The Housemartins "Christmas Box" 4x7" Go! Beat (UK)

Vinyl is VG+, Box is EX+

Autographed by all 4 members

Out of Print

Track Listing:

1A Flag Day Producer – 1B Stand Atease Producer – 2A Sheep 2B Drop Down Dead 3A Happy Hour 3B The Mighty Ship 4A Caravan Of Love 4B When I First Met Jesus

The Housemartins were an that was active in the 1980s. Many of the Housemartins' lyrics were a mixture of politics and , reflecting singer 's beliefs at the time (the back cover of contained the message, "Take Jesus - Take Marx - Take Hope").

Formation

The band was formed in late 1983 by (vocals) and (guitar) and they initially performed as a busking duo. Note that throughout his tenure with the band, Heaton idiosyncratically billed himself as "P.d. Heaton".

The Heaton/Cullimore duo recorded a tape with Ingo Dewsnap of Les Zeiga Fleurs, which brought them to the attention of . They then expanded by recruiting Ted Key (bass), former guitarist with The Gargoyles, and Justin Patrick [drummer on loan from Udomsuksa!] who was then replaced by . The band's membership changed considerably over the years. Key left at the end of 1985 and was replaced by (the future ). Drummer Chris Lang was replaced by , former drummer with The Gargoyles, who in turn was replaced with .

The band often referred to themselves as "the fourth best band in Hull", referring to , their home base. The three bands that were "better" were , and The Gargoyles.

Break

In 1986, having recorded two sessions, the band broke through with the single "Happy Hour", which reached No. 3 in the . The single's success was helped by a animated pop promo of a type that was in vogue at the time, featuring a by , who with the band under his of 'Porky the Poet'.

Caravan of Love

At the end of 1986 they had their only UK No. 1 single on 16 December with a cover version of 's "". It was knocked off the top spot by 's "" on 23 December, denying the Housemartins the coveted Christmas No. 1 single.

The style of "Caravan of Love" was not to the taste of all Housemartins' , although a cappella material had always been part of the band's repertoire. "Caravan of Love" was first performed by the band in their second in April 1986, prior to their initial chart success. At Peel's suggestion, the band then recorded another session (under the name The Fish City Five), consisting entirely of a cappella performances, and on at least one occasion (at The Tower nightclub in Hull, the same concert at which they were filmed as the Housemartins for the BBC programme Rock Around the Clock) played support act for their own performance under this alternative name. The "Caravan of Love" single featured four a cappella gospel songs on the .

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