THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

387-The Housemartins-Happy Hour.

1986-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 1.57. If you were to replace the vocals of Paul Heaton for those of Morrissey, (see also best songs 940 and 72) then it probably wouldn’t be quite as happy an hour.

The Housemartins ‘Jangle Pop’ (see also best songs 616) was compared by many to The Smiths, however The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr (see also best songs 673-222-167 and 42) was not impressed. He complained that ‘Happy Hour’ was a complete rip off of ‘I Won’t the One I Can’t Have,’ ‘And they’ve nicked others too.’

The Housemartins were formed in 1983 in Hull, England, United Kingdom, by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Ian ‘Stan’ Cullimore, (guitar) throughout the bands lifetime Heaton went by the name of ‘P. d. Heaton.’ After the recording of their first demo they were joined by Ted Key, (bass) and Chris Lang, (drums) when Key left the band in 1985 he was replaced by Norman Cook (see also best songs 760 and 95.) Lang would be replaced by Hugh Whitaker, who in turn was replaced by Dave Hemingway, who along with Heaton would go on to form The Beautiful South in 1988 (see also best songs 862.) The Housemartins were active between 1983-1988, releasing two studio Albums, and nine singles, seven of which reached the UK top 40, with ‘Caravan of Love’ making Number 1 in December 1986, but not being the Xmas chart topper, having been kept off the top spot by Jackie Wilson’s ‘Reet Petite’ (see also best songs 449.) There are also five official compilation Albums available.

‘Happy Hour’ was the third of four singles released from ‘London 0 Hull 4,’ the debut studio Album by The Housemartins, from June 1986, the song was co-written by Paul Heaton, and Stan Cullimore, with the production being by John Williams. The Albums title refers to the band’s home town of Kingston upon Hull, and is written in the format of a football score. It refers to Paul Heaton’s assertion that The Housemartins were only the fourth best band in Hull, in other words Hull had four great bands, and London didn’t have any. The other three Hull based bands Heaton referred to were ‘Red Guitars,’ ‘The Gargoyles,’ and ‘Everything But the Girl’ (see also best songs 348.)

Stan Cullimore was born Ian Peter Cullimore, on May 6th, 1962, in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire, England, prior to pursuing a music career he studied Maths at the University of Hull from 1980, and graduated in 1984. Cullimore first met Paul Heaton in 1983 when he responded to a local newspaper advertisement by The Housemartins seeking musicians. The majority of the songs recorded by The Housemartins, including ‘Happy Hour,’ were co-written by Heaton and Cullimore. After the group split, Cullimore went on to become a journalist and an author of over 120 children’s books, he also composes music and songs for children’s television. In 2009, he co-wrote and appeared in a preschool music series called ‘The Bopps,’ for ‘Nick Jr UK,’ which is part of the ‘Nickelodeon’ television network.

‘Happy Hour’ and it’s parent Album ‘London 0 Hull 4,’ were produced by John Williams, who was born John Owen Williams, in 1951, in Wolverhampton, England, he is an A&R executive, record producer, photographer, manager, recording artist, and songwriter. Williams has worked with numerous artists in differing capacities since the early 1970’s, being contracted to ‘Polydor,’ ‘Island,’ and ‘RAK Records,’ during that decade. In 1981 he became a session producer for ‘BBC Radio One.’ where over a five year period he produced sessions for John Peel, (1939-2004) (see also best songs 728-659-435-409 and 336) Kid Jensen, Janice Long, (1955-2021) and Peter Powell. Since the split of The Housemartins he has continued to produce several Albums for Paul Heaton, including the 2021 Album ‘Manchester Calling.’ and the 2022 Album ‘N K-Pop,’ which both reached Number 1 in the UK.

Many of Paul Heaton’s lyrics during his time with The Housemartins reflected his interest in Christianity, and Marxism, the back cover of ‘London 0 Hull 4’ contains the message ‘Take Jesus- Take Marx- Take Hope.’ Norman Cook who would go on to achieve even greater success as ‘Fatboy Slim’ has said, ‘Paul realised that he hated writing about love, and that writing politically came easier to him,’ Cook has described some of their songs as ‘angrily political.’

‘Happy Hour’ is a humorous but scathing look at life in the working man’s world, which involved most evenings down the local pub. A ‘Happy Hour’ is a promotional tool used by public houses when they discount their prices. The narrator in the song is on a night out with his boss, who he has to begrudgingly pretend he likes, but his boss is a ‘yuppie,’ and a misogynist. The memorable video to the song was set in a pub, featuring animated Plasticine figures of the band members. It was filmed in The Star Public House, in St. Johns Wood, London.

‘It’s another night out with the boss, following in footsteps overgrown with moss. And he tells me women grow on trees, and if you catch them right they will land upon their knees.’