Sunday 27 February 2011

How the Housemartins Gave Me Back My Mojo

Back in 2009 I got all excited on these very pages at the news that the original members of the Housemartins (my favourite band, lest we forget) had reunited for the first time in 22 years to do an interview for the UK music magazine, Mojo.

I clearly wasn't alone, as the posts that I wrote on the subject (yes, there was more than one...) remain some of the most well read in Mint Custard's brief and inauspicious history. Many hundreds of people (I know, unlikely but true) have googled the Housemartins mini-reunion and arrived here hoping for either a concert announcement (I've long given up hope) or the chance to read the article online.

Sadly it isn't available anywhere, a fact that made me get off my bony bottom and write to the people at Mojo asking them to post it online or at least give permission for me to reprint it here. Frustratingly, they just ignored my email. I received an automated 'please don't bother us' and nothing more. Then I tried to find the author, David Hutcheon. I Googled and Googled but (apart from finding out he writes lots of articles about world music for The Times which I can't access because they have a paywall) again, nothing.

So now, given that the interview is almost two years old, and given that no one is going to make or lose money from it and also because I would like to improve the lives of the hopeful souls who just want to read an interview with the 4th best band from Hull, I'm going to do what most people on the internet would have done in the first place and just post it anyway.

If you are David Hutcheon or indeed anyone from Mojo and you'd like to send me an angry letter packed with threats then you know where I am. For everyone else (and with apologies for the limitations of my scanner) please enjoy the final reunion of Hugh, Paul, Stan and Norman; the mighty Housemartins.










8 comments:

Neon Messiah said...

Thats funny as its exactly what I was googling to get to your blog.

I can't imagine Mojo will give a monkeys about you making it available.

Thanks for posting.

Mint Custard said...

My absolute pleasure. Nice to know there are people out there who are still interested. Thanks for commenting

Michael Grover said...

Thanks for posting! Exactly what I was looking for.
From Oklahoma USA.

Daniel said...

Bless you for this. Having missed this issue in the shops I found a copy on ebay and paid about £8 or something ridiculous, and then it never turned up.

Never mind, when I found the VHS tape of the BBC documentary about them, that did turn up.

They truly were the 4th best band in Hull by some distance.

Mike said...

Can't believe I missed this. Thanks for posting.

Anonymous said...

Cheers for posting.

Just found this whilst looking online for The Housemartins stuff.

If I'd known David Hutcheon had wrote it I'd have asked him for a copy.

He's my sisters partner and has been for many years!

BruceD said...

Enjoying this in Sept 2022. THANKS FROM THE FUTURE

Mint Custard said...

Not quite where we thought we’d all be, are we? Thanks for reading and writing!