London 0 Hull 4

I had completely forgotten The House Martins. This album with classic tracks "Happy Hour", "Sheep" and "Flag Day" is an energetic and happy album. The lyrics are great and funny. Also somewhat engaged, especially in "Sheep". The story about the album title is quite funny too.

Not sure why this needed to be added when the main 1001 was already oversaturated with tepid Britpop contributions. Points for being a bit more uptempo and lively than usual for this genre, but still falls into the usual tropes and feels much, much longer than it should for the album's brief runtime

Played this to death when it came out but not heard it for years. Stands up pretty well although Paul’s god bothering is more obvious than i remember

I really love some of the albums from The Beautiful South, and while I knew that this group was formed by former members of The Housemartins I did not realize that the bassist of this group is Fatboy Slim - that’s a bit of a surprise. I’m excited this came up because I really haven’t explored The Housemartins’ music at all. As it turns out, it very much sounded like The Beautiful South, without the female vocals. Excellent album!

Flawless, and definitely a band (along with The Beautiful South, and Paul's solo stuff) deserving of many places in the book. I might have nominated their greatest hits, or the shared compilation with TBS, but this is a cracking suggestion!

A blast from the past. Never was too in love with their sound although it gets better with time but the lyrics certainly demand your attention. Witty and suggestive.

Yeah. It's a great album. A sign of much better to come, but still, the Paul Heaton razor wit is already there.

Very enjoyable. Hadn’t heard much Housemartins before, mostly Beautiful South. Catchy, poignant, delicious.

Wow, I had to go back to the Barenaked Ladies first album just to check and see if they covered any of these songs. They sound so much alike. Obviously BNL was heavily influenced by the Housemartins. I do see they gave a nod to the song Happy Hour in their song Hello City, I guess it's the least they could do. Anyway, this is great. 4 stars.

After reading on the band an its members this came as something of a surprise as it struck me, musically at least, as pretty solidly middle-of-the-road pop guitar rock, on the lighter side of the rock spectrum. There's more going on lyrically but the music doesn't really reinforce that well. It is all very well-performed and I didn't dislike it, but I don't think I'd seek out more, just not my style.

Always enjoyed The Housemartins, mostly Paul Heaton (and therefore I also always enjoyed The Beautiful South, but that's a different story). This is a great indie rock album, some superb hooks and vocals. You can't dislike this one.

Rating: 10/10

I've had a The Beautiful South album two days ago, and now I have The Housemartins to review. Like, what are the odds? Fortunately, *London 0 Hull 4* (what a hilarious title!) is more to my liking than *Welcome To The Beautiful South*. Like *way* more. It's lively, filled with youthful energy, and wittier than The Beautiful South thought they were when they started their own path. "Over There" and "Think For A Minute" following each other at the start of side two ended up convincing me that I should seriously consider the record for my own list of 1001 keepers. The first is a gorgeous and catchy jangle-rock bop, and the second is a thoughtful and subtle ballad. They're marvellous songs, and the rest is excellent generally speaking anyway. The only issue I could have with including this album in my own list is that The Housemartins sometimes verge dangerously close to sounding like a copycat version of The Smiths, and that makes them a little derivative to an extent. That said, Paul Heaton's lyrics in "Happy Hour" suggest he is the opposite of Morrissey in a few key aspects -- coming off as horny as he goes out drinking at night, while the Moz is conversely an asexual teetotaler. I find this difference between them quite funny. Heaton is also interested in social issues as seen from a leftist point of view (Morrissey was already too misanthropic for that during the eighties). What unites the two is their common spite for the British Royal Family and hatred towards Maggie Thatcher, though! Fun fact, Norman Cook played bass for most of The Housemartins' career, including in this record. Norman Cook being later known as... Fatboy Slim! I love it when this generator makes me connect dots I never connected before. Other dots I am connecting after exploring this album: now I understand why the very underwhelming debut by The Beautiful South -- which triggered such a lukewarm response from me -- made so many waves back then. You can bet your boots that if that lethargic debut had not stood on the shoulders of The Housemartins, far less people would have noticed it. *Blue Is The Colour* felt less grating for my ears, but even that later record showing TBS had honed their game to an extent can't reach the heights of Heaton's first band. Don't forget to check the bonus tracks at the end of the album, by the way. They are also excellent, and if you're not overly familiar with The Housemartins (as I was before today) they are also showing interesting sides to the band that are not necessarily well represented in the album proper (and that I won't describe here, so that other users get as surprised as I was). Two of those tracks foretell the "Caravan Of Love" single, and this one is a beaut as well! So I say thank you to the user helping me connect all those dots. You look like a very picky music listener and hate more abrasive artistry, it seems. So maybe it will come off as a surprise that a fan of noise-rock, post-hardcore and free jazz like me can also appreciate The Housemartins... But I do, I really do. Just bought a cheap copy of *London 0 Hull 4* online. In retrospect, it indeed feels odd that with his English / British bias, Dimery never thought of including this a record in his book. That's the sort of oversight the users list aims at fixing after all, along with broadening your music tastes and opening your shakras. Food for thought, maybe? 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship and production values + 3.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 118 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 130 (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 288 ---- Ah Émile, je viens de me rendre compte que c'est à moi de répondre ! Je me suis emmêlé les pinceaux sur le suivi des messages cet été, on dirait... Petite question au préalable : tu as rejoint le serveur discord du générateur ? Et si oui, quel est ton pseudo là-bas ? Dis-moi juste ta réponse là-dessus dans ta prochaine review dès que tu vois ce message. Je te réponds ensuite en bonne et due forme dans la foulée (je vérifierai tes reviews tous les jours, j'ai moyen de le faire, je suis toujours en vacances...)

Ah, yes. I was really surprised that I hadn’t received any Housemartins as of yet, but of course it would be their premiere album that shows up here. A review of jangly mid-80s British alterna-pop would be incomplete without Heaton, pre-Fatboy Slim Cook, and Co. It did not disappoint, but what I liked the most was the razor-sharp wit on those lyrics. Spicy!

Indie rock, jangle pop. Un megahit. Un 4, venga.

Not aware of this before, but not unenjoyable. Would listen again.

On the line for me. but i could see listening to this again.

En hel del fina låtar. Ägde maxisingeln på "Happy Hour" en gång i tiden. Kan undra vart jag gjorde av den? Bra insats hur som helst. Skulle bli bättre som Beautiful South längre fram.

It’s like the smiths for poor people, still good though

An absolute gem, if a little front-loaded. The first five or so cuts are all outstanding – relentlessly catchy to the point of complete irresistibity. Heaton is surely one of the premier vocalists of his generation, and a first-rate songwriter to boot. The fourth-best band from Hull is awfully good indeed. On the list proper, it would be a better world if this replaced any or all the metal albums (three or four) from 1986 as well as Bon Jovi (obvs). Great choice – thx, recommender.

Had to search this out in YouTube videos. Well worth the effort (I know it’s minimal effort). Not sure why they weren’t on my radar earlier.

I thought this album was really fun. Not bad for the 4th best band in Hull. It reminded me a bit of Haircut 100, which I think I got on this list roughly 300 years ago. Different instrumentation, but still a fun bop of a mid-80s post punk album 4/5

I think this is the perfect introductory album for this band. This was really easy to listen to and enjoy. I got into it almost immediately. Will check out more of their discography!

80's jangle pop. Sounds a lot like The Smiths but better (no mopey Morrissey to drag the mood down). The lead singer's delivery is also quite similar to Morrissey's style. These guys could even be like a proto-Barenaked Ladies by times. Favourite songs: Anxious, We're Not Deep, Happy Hour, Flag Day, Reverend's Revenge, Over There, Lean On Me, Freedom, Sitting On A Fence, Get Up Off Our Knees, Sheep Least favourite songs: Think For A Minute 4/5

Fun feel good British pop from the 80's.

Ah, memories. I know every line of this even still from the recesses of my mind. And the joy of singing Caravan of Love at University in the bar with everyone joining in (and standing up). The Housemartins were a thing at a time for some of us Brits. It's not complicated and they do tend to use the same riff a few times, But it's fun and it's ours. So what. Enjoy.

Yeah it's nice! Cute and simple and catchy. 7/10

Norman Cook lore. Good tunes nonetheless

I heard it once or twice before, a long time ago. I remembered quite a few songs, even some that were not singles. If the Smiths had allowed themselves to have some fun once in a while, they could have made a record like this. Some songs also reminded me of the Jam. It's good, but is it essential?

I hear a lot of modern indie music in this. Very much attend of its time. Don't care for the overtly religious nature though. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Slight yes.

I’d heard the name of this band a long time ago but couldn’t place them. Their songs were new to me and many were good. It was a good recommendation.

Indie rock, jangle pop. Un megahit. Un 4, venga.

Yeah great record and band often overlooked.

This more than many albums from the list makes me feel old. Forty years, just about, since this came out. It was never in regular rotation for me when I was in my teenage years - The Beautiful South had come about and there's enough crossover in styles for me to have had that itch scratched.. But Happy Hour is a hell of an album opening. The religion is a bit too overt in this album to go unmentioned. Good album. Worth listening to.

A fun collection of new wave power Pop and Proclaimers style ballads

This was some good old Indie rock.

Kinda should actually have been on the list 4

I originally dismissed this out of hand as a The Smiths knockoff, but there's something catchy about the album that the The Smiths just never seemed to capture for my tastes.

Favorite Track: Anxious

Ah, The Housemartins! How appropriate since I just had an album from The Beautiful South the other day. I’d heard of these guys even before I reviewed The Beautiful South, but I didn’t know much about them. For example, I’m just now learning that my favorite Derry Girls guest star, Fatboy Slim, played bass in this band. I’m sure I’ll like this album, so let’s fire it up! The Housemartins are no Smiths, but I thought this album was fine overall, if a little underwhelming. The biggest asset this album offered was the bass playing, and I’m not just saying that to honor a certain man who had a guest role on Derry Girls. The bass playing was really solid throughout the album, but to me, it felt like none of the other parts of the music took any risks. As a result, only a small handful of songs stood out to me: “Anxious,” “Over There,” and “We’re Not Deep” were the best songs on the album in my opinion. This wasn’t a bad album, but it was a touch bland to me.

Happy Hour opens the album and sets the stage immediately: aggressively cheerful music with quietly savage lyrics underneath. Office workers drowning their lives in after-work drinks, wrapped in a tune you can't help bouncing along to. That gap between sound and content is something Paul Heaton is very good at. He remains a genuinely underrated British lyricist. Sharp, funny, politically pointed without being preachy. The openly left-wing politics combined with Christian faith is an unusual combination that gives the album a specific character. The problem is the same one that would follow Heaton into the Beautiful South, an album I had about two weeks back: the music underneath is thin, and across a full album the songs start blurring into one another. What saves it here is energy and brevity.

Mukava 80-luvun brittirock-juttu. Toisinaan muistutti hieman Stoogesia.

3.49 stars

This sounds like another 80s band that I just can't put my finger on. This is the kind of generic British 80s stuff that cluttered up the main list. It was fine but didn't need to be here.

Surprisingly nice

Straightforward britpop, meaning it runs a little bit tepid for my taste

The Schmidts starring Patrick Steven Harrissey, the least miserable man in all of Britain.

London 0 Hull 4 is pretty enjoyable, solid to good lilty and bouncy sounds with clever lyrics and stories. Bass slaps throughout too, it lacks some punch to my tastes but an easy 3 that might get to a 4, it's really well put together.

This was a pleasantly enjoyable album to listen to. It starts off either a great hit that should be played ubiquitously through bars during happy hour like closing time was/is. The remainder of this album has pretty good upbeat tempo with quick songs reminiscent of 50s pop. This was like an old time album with 80s character. It’s a fun album front to back and a good listen for sure. 7.1/10

Very of its time

Oh it’s the Barenaked Ladies’ grandparents. Got it.

Pop con estilo muy claramente de los 80. Época musical que no ha envejecido demasiado bien. En este caso, canciones muy simples y con un mismo estilo. Además, la voz tampoco acompaña especialmente. Algún tema tiene algún recuerdo de más. Le ha faltado algo más de chispa.

Yeah nah.