Haircut One Hundred (also Haircut 100) were a British
new wave group formed in 1980 in
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
, London by
Nick Heyward
Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first alb ...
,
Les Nemes and
Graham Jones. In 1981 and 1982, the band scored four UK top 10 hit singles: "
Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)", "
Love Plus One", "
Nobody's Fool", and "
Fantastic Day".
History
Formation and ''Pelican West''
Nick Heyward
Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first alb ...
and
Les Nemes had been in several bands together since 1977. They gigged under the names Rugby, Boat Party, and Captain Pennyworth, but did not release any music. Their last band together, Moving England, with
Sex Gang Children
Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been pack ...
's Rob Stroud, released one single. Heyward and Nemes moved to London in 1980 where they recruited friend and guitarist Graham Jones. During a meeting brainstorming band name ideas, Heyward suggested Haircut 100 and because it was the one "that made us laugh the most" they kept it. The three were joined by drummer Patrick Hunt. Managed by Karl Adams, the band recorded some
demos. Phil Smith played saxophone on the sessions and he joined the group, followed by percussionist Marc Fox. The group played some live dates and were signed by
Arista Records in 1981. They entered Chalk Farm's
Roundhouse studios to record their debut single, "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)", which became their first hit, reaching No. 4 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in late 1981,
and resulted in their first appearance on
BBC Television's ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
''.
For the recording of their debut album, ''
Pelican West'',
Blair Cunningham
Blair Cunningham (born October 11, 1957, Memphis, Tennessee) is an American drummer who has played for many bands and artists including Denise LaSalle, Robert Johnson, the Detroit Emeralds, Frederick Knight, Echo & the Bunnymen, Haircut One H ...
replaced Hunt on drums. Their second single, "Love Plus One", was released in January 1982 and gave the band their second UK top 10 hit. ''Pelican West'' was released in February, reaching No. 2 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
.
The band became internationally famous and toured the globe. "Love Plus One" reached the US top 40, and they secured further UK top 10 hits in 1982 with the singles "
Fantastic Day" and "
Nobody's Fool".
Heyward leaves and ''Paint and Paint''
In late 1982, tensions began arising within the band as they struggled to record new material, which was hindered when Heyward refused to attend recording sessions. Eventually, in January 1983, the band's forthcoming single, "
Whistle Down the Wind", was postponed and a statement was issued confirming that the band and Heyward were parting company.
At the time, Heyward told ''
Smash Hits'' magazine that he had been contemplating going solo for some time and had already recorded some tracks with session musicians.
However, many years later, Heyward stated that he had been struggling with stress and depression at the time after a year of constant work and pressure, which led to him being, in effect, sacked by the other members of the band.
With the loss of the band's frontman and main songwriter, Fox took over vocal duties and the band continued to write material themselves (several
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
during Heyward's tenure had been credited to the whole band). The band left Arista and signed with
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
, but further singles by this line-up failed to reach the UK top 40 and their follow-up album, ''
Paint and Paint
''Paint and Paint'' is the second and final studio album by the British new wave band Haircut One Hundred, released in 1984 by Polydor Records. It was their only album released after the early 1983 departure of lead singer Nick Heyward. As a r ...
'' (1984) failed to chart. The band split up soon after. Heyward, however, embarked on a successful solo career in 1983, and scored several chart hits (including the aforementioned song "Whistle Down the Wind", which was his first solo release in March 1983) and a top 10 album, ''
North of a Miracle
''North of a Miracle'' is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter Nick Heyward. It was released on 28 October 1983 through Arista Records and spent 10 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 10.
The album produced four UK sing ...
''.
Reunions
In 2004, more than 20 years after their split, Haircut 100 (including Heyward) reunited for the
VH1 show ''
Bands Reunited
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
* Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
* Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
'' and performed "Love Plus One" and "Fantastic Day". There were no further appearances from the band until five years later in 2009, when they rekindled their friendship via Facebook, and Heyward invited the rest of the band to perform at one of his solo gigs.
The band (comprising Heyward, Jones, Nemes and Cunningham) then played London's
Indig02 on 28 January 2011, performing ''Pelican West'' in its entirety. The performance was recorded and released as a live CD. In 2013, the band's official website stated that they had been working on new material together; however, it has not been released.
Though he did not mention new Haircut One Hundred material, Heyward commented in 2017 interviews that he has a "deep love" for the band, and is "ever hopeful" that the band will eventually reform for a reunion show at the
Roundhouse.
In November 2022 Nick Heyward announced on his Facebook page that the ''Pelican West'' album was due for a new Super Deluxe 4CD re-issue in early 2023. To celebrate the forthcoming release Haircut 100 will perform a one off show at the
O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
London on 12th May 2023.
Band members
*
Nick Heyward
Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first alb ...
(born 20 May 1961,
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
, Kent)
– lead vocals, guitar
(1980–1983, 2004, 2009–2013)
*
Les Nemes (born 5 December 1960,
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, Surrey)
– bass
(1980–1984, 2004, 2009–2013)
* Graham Jones (born 8 July 1961,
Bridlington
Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...
, East Yorkshire)
– guitar
(1980–1984, 2004, 2009–2013)
* Patrick Hunt (born in
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...
, Dorset) – drums
(1980)
* Phil Smith (born 1 May 1959,
Redbridge, Essex)
– saxophone
(1980–1984, 2004, 2009–2013)
* Marc Fox (born 13 February 1958,
Recklinghausen, West Germany)
– percussion, vocals
(1980–1984, 2004, 2009–2013)
*
Blair Cunningham
Blair Cunningham (born October 11, 1957, Memphis, Tennessee) is an American drummer who has played for many bands and artists including Denise LaSalle, Robert Johnson, the Detroit Emeralds, Frederick Knight, Echo & the Bunnymen, Haircut One H ...
(born 11 October 1957,
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
, New York City)
– drums
(1981–1984, 2004, 2009–2013)
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Live albums
Compilations
References
External links
Official website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haircut 100
English new wave musical groups
English pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1980
Musical groups disestablished in 1984
Musical groups reestablished in 2004
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
Musical groups reestablished in 2009
Musical groups from London
Second British Invasion artists