Paul Heaton sings City's praises

THE success of The Housemartins's 1986 album, London 0 Hull 4, put the East Yorkshire city on the map.

Now it is football instead of music that is seeing people sing Hull's praises.

The Tigers recreated the record's title – beating Fulham, Tottenham, Arsenal and yesterday West Ham to make it four wins out of four against clubs from the capital.

And Paul Heaton, lead singer of the city-based band whose hits included Happy Hour, is delighted.

"I'm pleased with their results against the London clubs," he said.

"I thought they would do well.

"It's good for Hull. It's ironic it's football that's put Hull back on the map because in the 1980s it was football that struggled."

Hull City started the 1980s with relegation to the Fourth Division in the 1980–81 season and faced financial problems, but they were also promoted twice.

For the Housemartins, the decade brought their years of triumph.

The band, whose line-ups included Heaton, Norman Cook – now better known as DJ Fatboy Slim – Stan Cullimore, Hugh Whittaker and Dave Hemingway, would go down to London for interviews, travelling back to Hull the same day because money was tight.

Heaton got sick of the condescending tones of some journalists in the south when Hull was mentioned.

He said: "The journalists would say, 'And where's that?'

"People would be surprised at the size and the overall feel of Hull.

"They don't understand it's bigger than Wigan, Bolton or Grimsby and they're surprised how good it is.

"We knew we would put the city on the map if it was a successful album."

As well as being a thinly-veiled attack at the gulf between the capital and East Yorkshire, Heaton said the album owed its title to football.

He said: "We used to debate after a gig whether we had won or they had won and based it on football scores.

"If we did a gig in Hull or Sheffield and it was a boring one it might be a 2-0 home defeat. It just seemed like a natural thing to call the album."

Heaton, born in Merseyside but brought up mainly in Sheffield, moved to Grafton Street in west Hull in 1983 after stopping off in the city during a trip to the Lake District with some German friends.

He said: "We stopped in Hull and looked around. I bought a Hull Daily Mail and looked up areas to live."

Heaton stayed in Hull for 20 years and watched the Tigers at Boothferry Park several times.

He remembers the ground often being no more than half full, with the sell-out games frequently ending in defeat against the bigger clubs.

He said: "On most occasions it was pretty drab. I consider Hull City fans to be unlucky, really. I'm glad they're getting full attendances now.

"It wasn't always a good thing to be a football fan. Rovers and Hull FC were both strong sides."

Heaton said he was frustrated that City, now sitting third in the Premier League, were not getting the credit they deserved.

"There's a biased reaction by the Match Of The Day pundits," he said.

"They don't do any homework on Hull City or Hull and it's interesting to see them treat it like 'a little boy done well'."

Heaton, a Sheffield United fan, thought he would be jealous when last season City were promoted and the Blades were relegated.

But he said he always looks out for the Tigers' score and is impressed by the methodical approach that has brought City 17 points in their first eight Premier League games.

Heaton said: "Phil Brown is an analyst. He looks at every game and every team he's playing. It wasn't a fluke City went to Arsenal and won. They thwarted Arsenal."

Heaton, who went on to more success with the Beautiful South after the Housemartins disbanded in 1987, has played solo gigs in Hull and has noticed changes in the city.

He said: "Some are good and some bad. I hope it doesn't become 'yuppified', but people are too down to earth for that.

"People don't even care if they have got money. They tend to keep it a bit quieter. Bragging doesn't get you anywhere."

But football fans could have something to brag about if Heaton's prediction on where the Tigers will finish the season comes true.

He said: "I don't think it's a bubble that's about to burst. I can't see anything going drastically wrong.

"Sixth place? Maybe seventh. Then you've got a chance of a UEFA Cup place, so people would definitely find out where Hull is."

As Heaton sang in the Housemartins's top three hit of June 1986, Happy Hour – what a good place to be.