Christian David "Bic" Hayes (born 10 June 1964) is an English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Best known as the frontman of
Dark Star and guitarist with
Levitation
Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact.
Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
, he has also released solo material as Mikrokosmos, which was produced by
Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to:
Musicians
* T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter
*Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs
*Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...
.
Hayes explained that he was nicknamed Bic because he "just stopped eating for ages and people started saying I looked like a
Bic biro. I had this phase when I thought eating was boring".
Career
Christian David Hayes was born on 10 June 1964 in London. Hayes formed the live
thrash
Thrash may refer to:
*Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work
*Thrash (surname)
*Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers
*''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...
band Panixphere (also written as ''Panixsphere'') in 1982 with "Flat Hat" and future
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
roadie Dominic "Little Hicky" Parker,
which was initially active until 1984.
By 1988, Hayes was playing guitar with
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
, moving on to become bass player with
The Dave Howard Singers
The Dave Howard Singers is a cult Canadian alternative rock band/project originally formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The project is based around the talents of singer-songwriter Dave Howard (the only consistent member) and the signature sound ...
in 1989. In the same year he joined Cardiacs as second guitarist, replacing departing saxophonist Sarah Smith. Hayes appeared as part of the band on their 1992 concert film ''
All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest
''All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest'' (also known simply as ''Maresnest'') is a live album and concert film by the English Rock music, rock band Cardiacs. It is their third live album, and was originally recorded in the afternoon in the Salisbu ...
'' and made writing and recording contributions to their studio album ''
Heaven Born and Ever Bright
''Heaven Born and Ever Bright'' is the third studio album by British rock band Cardiacs. It was produced by Tim Smith, engineered by David Murder and mixed by both. Due to Rough Trade going bankrupt soon after the album's release, it was scarce ...
'' (1992).
Hayes had come to know former
House of Love guitarist
Terry Bickers
Terence "Terry" Robert Arthur Bickers (born 6 September 1965 in Kensington, London) is an English musician and songwriter. A guitarist and singer, he is best known for his work as the original lead guitarist with The House of Love (from 1986 t ...
through musical friends in South London. During 1990, Bickers invited Hayes to join himself and drummer
David Francolini
David Thomas Giuseppe Francolini (born 13 September 1969) is an English rock drummer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the drummer in Dark Star and Levitation.
Career
Prior to forming Levitation, Francolini played with several ban ...
in a new project which evolved into indie-psychedelic rock band
Levitation
Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact.
Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
(and into which Hayes recruited his former Ring bandmate, Robert White). Initially Hayes divided his time between Cardiacs and Levitation, but as the latter rapidly gained more and more attention from British audiences and the British music press, he found it difficult to accommodate both bands. He left Cardiacs (somewhat reluctantly) in May 1991, admitting "they were the band I left for Levitation. I loved Cardiacs and thought they were the best band in Britain at the time. That's how much I believed in Levitation. The chemistry was explosive". Hayes subsequently reformed Panixphere with Francolini and Cardiacs guitarists
Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to:
Musicians
* T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter
*Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs
*Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...
and
Jon Poole
Jonathan Charles Poole (born 16 October 1969), also known by his stage name Random Jon Poole, is an English multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as guitarist for Cardiacs and as bass player for the Wildhea ...
.
Following the demise of Levitation in 1993, Hayes worked with
Heather Nova
Heather Nova (born Heather Allison Frith, July 6, 1968) is a Bermuda, Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. , she has released eleven full-length albums, six EPs and twelve singles.
Biography
Heather Nova was born Heather Allison Frith on Berm ...
and then with former
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does ...
frontwoman
Julianne Regan
Julie-Ann "Julianne" Regan (born 30 June 1962) is an English-Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She achieved success in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the lead singer of the band All About Eve. AllMusic describes Regan as "certainly on ...
in a band called
Mice
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
. In 1996, he reunited with former Levitation bandmates David Francolini and
Laurence O'Keefe to form
Dark Star. Having released their debut album ''
Twenty Twenty Sound
''Twenty Twenty Sound'' is the debut album by English band Dark Star, released in 1999 via Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Ha ...
'' in 1999, the band recorded a second album but it was not released as a result of personnel changes at their record company. An unmastered seven track version of the album, omitting the tracks "Roman Road" and "Valentine", was leaked within a couple of years of the split. Titled ''Zurich'', it is unconfirmed whether this was an official title. The album remains unreleased, though Hayes has stated his hope to release the second album soon.
Following the disbanding of Dark Star in 2001, Hayes toured with the
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...
and worked as guitar tech/tour/production manager for the likes of
My Bloody Valentine,
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a num ...
and
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...
. In 2007, Hayes began releasing archive releases of previously unreleased solo material (recording during and shortly after his time with Levitation) under the name of Mikrokosmos via Ingatia Recordings. A trio of releases -''In The Heart of the Home'', ''The Seven Stars'' and ''Terra Familiar'' - have been issued.
In 2011, Hayes organised and compiled the tribute record ''
Leader of the Starry Skies'' in aid of
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...
frontman Tim Smith (who had suffered two strokes in 2008 which left him paralysed down one side of his body and unable to speak). He also toured with a stage version of
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
in 2011 and 2012, produced by Platform 4 and described as "a taut
psychodrama
Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives.
Developed by Jacob L. Moreno and ...
that crackles with a wild electricity, brought alive by the sonic experiments of composer and guitarist Bic Hayes and sound designer Jules Bushel".
More recently Hayes has been involved in the
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
-based improvisational instrumental psychedelic band ZOFFF (previously known as Light Specific Data or LSD-25) and with MUMMY (a duo with his wife, the singer Jo Spratley). Panixphere reformed as a trio in 2019 featuring Hayes, Poole and Cardiacs drummer Bob Leith, releasing a live
split single with
Spratleys Japs
Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats, more commonly known by their original name Spratleys Japs, is an English psychedelic rock band formed by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith and Joanne Spratley in 1998. The band changed their name in 2021 to distance themsel ...
via Hayes' label The Confinement Tapes in 2020.
Discography
As Mikrokosmos
* ''In the Heart of the Home'' (2007)
* ''The Seven Stars'' (2008)
* ''Terra Familiar'' (2014)
References
External links
Mikrokosmos BandcampCrew Cuts Interview with Bic Hayes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Christian
1964 births
Living people
English rock guitarists
English male guitarists
English male singers
English songwriters
British male songwriters
Cardiacs members
Dark Star (band) members
Dragons (band) members