housemartins (fan club)

The year is 1985, the place the beautiful north of England and more specifically Kingston Upon Hull. The already year-long miners' strike rumbles on in a country increasing polarised by Mrs Thatcher and her uncompromising take on democratic dictatorship. Jennifer Rush sits on top of the UK chart with 'Power Of Love', her paean to, erm, the power of love Four plucky lads from East Yorkshire release their debut single 'Flag Day' and the establishment is rocked to its very foundations. Well maybe not (it made a staggering no. 124 in the pop charts), but it was a cracking record



Our story really begins not in Hull as most would assume, but on the Wirral, Merseyside May 9th 1962, the day that Paul Heaton the future singer and leader of first the Housemartins and later the Beautiful South was born. He was a Scouser for only 4 years as the family moved first to Sheffield (where they stayed for 10 years) and then to Chipstead, Surrey when his father promotion required a move South. An early interest in Punk led to Paul forming his first band, Tools Down, in '77 inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Jam and above all, the political stance of the Clash. Whilst at nearby Redhill technical college he met a future 'Martin in one Quentin (soon to become Norman) Cook. Impressed with his blonde quiff and attitude, Paul roped him and two other school friends into what became his second band, the Stomping Pond Frogs, following the demise of Tools Down. They earned a name for themselves after several lively busking sessions which Norman described in a recent interview as 'Dexy's Meets the Monkees'. They were soon getting local gig bookings and press attention, mixing socially aware lyrics with an ear for pop melody. As the various members dispersed at the end of their studies (Norman accepted a place at Brighton Poly to study Politics and English) however, the band folded, leaving Paul at somewhat of a loose end, having chosen not to continue his education.



In 1983, after several years of uninspiring post-college jobs, Paul decided to pursue his musical ambitions full-time. Being a true Northerner at heart, his disenchantment with Surrey and the South convinced him to returns to his roots. Instead of returning to Sheffield, fate had a different location in mind for Heato. Driving back from a holiday in Scotland via the East Coast they stopped off in Hull and despite the depressed air hanging over the city in the early 80's, Paul, his then girlfriend and two other friends from Redhill, set up shop in sunny Humberside.



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