Listening to The Housemartins takes me back to when all I listened to was Jangle pop and my derpy days of playing the music video of “Happy Hour” which I recorded on VHS and trying my best to emulate their crazy dance moves as shown on the music video. Good times! The Housemartins “London 0 Hull 4” is recommended!
Click here to purchase The Housemartins – “London 0 Hull 4” on Amazon
BAND: The Housemartins
ALBUM: London 0 Hull 4
DURATION: 16 Songs (48 Minutes)
RELEASE DATE: June 1986
1 Happy Hour
2 Get Up Off Our Knees
3 Flag Day
4 Anxious
5 Reverends Revenge [Instrumental]
6 Sitting on a Fence
7 Sheep
8 Over There
9 Think for a Minute
10 We’re Not Deep
11 Lean on Me
12 Freedom
13 I’ll Be Your Shelter (Just Like a Shelter)
14 People Get Ready
15 The Mighty Ship
16 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
I first discovered The Housemartins when their song “Happy Hour” was shown on MTV.
It featured the band members who were quirky and also had claymation, but I got into their music courtesy of their jangle pop (jangly guitars and 60s style of melodies) and one of the most popular bands known for that sound was R.E.M. and The Smiths. Both bands which I listened to a lot and still do today.
The band which formed in 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Stan Cullimore (guitar) and would lose and add members throughout the years including drummer Hugh Whitaker (who would be later replaced by David Hemingway) and bassist Norman Cook (who is now known to the world by his stage name, Fatboy Slim).
The band members were proud to be from the port city of Hull, England and performed their first live performance at Hull University in 1984. And often called themselves the fourth best band from Hull, after the Red Guitars, Everything but the Girl and The Gargoyles.
The band would release their first album “London 0 Hull 4” which was a reference to their being four great bands from Hull.
The band which would be considered as many as one of the most underrated bands of all time but The Housemartins did make an impact and they were controversial in some ways as the lyrics of their music reflected Paul Heaton’s interest in Christianity and Marxism and he was often critical of the Queen.
And the first song off the album that would be released as a single was “Flag Day” which would reach no. 124 on the UK Singles Charts.
Consider the lyrics to the song:
It’s a waste of time if you know what they mean
Try shaking a box in front of the queen
‘Cause her purse is fat and bursting at the seams
It’s a waste of time if you know what they mean
Too many hands in too many pockets
Not enough hands on hearts
Too many ready to call it a day
Before the day starts
So you thought you’d like to see them healed
Decided to save a jumble sale
For the poor, for the poor
The band would have a much better showing in the charts with their second single “Sheep”. A song about the people who behave like sheep (possibly due to the country’s politics at the time) and the lyrics about standing against them or their beliefs.
Sometimes I get so angry with the simple life they lead
The shepherd’s smile seems to confirm my fears
And they’ve never questioned anything, never disagreed
Sometimes I think they must have wool in their ears
And when you see a cane, I see a crook (whoa-oh)
And when you see a crowd, I see a flock
It’s sheep we’re up against (sheep we’re up against, sheep we’re up against, sheep we’re up against)
It’s sheep we’re up against (sheep we’re up against, sheep we’re up against, sheep we’re up against)
As mentioned, the song which got me interested in The Housemartins was their song “Happy Hour”. The video was shown stateside on MTV and the single reached no. 3 on the UK Singles Charts.
For the most part, the song sounds so happy and the music video is joyful and hilarious, memorable for their fun dance choreography and the claymation characters. But in truth, the lyrics were written about the “hypocrisy and sexism of young British business types on the move”.
It’s another night out with the boss
Following in footsteps overgrown with moss
And he tells me that women grow on trees
And if you catch them right they will land upon their knees
Where they open all their wallets
And they close all their minds
And they love to buy you all a drink
And then we ask all the questions
And you take all your clothes off
And go back to the kitchen sink
What a good place to be
Don’t believe her
‘Cause they speak a different language
And it’s never really happened to me
Don’t believe her, oh no
‘Cause it’s never been happy for me
The band’s fourth single off the album was “Think for a Minute”. Both the album version and single are different, as the single version would incorporate Guy Barker’s piano and trumpet. The song would reach no. 18 on the UK Singles Charts and for me, I feel the song rings true today.
While the song predates when the Internet and social media and smartphones became popular, the song is no doubt the changes of society.
Something’s going on, a change is taking place
Children smiling in the street have gone without a trace
This street used to be full, it used to make me smile
And now it seems that everyone is walking single file
And many hand their heads in shame
That used to hold them high
And those that used to say hello
Simply pass you by
Think for a minute, stop for a minute
The album also has catchy tracks such as “Sitting on a Fence”, “We’re Not Deep” and there are also instrumental tracks “Reverends Revenge” and “The Mighty Ship”, an a capella tracks “People Get Ready” and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”.
The original release of the album featured 12 tracks, while the CD version would have four extra tracks. A 2009 Deluxe Edition was released which came with a bonus disk featuring B-sides, single versions, unreleased tracks and also the BBC Saturday Live Session and BBC John Peel Sessions. Unfortunately, as much as I prefer deluxe editions, this was not offered on digital.
But overall, listening to The Housemartins takes me back to when all I listened to was Jangle pop and my derpy days of playing the music video of “Happy Hour” which I recorded on VHS and trying my best to emulate their crazy dance moves as shown on the music video. Good times! The Housemartins “London 0 Hull 4” is recommended!
Click here to purchase The Housemartins – “London 0 Hull 4” on Amazon
