Best Of The Housemartins

The Housemartins, in only a short space of time, became one of the premier pop acts of the mid '80s. Four years and two albums is not a lot to build a greatest hits collection from, but that's exactly what you get with the Best of the Housemartins, and it's a testament to how good they were. Although they only released two albums, they created some of the quintessential singles from that period. 'Five Get Over Excited', 'Happy Hour', 'Caravan of Love' and 'The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death' helped define the 80s as much as Thatcherism, neon socks & soda stream. The songs are catchy and easy to sing along to, but they are often accompanied by a message. The key members, Paul Heaton & Norman Cook, have gone on to even bigger success (Beautiful South/Fatboy Slim) but what this compilation proves is that their beginnings were equally as infectious as their present. 14 tracks in all. Universal. 2004.