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 gam ...

band Panixphere (also written as ''Panixsphere'') in 1982 with "Flat Hat" and future Cardiacs roadie Dominic "Little Hicky" Parker, which was initially active until 1984. By 1988, Hayes was playing guitar with psychedelic rock 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'' (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 ...

through musical friends in South London. During 1990, Bickers invited Hayes to join himself and drummer David Francolini in a new project which evolved into indie-psychedelic rock band

(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

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 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 Bermuda, a B ...

and then with former

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American 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 not receive a screen credit ...

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. 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'' 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 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 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 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 h ...

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-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 Bandcamp

Crew 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