Taking time out from some Irish tour dates, The Housemartins are on the Saturday morning programme ‘Borderline’.
Formed in 1984, Hull band The Housemartins are guitarist Stan Cullimore, singer Paul Heaton, bass player Norman Cook and drummer Hugh Whitaker. The four-piece released their debut album ‘London 0 Hull 4’ in June 1986 and reached No 3 in the UK Singles Chart with their third single ‘Happy Hour’. The group recently released their fourth single, ‘Think for a Minute’.
The Housemartins opened their ‘Think for a Minute’ European tour at the Bridge Hotel in Waterford on 16 October 1986. The following day they were guests on Dave Fanning’s show on RTÉ Radio 2 (now RTÉ 2fm) and also played a concert at the Olympic Ballroom in Dublin. The Irish leg of the tour continues with dates at Horans in Tralee and Queens University in Belfast.
From his vantage point on the Olympic Ballroom stage, Stan Cullimore saw lots of pushing up the front. In spite of the boisterous audience, Paul Heaton enjoyed the show,
It was good, it was a bit wild but it was a good laugh.
The Housemartins musical style ranges from up-tempo tunes to gospel-style a cappella numbers. Many of their songs contain social comments but they do not write overtly political songs. Paul Heaton considers they are socialists but,
We don’t affiliate ourselves with anything really cos I think it can alienate people.
In spite of the success of album and single sales Stan Cullimore is still waiting to see an improvement in his finances,
Were told that these enormous cheques are in the post, but they’ve been in the post for about 18 months now.
There is pressure for The Housemartins to release a second album. However Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore have not had an opportunity to write new songs,
That’s the main pressure, just forging the time, you know, to actually write.
The Housemartins’ second album ‘The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death’ was released in September 1987.
‘Borderline’ was a Saturday morning teenage programme that covered music, fashion and film. It was first broadcast on 11 October 1986.
This episode of ‘Borderline’ was broadcast on 18 October 1986. The presenters are Ronan Johnston and Aonghus McAnally.
20 авг 2024