Glastonbury 2024: Paul Heaton reunites with Norman Cook for The Housemartins classic ‘Happy Hour’
Following on from the K-pop phenomenon Seventeen in a markedly different style, Paul Heaton gave fans what they wanted on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival with a singalong rendition of The Housemartins classic ‘Happy Hour’.
For the track, he brought out The Housemartins’ bassist Norman Cook who later rose to fame as Fatboy Slim. Prior to introducing him, Heaton joked that they were both part of the first boyband ever, so it was natural that he followed K-pop sensations Seventeen on the line-up.
Heaton formed the Hull band The Housemartins back in 1983 alongside Stan Cullimore. Initially, the pair were purely a busking duo, but things got a little more serious after they recorded a demo later that year and eventually formed a band. They played their first gig at Hull University in October 1984.
Hits soon followed with ‘Happy Hour’, their third single, landing them success in 1986. It lingered in the UK singles chart for 13 weeks and even enjoyed substantial airplay on US college radio. Since then, it has never faded far from pub singalongs and has often remained in Heaton’s set, whether that be with The Housemartins, his subsequent band The Beautiful South, or his solo shows.
In front of a large crowd, basking in the sun, the song clearly still retains its singalong power. It sets things up in buoyant style for PJ Harvey, who is due on the Pyramid Stage next, before LCD Soundsystem, and, finally, Dua Lipa, who is headlining for the first time.
It’s far from the first time that Heaton has played at the event. While speaking to The Glastonbury Free Press, he recalled his debut performance, explaining, “The Housemartins did Glastonbury back in 1986. Even though I’d read about it, I had no idea how massive it was until I got there.”
He added: “We were about to have our first hit with ‘Happy Hour’, so the only people who knew about us were people who had heard us on John Peel and Janice Long’s shows. We played around midday, I think.“
Before concluding: “You could see people waking up and coming down the hill towards the stage while we were on. It was dead exciting. It went from 500 to a few thousand [which was] quite mind-blowing”
You can watch Paul Heaton and his band perform ‘Happy Hour’ below.
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