"Happy Hour" is a 1986 single by British

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

the Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christiani ...

. It was the third single from the album ''

London 0 Hull 4 ''London 0 Hull 4'' is the debut album by The Housemartins, released in June 1986. It contains the singles "Flag Day" (#124 UK), "Sheep" (#54 UK), "Happy Hour" (#3 UK) and "Think for a Minute" (#18 UK). The title refers to the band's home city ...

'' and reached number three in the UK singles chart. Vocalist

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singl ...

had been working on the lyrics for some time, with the song originally being called "French England". It was completed on 22 January 1986, the same day " Me and the Farmer" was written. Guitarist

Stan Cullimore Ian Peter Cullimore is an English musician and journalist. He played guitar, between 1983 and 1988, for the Hull-based indie rock band The Housemartins. Early life He was born in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire. He moved to Birmingham, where he wen ...

had a chord progression planned for the verses, but wanted to finish the song quickly in order to go and buy some cakes, so he reused the same chords for the chorus and a quick demo was recorded, the whole process taking less than ten minutes. The lyrics are centred on the expectations of male office workers to participate in social conventions such as

happy hour Happy hour is a marketing term for a time when a venue such as a restaurant or bar offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks. Discounted menu items like appetizers are often served during happy hour. This is a way for bars and restaurants to ...

. The band's first big hit, it stayed on the singles chart for 13 weeks, peaking in the week of 28 June 1986. The song also enjoyed exposure on United States

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that despite "irrepressibly giddy music hooks", the song's "sobering" lyrics "hammer away at the hypocrisy and sexism of young British business types on the move." John Leland in

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

described as a 'pretty fun little single'. On their 1992 album ''

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

'', the

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

paid tribute to this song by breaking into it at the end of the song "Hello City". ("the Housemartins (whose wonderful minor hit Happy Hour is now best remembered as the coda to Barenaked Ladies' Hello City)") The video for the song, set in a pub, featured animated plasticine figures of the band members. Comedian

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''Given name#Name at birth, né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is a retired English stand-up comedy, stand-up and Improv comedy teacher, improv comedian, actor, performance poetry, performance poet, cartoonist and podc ...

makes an appearance in the music video, reading a newspaper. It was filmed in The Star in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Song lyrics
{{authority control 1986 singles The Housemartins songs Songs about alcohol Songs written by Paul Heaton Songs written by Stan Cullimore 1986 songs Go! Discs singles