Paul Heaton was an aspiring musician from Hull, who passed through the ranks of a number of bands, such as Tools Down and The Pond Frogs, before guitarist Stan Cullimore answered Heaton's ad for a partner to form a busking duo. They started to write songs together and slipped them in among the covers of chart hits, but they noticed that they always seemed to be bottom of the bill for any gigs they got, as they were just a duo, so they recruited a bassist and drummer to beef up their sound, and took the name The Housemartins. While still a duo, Heaton and Cullimore had recorded the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' demo tape with help from Ingo Dewsnap and Sharon Green of Les Zeiga Fleurs, and this brought them to the attention of Go! Discs Records, who signed the band to their label. At the same time as 'Go! Disc's released their first single, the band issued 'The Housemartins From Outer Space (A Short History)' cassette themselves, which included new recordings at Crow Studios of a lot of the songs from their first tape, but as a band rather than as a duo. By now, Ted Key, the original bassist, had left to be replaced by Norman Cook (the future Fatboy Slim), and they finally settled on Dave Hemingway as their drummer. In 1986, having recorded two John Peel sessions and released the superb, but unappreciated, 'Flag Day' single, the band broke through with their third effort 'Happy Hour', which reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart, while their debut album 'London 0 Hull 4' cemented their reputation as a first-rate indie-pop band, gifted with an off-the-wall sense of humour. This collection contains all the songs from their first cassette and a few from the second, plus a couple of rare demos and their complete John Peel session from 1985, so sit back and enjoy the beginnings of the 'fourth best band in Hull'. The cover might seem a bit dull, but it's a re-creation of the sleeve from that first cassette tape.
Track listing
01 All Men Are The Same (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)02 When Will I Be Released? (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)03 Skatsburg (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)04 Swansea (With Me) (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)05 Singapore (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)06 It's History (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)07 Time Spent Thinking (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)08 The Day I Called It A Day (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)09 Taxi To Singapore (from the 'Themes For The Well-dressed Man!' cassette 1984)10 I Will Be There (demo 1984)11 Change The World (demo of 'Flag Day' 1984)12 Time Spent Thinking (from 'The Housemartins From Outer Space' cassette 1985)13 Too Many Cooks (from 'The Housemartins From Outer Space' cassette 1985)14 All Men Are The Same (from 'The Housemartins From Outer Space' cassette 1985)15 Drop Down Dead (John Peel session 1985)16 Joy Joy Joy (John Peel session 1985)17 Flag Day (John Peel session 1985)18 Stand At Ease (John Peel session 1985)
