The Housemartins - five get over excited live, 1997

"The live version of "Five Get Over Excited" on Raise the Flag by The Housemartins was recorded at the Austin City Limits festival in Texas in 1987."

The Housemartins - the light is always green cheap version, 1997

"Raise the Flag" is a bootleg compilation album released in 1997 by Saturday Elephant Productions. This album is not an official release but a collection of B-sides, live tracks, and rarities from 1984–1988, featuring 24 tracks such as "Stand at Ease," "Coal Train to Hatfield Main," "You," and "Drop Down Dead (12" Version)." It includes an 8-page full-color foldout insert with a bio, band member details, and a complete Housemartins discography. The CD, cataloged as SE02-97, is considered a rare collector's item and is noted for its jangle pop and indie pop style.

The Housemartins - i bit my lip, 1987

"I Bit My Lip" by The Housemartins was released as the B-side to their 1987 single "Me and the Farmer" on Go! Discs (catalog: GOD 19). It’s a jangle pop/indie pop track, consistent with their sound, featuring Paul Heaton’s socially aware lyrics about aspiration and frustration in a working-class context. The song’s lyrics, like “I bit my lip until it bled / ‘Yes please’ was all I ever said,” reflect themes of suppressed emotion and hope for a better life."

The Housemartins - reverends revenge, 1986

"Many of the albums I loved as a kid had instrumental songs, such as “Reverend’s Revenge” by the Housemartins, “Aku Aku” by Styx, and “Musicatto” by Kansas. It’s quite common in prog rock!"

The Housemartins - there is always something there to remind me, 1988

"I’m constantly amazed and humbled that people still listen to it after 32 years. I write kids’ books now and work in schools engaging primary school children in reading and writing. Sometimes I joke with them, “Hey, I used to be a pop star! Who believes me?” They never do"

The Housemartins - hopelessly devoted to them, 1988

"To me, it never mattered whether people got the lyrics or not. I didn’t have that snobbery. I listen to a record purely on the strength of the music and vocals, nothing to do with whether it says something profound or whatever. Like Smokey Robinson – there are all sorts of his songs that I’ve liked and then later on thought, “Jesus, what a good lyricist.” I still love Smokey. He could’ve been singing the alphabet for all I cared, the lyrics are an added bonus. But then, when people say to me, “I don’t like your politics,” I think, “So what?”

The Housemartins - the light is always green, 1987

"'The Light Is Always Green' offers a sharp critique of modern society's obsession with speed, materialism, and superficiality. The lyrics paint a picture of a world where people prioritize appearances and possessions over genuine human connections and meaningful experiences."

The Housemartins - the mighty ship, 1986

"The Housemartins lyrics were an odd mixture of Marxist politics and born-again Christianity, reflecting Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time. The band split in 1988, but the members have since remained friends and worked on each other's projects. Norman Cook has enjoyed significant success with both Beats International and then as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed The Beautiful South. Stan Cullimore has become an author of children's books. Despite repeated requests from fans, they have never reformed."

The Housemartins - time spent thinking, 1984

"The Housemartins originated as a Kingston upon Hull busking duo composed of singer Paul David “P.d.” Heaton and guitarist Stan Cullimore. Heaton (b. May 9, 1962; Bromborough, Merseyside) spent his childhood in Sheffield and his adolescence in Chipstead, Surrey, where he played in his first band, Tools Down, with his brother and local youth. He lived for a year in Leeds and busked around Europe before 1983, when he settled in Hull, where he met Cullimore (b. April 6, 1962; Stapleford, Cambridgeshire), who attended grammar school in Birmingham and enrolled (in 1980) as a mathematics major at the University Hull. They cut a demo tape with the rhythm section of local goth rockers Les Zeiga Fleurs. Heaton and Cullimore pressed 100 copies of Themes for the Well-dressed Man, a demo cassette with nine songs"

The Housemartins - pirate aggro, 1987

"The Housemartins, along with The Smiths and The Ocean Blue, play a crucial role in my musical development. That jangly guitar is burned onto my soul! I remain a huge fan of the music they released in the brief window they existed, they deserve more credit and attention then they tend to get. It's nice to see a post on here about them, many thanks to the OP."

The Housemartins - coal train to hatfield main, 1986

"I was like a kid at Christmas when the postman arrived (with the 12″ of this very single) that day and the final piece of the jigsaw was put into place. They may have only released 9 singles in total, but they made an everlasting impression on the early teenage me."

The Housemartins - happy hour, 1986

"an impossibly catchy song about London office workers"

The Housemartins - paris in flares, 1987

"Paul realised that he hated writing about love...and that writing politically came easier to him"

The Housemartins - bow down, 1987

"In the mid-80s, The Housemartins were extremely important to me, combining jingly-jangly indie-pop records with leftie lyrics. Even more importantly, I was able to include loads of their songs on the mix-tapes I used to lovingly compile to be played in the 6th Form Common Room."

The Housemartins - we're not going back, 1987

"The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death was ranked number nine among "Albums of the Year" for 1987 in the annual NME critics' poll."

The Housemartins - he will find you out, 1987

"To anyone who owns a Housemartins album, or comes from my hometown of Hull, my special guest today needs no introduction. Described as alternative rock and pop, for four glorious years in the 1980's the Housemartins brought the music world their unique songs blending Marxist politics and Christianity. Stan Cullimore will always be fondly remembered for being the geeky one in specs who played the guitar. The band split in 1988. What happened to Stan afterwards?"

The Housemartins - drop down dead, 1985

"I was living in a study bedroom in Battersea, South London, at the time, both lonely and never alone in the twilight hours. The fleet-of-foot foursome with a spiritual bent recorded Drop Down Dead, Flag Day, Stand At Ease and Joy Joy Joy that summer, and somehow or other, between mouthfuls of reactivated powdered milk and plain own-brand biscuits, I sealed the standout onto cassette tape, alerting me at once to the band’s musical acumen and SWP rigour (“It’s a waste of time if you know what they mean/Try shaking a box in front of the Queen”). Ironically, the migratory bird after which they are named has a blue head; the band had not a blue bone in its body."

The Housemartins - the people who grinned themselves to death, 1987

"Comparisons to the Smiths are essentially irrelevant by the point of the Housemartins' underrated sophomore effort – the melodies and arrangements move away from the upbeat guitar pop shimmer of London 0, Hull 4 to further explore the group's fascination with Motown and gospel, while P.D. Heaton's lyrics articulate a leftist anger and scathing social commentary the likes of which Morrissey's insularly personal lyrics only hint at."

The Housemartins - caravan of love cover, 1986

"British indie band the Housemartins released "Caravan of Love" in November 1986. The a cappella song was a success, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart on 16 December 1986 (only the second a cappella recording to do so, after "Only You" by the Flying Pickets in 1983), before being denied the Christmas number one single by a posthumous re-release of Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite". The song was an international hit reaching the top 3 in several countries, including no.1 in Ireland and Sweden. It is included on the Housemartins' greatest hits compilation Now That's What I Call Quite Good."

The Housemartins - me and the farmer, 1987

"Me and the Farmer" is a single by British Indie rock band The Housemartins from the album The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death. It reached #15 in the UK singles chart the week of 12 September 1987. The song had been written some 18 months earlier, on 22 January 1986 (the same day as Happy Hour). The track "Step Outside", which appeared on the B-side of the 12" release was also included on the 1988 compilation Now That's What I Call Quite Good. The song is about how gentleman farmers treat their workers badly."