Haircut One Hundred

Haircut One Hundred

Pop group performing on stage, spotlit, with row of darkened fans in the foreground

Haircut One Hundred performing live at the IndigO2, 2011
Background information
Also known as Haircut 100
Origin Beckenham, London, England, United Kingdom
Genres
Years active 1980–1984, 2004, 2009–2013
Labels Polydor, Arista
Website HaircutOneHundred.net
Past members Nick Heyward
Graham Jones
Les Nemes
Patrick Hunt
Marc Fox
Phil Smith
Blair Cunningham

Haircut One Hundred were a British new wave/jazz-funk group formed in 1980 in Beckenham, London by Nick Heyward. In 1981 and 1982 the band had four UK Top 10 hit singles: "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)", "Love Plus One", "Nobody's Fool", and "Fantastic Day".

History

Nick Heyward and Les Nemes had been in several bands together since 1977. They were first known as Rugby, then as the Boat Party, then as Captain Pennyworth, and lastly as Moving England, before finally becoming Haircut One Hundred.[1] By this time, Heyward and Nemes had met guitarist Graham Jones, and 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 Mark 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 in late 1981,[2] and resulted in their first appearance on BBC Television's Top of the Pops.

For the recording of their debut album, Pelican West, Blair Cunningham 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.[2] 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".

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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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 during Heyward's tenure had been credited to the whole band). The band left Arista and signed with Polydor Records, but further singles by this line-up failed to reach the UK Top 40 and their follow-up album, Paint and Paint (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.

In 2004, more than 20 years after their split, Haircut 100 (including Heyward) reunited for the VH1 show Bands Reunited 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.[4] The band (comprising Heyward, Jones, Nemes and Cunningham) then played London's Indig02 on 28 January 2011, performing Pelican West in its entirety.[5] The performance was recorded and released as a live CD.[6] In 2013, the band's official website stated that they had been working on new material together; however, it has not been released.[7]

Though he did not mention new Haircut One Hundred material, Heyward commented in 2017 interviews that he has a "deep love" for the band,[8] and is "ever hopeful" that the band will eventually reform for a reunion show at the Roundhouse.[9]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[11]		 NZ
[12]		 SWE
[13]
1982 Pelican West
  • Released: February 1982
  • Label: Arista
 2 12 29
1984 Paint and Paint
  • Released: March 1984
  • Label: Polydor
 - - -

Singles

Year Song Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[11]		 NZ
[12]		 US
[15]		 CAN FRA
1981 "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" 4 32 101 - -
1982 "Love Plus One" 3 22 37 4[16] 3[16]
"Fantastic Day" 9 29 - - -
"Nobody's Fool" 9 - - - -
1983 "Prime Time" 46 - - - -
"So Tired" 94 - - - -
1984 "Too Up, Two Down" - - - - -

Live albums

Year Album
2011 Live at the IndigO2 28th Jan 2011
  • Label: Abbey Road Live Here Now
  • Format: CD

Compilations

Year Album
1989 Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred - The Best Of Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred
1994 Haircut One Hundred & Nick Heyward - The Very Best Of Haircut 100 & Nick Heyward
  • Label: BMG
  • Format: CD
1996 Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred - The Greatest Hits Of Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred
  • Label: Camden / BMG
  • Format: CD
2003 Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred - The Very Best Of…
  • Label: Camden / BMG
  • Format: CD
2009 Nick Heyward, Haircut One Hundred - Favourite Songs: The Best Of
  • Label: Sony
  • Format: CD

References

  1. ↑ Ellen, Mark (29 Apr 1982). "The Boy Wonder (interview with Nick Heyward)". Smash Hits. Vol. 4 no. 9. EMAP Metro. pp. 28, 31.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 239. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. 1 2 "Bitz: "Cuts Up" (Haircut 100 article)". Smash Hits. Vol. 5 no. 3. EMAP Metro. 3 Feb 1983. p. 13.
  4. 1 2 "Andrew Williams, "Nick Heyward: Facebook is the reason Haircut One Hundred are reuniting", Metro, 26 Jan 2011". Retrieved 8 Nov 2011.
  5. ↑ "The O2 - Haircut 100 tickets". Archived from the original on 3 Sep 2013. Retrieved 26 Apr 2017.
  6. ↑ "Haircut One Hundred - Live album (official website)". Archived from the original on 5 Mar 2016. Retrieved 26 Apr 2017.
  7. ↑ "Haircut One Hundred - News (official website)". Archived from the original on 20 Jan 2013. Retrieved 26 Apr 2017.
  8. ↑ Heyward, Nick (23 Jul 2017). "Loose Ends" (Interview). Clive Anderson. London: BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 25 Jul 2017.
  9. ↑ Heyward, Nick (27 Jul 2017). "Lorraine" (Interview). Lorraine Kelly. London: ITV. Retrieved 1 Aug 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia (1st ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 183. ISBN 0-85112-072-5.
  11. 1 2 "Chart Stats - Haircut 100". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 Sep 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Chart Stats - Haircut 100". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 25 Sep 2011.
  13. ↑ "Chart Stats - Haircut 100". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 25 Sep 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 25 September 2011. Note: User needs to enter "Haircut 100" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
  15. ↑ "Chart Stats - Haircut 100". billboard.com. Retrieved 25 Sep 2011.
  16. 1 2 "The World's Music Charts (Songs from the Year 1982)". Retrieved 5 Feb 2013.
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