by The Housemartins and The Beautiful South

Soup is an album released in November 2007 by The Housemartins and The Beautiful South on Mercury Records. It is in effect a greatest hits album for both of the bands, the first seven tracks bracketed together as "The Housemartins Condensed" and the remaining fifteen as "The Cream of The Beautiful South". All twenty-two songs were released as singles by the bands, and the track listing runs in chronological order by year of song release from 1985's "Flag Day" to 2003's "Just A Few Things That I Ain't". An associated DVD of the bands' music videos was also released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Hour (The Housemartins song)</span> 1986 single by The Housemartins

"Happy Hour" is a 1986 single by British indie rock band The Housemartins. It was the third single from the album London 0 Hull 4 and reached number three in the UK Singles Chart. Vocalist Paul Heaton had been working on the lyrics for some time, with the song originally being called "French England". It was completed on 22 January 1986, the same day "Me and the Farmer" was written. Guitarist Stan Cullimore had a chord progression planned for the verses, but wanted to finish the song quickly in order to go and buy some cakes, so he reused the same chords for the chorus and a quick demo was recorded, the whole process taking less than ten minutes. The lyrics are centred on the expectations of male office workers to participate in social conventions such as happy hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There Is Always Something There to Remind Me</span> 1988 single by The Housemartins

"There Is Always Something There to Remind Me" is the final single released by British indie rock band The Housemartins. An unfavourable account of Paul Heaton's schooldays akin to The Smiths' "The Headmaster Ritual", the non-album single was released in April 1988 as a 7" and a 12" and reached No. 35 in the singles chart.

The Bopps are a children's musical group formed in the south west of England in 2010. Their members are Stan Cullimore, Keith Littler, Mike Cross and Joanna Ruiz.

John Owen Williams is an English A&R executive, record producer, photographer, manager, recording artist, and songwriter. In a career that has spanned over 35 years at major record labels, he has guided, A&R'd, mentored, and produced many artist careers including The Housemartins and The Proclaimers, as well as producing and signing Alison Moyet, Simple Minds, The Waterboys, Robert Plant, The Blue Nile, Status Quo, Cathy Dennis, Petula Clark, Ocean Colour Scene, J. J. Cale, Blancmange, Shriekback, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jethro Tull, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Debbie Harry and Luciana.

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, Lucy (3 April 2021). "Where iconic '80s Hull band The Housemartins are now". Hull Daily Mail .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 460–461. ISBN   1-84195-017-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Official Charts > Housemartins". The Official UK Charts Company . Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Musical Messages". Marxism Today (Interview). March 1987. pp. 45–47.
  5. 1 2 3 Claire Faragher (director) (2018). Paul Heaton: From Hull To Heatongrad. Channel 4 Television. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hutcheon, David (2009). "A Casual Revolution". Mojo.
  7. ↑ "The Gargoyles – Hull Adelphi Club 1986". Sheffield Tape Archive. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Bibb, Sally (15 October 2020). Sally Bibb interviews Stan Cullimore . Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Frame, Pete (1999). Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland. Omnibus Press. p. 204. ISBN   978-0711969735.
  10. 1 2 Keoghan, Jim (6 October 2012). "High-Flying Birds". Record Collector. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  11. ↑ Nichols, Paul (9 May 2011). "Norman Cook – He's Come A Long Way Baby". PRS for Music. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 261. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  13. ↑ "The Housemartins". Beautiful South and Paul Heaton Fans. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Longhorn, Danny (6 October 2014). "Housemartins reunite for Adelphi Caravan of Love as Paul Heaton joined on stage by Stan Cullimore and Hugh Whitaker". Hull Daily Mail . Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  15. ↑ Fyfe, Andy (29 June 2024). "Paul Heaton At Glastonbury Review: Norman Cook joins Housemartins bandmate for heart-stirring set". Mojo . Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  16. 1 2 Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (2004). Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. Routledge. ISBN   978-0415969987.
  17. ↑ Fletcher, Tony (2012). A Light that Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths. William Heinemann Ltd. p. 548. ISBN   978-0434022182.
  18. 1 2 3 Quantick, David (December 1986). "Blinded by Gospel". Spin . p.  16.
  19. ↑ Lamie, Maria (2003). Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock – The Housemartins. Rough Guides. pp. 509–510. ISBN   978-1843531050.
  20. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 142. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  21. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Housemartins". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "British certifications – Housemartins". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 8 June 2024.Type Housemartins in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  23. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  24. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN DUTCH CHARTS". Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "DISCOGRAFIE THE HOUSEMARTINS". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  26. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN DER SCHWEIZER HITPARADE". Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  27. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN DER ÖSTERREICHISCHEN HITPARADE". Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  28. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN SWEDISH CHARTS". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "THE HOUSEMARTINS IN NORWEGIAN CHARTS". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "Australian chart positions pre 1989". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.