The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death is the second and final studio album by The Housemartins. It was released in 1987, and produced three singles - "Five Get Over Excited" (#11 UK), "Me and the Farmer" (#15) and "Build" (#15 UK). The title song is about the British royal family, which found them gaining controversy in the tabloid papers similar to that of other bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Smiths and The Stone Roses.
Critical reception
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death was ranked number nine among "Albums of the Year" for 1987 in the annual NME critics' poll.
Track listing
All tracks written by Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore
- "The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death" – 3:33
- "I Can't Put My Finger on It" – 2:28
- "The Light Is Always Green" – 3:59
- "The World's on Fire" – 3:20
- "Pirate Aggro" – 1:52
- "We're Not Going Back" – 2:53
- "Me and the Farmer" – 2:54
- "Five Get Over Excited" – 2:44
- "Johannesburg" – 3:55
- "Bow Down" – 3:04
- "You Better Be Doubtful" – 2:32
- "Build" – 4:45
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
!scope="col"|Chart (1987)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia (Kent Music Report)
|align="center"|56
|}
Personnel
The Housemartins
- Norman Cook – bass, vocals
- Dave Hemingway – drums, vocals
- P.d. Heaton<!-- Yes, Capital P, small d. P.d. Heaton, not p.d. or P.D., is how it is spelled on ALL Housemartins singles and albums. Do not change this. --> – vocals, guitar, trombone, harmonica
- Stan Cullimore – guitar, vocals
Additional musicians
- Guy Barker – trumpet
- Sandy Blair – tuba
- St. Winifred's School Choir – backing vocals on "Bow Down"
- Pete Wingfield – piano, keyboards
Technical personnel
- John Williams – producer
- The Housemartins – producer
- Phil Bodger – engineer
- David Storey – sleeve design
- John Sims – sleeve design
- Phil Rainey – front cover photography
- Derek Ridgers – band photography
- John Woods – band photography