Saw a tweet this weekend from Jian Ghomeshi of the radio program Q where he called The Housemartins “a damn fine band.” I agree.

The Housemartins were formed in 1983 and first hit big in the States in 1986 with the infectiously poppy Happy Hour. Later, frontman Paul Heaton formed the long-running band The Beautiful South and bassist Norman Cook became “Fatboy Slim.” An impressive legacy for “the fourth best band in Hull.”

In a previous incarnation, I was a Top 40 DJ, when there was such a thing as Top 40. And records. The Housemartins were a big deal during this time and I was just mad for them. I still have their first two albums on vinyl and everything they’ve ever released on CD. (What a nerd!) The cassette version of “London 0 Hull 4” was a near permanent resident in my Volkswagen Beetle’s stereo. It remains the only tape I have ever literally worn out. “Now, that’s what I call quite good.”