The Housemartins
Heaton, then billing himself as P.d. Heaton, formed The Housemartins in the early 1980s. This band featured Stan Cullimore on guitar, Ted Key on bass and Hugh Whitaker on drums. Shortly afterwards Key left the band and was replaced with Norman Cook (later Fatboy Slim). The Housemartins released a number of singles and two studio albums, London 0 Hull 4 and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death. Their most famous hit was an a cappella version of the Isley Brothers' "Caravan of Love", which was their only Number 1 hit in the UK. For the second album Hugh Whitaker was replaced with Dave Hemingway on drums. Shortly afterwards the Housemartins split up.
The Housemartins' lyrics were a mixture of Marxist politics and Christianity (the back cover of London 0 Hull 4 contained the message "Take Jesus - Take Marx - Take Hope"). Heaton has since stated on many occasions that he is an atheist.
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