The song is a humorous but scathing look at life in the working man's world, which involved spending most evenings down the local pub. A "happy hour" is a promotional tool used by many drinking establishments when their prices are discounted.
The Housemartins were compared by many to The Smiths. However the Smith's guitarist Johnny Marr was not impressed. He complained that "'Happy Hour' was a complete rip-off of 'I Want The One I Can't Have', and they've nicked others too."
This was The Housemartins' first Top 10 hit in the UK, which was a fair achievement for a band on an independent label. They went on to have 5 more UK Top 20 hits, including a chart-topping a cappella version of the Isley-Jasper-Isley song "Caravan Of Love." The Housemartins broke up in 1988, and Paul Heaton formed The Beautiful South the following year, which continued on in a similar vein. Meanwhile, bass player Norman Cook morphed into leading dance act Fatboy Slim.
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