The Housemartins was a British indie-pop/alternative rock band which formed… Read Full Bio ↴The Housemartins was a British indie-pop/alternative rock band which formed in 1983 in Kingston upon Hull, England. After breaking up in 1988, band members Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed The Beautiful South, while bassist Norman Cook found success as an electronic dance music DJ and music producer founding the groups Beats International, Pizzaman and Freak Power, before rebranding himself as Fatboy Slim.

At its formation the band consisted of Paul Heaton (vocals), Stan Cullimore (guitar), Ted Key (bass) and Chris Lang (drums). The band's membership changed frequently throughout its existence. Ted Key was replaced by Norman Cook (who later became internationally famous as big beat musician Fatboy Slim) and drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whitaker, former drummer with The Gargoyles, who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway. The band split in 1988.

The band often referred to themselves as "the 4th best band in Hull," referring to Kingston upon Hull, 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.

The band released three albums: London 0 Hull 4, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, and the greatest bits compilation Now That's What I Call Quite Good. A new collection, Best of the Housemartins, was released in 2004, and was available in a expanded edition with a DVD collecting their music video clips.

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, but the members have since remained friends and worked on each other's projects. Norman Cook has enjoyed significant success with both Beats International and then as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed The Beautiful South. Stan Cullimore has become an author of children's books. 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 was subsequently released from prison and now resides in Leeds, where he occasionally drums with local band Percy. Whitaker is also a member of The Malkies fronted by Alistair Hulett.

House Martin
The Housemartins Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by The Housemartins:

01 happy hour It's happy hour again I think I might be happy if…
01. i smell winter Now the sun was in my eyes So forgive me if…
04-There Is Always Something There To Remind Me The teacher's name was Charles He made me feel like Jack Tho…
08- Five Get Over Excited Fun, fun, fun (Jeremy) Me, me, me (Fifi) Take, take, take (J…
15. he ain`t heavy The road is long With many winding turns, That leads us to W…
22. lean on me Heavy burden on your shoulder Lean on me Heavy burden on y…
4 Heaven Help Us All Heaven help the child who never had a home, Heaven help…
Always Something There Remind The teacher's name was Charles He made me feel like Jack Tho…
Anxious I was walking by the river, I was asking myself…

Bow Down Mother, Father, I think that I would rather Stay at home…
Build Build Housemartins Now That's What I Call Quite Good... Cla…
Caravan love Are you ready, are you ready? Are you ready, are…
Caravan Of Are you ready Are you ready Are you ready Are…
Caravan Of Love Are you ready, are you ready? Are you ready, are…
Drop Down Dead All-4-One Down To The Last Drop So you say he let you…
Drop Down Dead (12' version) All-4-One Down To The Last Drop So you say he let you…
Everyday's The Same It doesn't seem so long ago That I was sitting…
Five Get Ove Excited Fun, fun, fun (Jeremy) Me, me, me (Fifi) Take, take, take (J…
Flag Day Too many Florence Nightingales Not enough Robin Hoods Too ma…
Freedom I used to think you understood Taught me right and learnt…
Get Up Famines will be famines, banquets will be banquets Some spe…
Get Up Off Our Knees Famines will be famines, banquets will be banquets Some spen…
Get Up Off Your Knees Famines will be famines, banquets will be banquets Some spe…
Happy Hour It's happy hour again I think I might be happy if…
He Ain The road is long With many winding turns, That leads us to…
He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother The road is long With many winding turns, That leads us to W…
Heaven Help Us All Heaven help the child who never had a home, Heaven help…
Hopelessly Devoted To Them In the morning, when i'm woken By the sound of my…
I Can't Put My Finger On It As martin said to xanthe As they played with wooden toys "yo…
I Smell Winter Now the sun was in my eyes So forgive me if…
I'll Be Your Shelter In times when you're troubled Seems more than you can afford…
Johannesburg Please don't show your soul to me I think I'd see…
Joy Joy Joy I got that Joy, joy, joy, joy, Down in my heart, Down in…
Lean On Me Heavy burden on your shoulder Lean on me Heavy burden on you…
Me And The Farmer Me and the Farmer get on fine Through stormy weather and…
Over There Over There Housemartins The fence is long and high where…
People Get Ready All aboard, get on board All aboard, get on board There's a…
People Who Grinned Themselfs to Death They smiled so much and waved their flags As she saluted…
People Who Grinned Themselves To Death They smiled so much and waved their flags As she saluted…
Sheep Sometimes I get so angry with the simple life they…
Shelter In times when you're troubled Seems more than you can afford…
Sitting On A Fence Sitting on a fence is a man who sees no…
So Glad So glad, So glad, So glad, So glad, He took…
So In Love As we stroll along together Holding hands and walking all al…
So Much In Love As we stroll along together Holding hands and walking all a…
Stand at Ease This country is protected from the red disease by men who…
Step Outside Well the wall's to wet to sit on And there's a…
The Light Is Alway Green We dig our models with the brains the size of…
The Mighty Ship [ INSTRUMENTAL ]…
The peolpe who grinned themselves to death They smiled so much and waved their flags As she saluted…
The People Who Grin themselves To death They smiled so much and waved their flags As she saluted…
The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death They smiled so much and waved their flags As she saluted…
The World's On Fire There's a couple sunbathing on a freshly mown lawn in…
There Is Always Something There To R The teacher's name was Charles He made me feel like Jack Tho…
Think For A Minute There's something going on, a change is taking place Childre…
Think For A Minute - Single Version Something's going on, a change is taking place Children smil…
Think for a Minute! Something's going on, a change is taking place Children smi…
Time Spent Thinking They never told the truth They always left me here They turn…
We You can put it down to lack of patience You can…
We Shall Not Be Moved We shall not be moved We shall not be moved Just like…
We're Not Deep You can put it down to lack of patience You can…
We're Not Going Back Do you remember the good old days? An empty stomach and…
We_re Not Deep You can put it down to lack of patience You can…
You When you're down and troubled And you need a helping hand An…
You Better Be Doubtful Tinker, you better place another bet The rich up in the…

House MartinThe Housemartins Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by The Housemartins:

House Martin
The Housemartins Lyrics