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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
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