Haircut 100 'Fantastic Day'

Chart Peak: 9
YouTube

The third Hit single from Nick Heyward and the Lads, 'Fantastic Day' reached No. 9 in May 1982 as the follow-up to 'Love Plus One'.

I'm not sure how cool it is to say this now, but I've always had a major soft spot for Haircut 100. Particularly in the days before they reformed on the 80s revival circuit, it always seemed that their boyband image overshadowed their stylish combination of funk, bossanova and sixties pop, and indeed the very songwriting skills of Nick Heyward. Admittedly, their one album with him in the lineup, Pelican West, is a bit heavy on the filler and the production sounds a little dated now, but there's a core of really good material and playing on there - ex-members ended up working for the likes of Paul McCartney, the Pretenders and Echo & The Bunnymen, and 'Fantastic Day' is one of the best, a romantic lyrical successor to 'Lovely Day' even if the middle eight seems to imply that the whole thing is a dream. Great trumpet and guitar playing. And there's a Triumph Herald in the video, what more could you ever want?
The only quibble I do have is that I never really thought this was a summer song. For that I'd slightly prefer
'Nobody's Fool', by which time they could afford a car that actually moved for the video.

Available on: Pelican West Plus

Nick Heyward 'Warning Sign'

Chart Peak: 25

YouTube

Warning Sign
Originally uploaded by Hit Parade

I don't mind admitting, if that's even the right word, that Nick Heyward loomed large in my student days (in the 1990s, for the benefit of any readers who don't know me personally). Arriving in Lancaster, a city with seemingly more than its share of charity shops, in posession of a record player, a cash card and some disinclination towards typical student activities like drinking, talking to girls and indeed studying I could hardly fail to come back with an overdraft and a lot of secondhand vinyl. I even bought Haircut 100's Pelican West and Heyward's solo debut North Of A Miracle twice when I found better copies than my originals.

So it would have been around that time that I bought the 12" single pictured on the right. I can't remember whether I got this one in Lancaster or back at home, nor how much I paid for it, but I doubt it was as much as £1:79. What I do remember is that I bought it unheard, and it featured only the extended version (later to become even more extended after I left it a bit too close to a desk lamp) so it wasn't until I came to write this post that I actually got to hear the original 7" cut. And it doesn't really seem to work out somehow. Were this post not already far too long I could write a lot about how underappreciated Haircut 100 are, or about the 1995 single 'The World'... but this brave attempt at synthetic funk doesn't really hit the spot. No surprise that it's only a fairly minor hit as his career tipped into the wilderness years; his only Top 40 single after this was in 1996.

This being his only appearance in the official Now series, I'd have liked to be able to be more positive if only for old times's sake. Unfortunately, we're at almost exactly the wrong time for that.

Available on: Favourite Songs - The Best Of