Hull, UK's Housemartins were an odd band, but not necessarily in a musical way. Many times, they stood on the brink of stardom, only to walk away from the limelight and retreat back into obscurity. Their style was a mix of happy alt-pop with stunning vocal harmonies, mixed with gospel and cabaret style pop. They sang about love and politics. And they're oddly known for the bands they spawned and not the original band.
The band started as a busker duo in 1983, but quickly expanded into a quintet. They put out some recordings in 1985, made a Peel Session, then in 986, they scored their first hit single with "Happy Hour". They followed that up with a number one single with an a capella version of the Isley Brothers "Caravan of Love". Their first album, London 0 Hull 4 was a huge hit in the UK, and their follow up in 1987, The People That Grinned Themselves to Death, was a similar success, and saw the band getting a lot of college radio airplay in the States.
The band is well known for their sunny dispositions and their strong left-wing stance, which was often portrayed in their music. One of their later hits was "Me and the Farmer" a folky pop song about the importance of farming in society, and the plight of the working man.
They broke up in 1988, but often help out with each other's projects. Most of the band went on to form The Beautiful South, who are still together today, playing mopey Smiths style Brit-pop. And the other big name to come out of the band was Norman Cook, better known as the electronic superstar Fatboy Slim.
"Five Get Over Excited" comes from The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, from 1987.
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