The Housemartins – Caravan Of Love (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Whether one is religious or not, one of the silver linings is often art inspired by religion, whether it is music, painting, or architecture. For this Christmas, I chose an appropriate lyrical message for our chaotic times.

Seasons Greetings
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas

Love & Light
-DjPaulT

“Caravan of Love” is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of The Isley Brothers’ 3 + 3 lineup of the 1970s.

In November 1986 British indie band The Housemartins released “Caravan of Love”. The a cappella song was a success, reaching #1 in the UK Singles Chart on 16 December 1986, (only the second a cappella recording to do so, after “Only You” by the Flying Pickets in 1983), before being denied the Christmas number one single by a posthumous re-release of Jackie Wilson’s “Reet Petite”. “Caravan Of Love” was an international success also reaching #1 in Ireland and Sweden and top five in several European countries.

SIDE A:
Caravan Of Love 3:40
Written By – Isley/Jasper/Isley
Written-By – Jasper*, Isley*, Isley*

We Shall Not Be Moved 2:44
Arranged By – Heaton*, Cullimore*
Written-By – Trad., arr.*

SIDE B:
When I First Met Jesus 2:48
Written By – Heaton/Whitaker
Written-By – Whitaker*, Heaton*

So Much In Love 2:01
Written By – Jackson/Straigis/Williams
Written-By – Jackson*, Williams*, Straigis*

Heaven Help Us All (Sermonette) 4:15
Engineer – Simon Clifford
Producer – Phil Ross (2), Ted De Bono
Written-By – R. Miller*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Go! Discs ‎– GODX 16
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Pop Rock, Folk, Indie Rock

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve] – Mr D. Storey*
Engineer – Phil Bodger (tracks: A1 to B2)
Photography By [Cover] – Mr P. Cox*
Producer – John Williams (3) (tracks: A1 to B2)

NOTES:
Track B3: Produced for ‘Saturday Live’, Radio One, 6.9.86. Released by arrangement with BBC Enterprises Ltd.

Made in England

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Schiit Mani
Soundcard:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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Jerrod Tibor
Jerrod Tibor
September 23, 2019 12:58 am

Love it! Thanks Paul!

Aaron
Aaron
December 27, 2018 1:52 am

Paul, the new Schiit sounds great! I hate to say it but the old Belari pre-amp seemed a little soft on the high end and had a touch of roll-off. But then again tubes have that warm feel as a result.

Whats your opinion of the new Schiit Mani? It seems pretty detailed in comparison.

Kevin
Kevin
December 24, 2018 6:30 pm

So nice to have a pristine rip of this! Any chance you could do the same for the next 2 EPs they released? Me And The Farmer and Five Get Overexcited both had several songs that have yet to see a proper cd release…

Thanks again!

Jermajesty
Jermajesty
December 22, 2018 12:01 pm

I can’t find it now, but there’s a recent-ish documentary of Paul Heaton talking about The Housemartins, and he’s going through his old 1986 diary. It’s amazing coz it shows the days they wrote certain songs, like sometime two absolute corkers in one day!

Anyway, he mentions that according to the midweek chart this song was all set to be number one, but something happened – I can’t remember what but like they fell out with someone important, or said something really political on TV that week – and mysteriously Reet Petite became Xmas Number 1 instead.

Jermajesty
Jermajesty
Reply to  Jermajesty
December 22, 2018 8:13 pm

Found the clip – it was part of “Top of the Pops: Story of 1986” which was broadcast in June this year. He starts talking about it @ 53:47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUIYpL5mBbk#t=53m47s

🙂

Olaf
Olaf
December 22, 2018 11:12 am

Such a wonderful song and a great post before christmas. All the best to you and thank you very much for running this unique place.

RIchard the Big Bunny
December 22, 2018 4:15 am

Fantastic! THANK YOU. I appreciate this. (-: I’m all about Paul Heaton.

Al
Al
December 22, 2018 3:59 am

Great post !!!

We can find ‘Caravan of Love’ on the compilation “Now That’s What I Call Quite Good” but not the other four tracks (even on the deluxe edition of “London 0 Hull 4” !).

Thanks a lot Paul !

Grant
Grant
December 21, 2018 9:14 pm

OMG… my favorite post of yours recently, and that is saying a lot!! I bought this on vinyl when it came out (along with all other Housemartins albums and singles) and will love being able to hear this digitally now on my iPod (yes I still use one!) and in mix CD’s where it’s great to have the full 24-bit FLAC.

All I had to do was be patient, and 32 years after buying the vinyl, Burning The Ground comes through for me once again! 🙂

Daniel
Daniel
December 21, 2018 5:34 pm

What a beautiful song with a strong message. Paul you are such a kind person and I am so lucky to be part of this beautiful community here.
Merry Christmas to you and your family and to all the BTG community.

Hektor
Hektor
December 21, 2018 2:53 pm

Man, this blog is amazing! You’ve mentioned the Flying Pickets. Please bring us some stuff from them, like the Spanish version of Only You, a very rare single. Thank you.

David
David
December 21, 2018 2:50 pm

Thank you. All The Housemartins’ EPs were wonderful.

Mark
Mark
December 21, 2018 2:43 pm

This is great. Thanks Paul 🙂

blureu
blureu
December 21, 2018 11:58 am

Love it. Thanks!

Jeff
Jeff
December 21, 2018 11:17 am

Beautiful song, sentiment and post! One of my favorite songs. I’m hearing it in my head as I type this missive to you. You are a beautiful soul Paul. I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas. I’ll be away for a bit for the holiday but I wanted to wish you and the Burning The Ground Community here, bright blessings now and always. Guys, thanks for enriching Paul’s Universe here with incredible personalities and musical tastes! Here is my sanctuary!!

Your friend,

Jeff

Omar
Omar
December 21, 2018 10:34 am

These guys were excellent I think. A early version of the Beautiful South gearing up in the indie pop movement of the 80s.