The Housemartins - Sheep
The Housemartins were an English indie pop group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s,[1] and charted three top ten albums and six top twenty singles in the UK.[2] Many of their lyrics were a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band[3] (the back cover of their debut album, London 0 Hull 4, contained the message, "Take Jesus – Take Marx – Take Hope"). The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" (originally by Isley-Jasper-Isley) was a UK Number 1 single in December 1986.
After breaking up in 1988, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed the Beautiful South, while bassist Norman Cook became an electronic dance music DJ and music producer, founding the groups Beats International, Pizzaman and Freak Power, before rebranding himself as Fatboy Slim.
The band was formed in late 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Stan Cullimore (guitar), initially as a busking duo. Throughout his tenure with the band, Heaton billed himself as "P.d. Heaton".
Heaton and Cullimore recorded a demo tape with Ingo Dewsnap and Sharon Green of Les Zeiga Fleurs which brought them to the attention of Go! Discs. They then expanded by recruiting Ted Key (bass), former guitarist with the Gargoyles.[4] Their first live performance as a band was at Hull University in October 1984.[5] The band's membership changed considerably over the years. Key left at the end of 1985 and was replaced by Norman Cook (the future Fatboy Slim). Drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whitaker, former drummer with the Gargoyles, who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway.[1][6]
The band often referred to themselves as "the fourth best band in Hull", with the best three bands being Red Guitars, Everything but the Girl, and the Gargoyles.