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

Often sarcastic and defiantly anti-establishment, they were fronted by Paul Heaton, who later formed The Beautiful South with Dave Hemingway . Other band members included Ted Key , who was eventually replaced by Norman Cook (the future Fatboy Slim), on bass, Chris Lang , who was eventually replaced by Hugh Whitaker (and then in turn by Hemingway), on drums, and Stan Cullimore on guitar.

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