As promised, Haircut 100 today released their first new music in over 40 years. "The Unloving Plum," available on all platforms, is the debut single from the long-overdue proper follow-up to 1982's "Pelican West." Hardcore fans will remember that the boys had laid down 10 tracks for the sophomore effort in 1983 -- five with vocals ("Brookfield Girl," "Haley's Heart," "I Believe in Sunday," "Sunny Boy, Sunny Girl" and "Club Boy at Sea") and five without ("Cheek to Cheek," "Maytime Moments," "Steambus Junction," "Blue Hat" and "Coming Home") -- before Nick Heyward left the band after a mental breakdown, convinced he was no longer welcome in his own group. Of those, only "Club Boy at Sea." "Blue Hat" (now fleshed out with lyrics as "Blue Hat for a Blue Day") and "Coming Home" (now with lyrics as "When It Started to Begin" -- have materialized, all on Nick's "North of a Miracle" solo debut. (Another HC100 demo called "Moving England" wound up becoming "Whistle Down the Wind," also on the solo debut.) Will be curious to see if any of the other tracks resurface on the still-unnamed album planned for 2025.
Until then, enjoy "The Unloving Plum," which captures the boys at their bubbly best.
P.S. Here's a look at the bootleg Greg and I produced of the lost album in 2004. Interesting that on the live version of "Coming Home" included here, it's being performed at a Haircut 100 gig (on Graham's birthday) and Nick says it hasn't been recorded yet -- "because it's not good enough" -- but that "it's off our next album ... better than the first one."
Death in the family aside, what a splendid time I had seeing Haircut 100 open for ABC and Howard Jones on Sunday in Kansas City, where my Arizona childhood best friend (Greg) came to meet me from Omaha. The show started at 7 o'clock sharp -- exactly as stated on the tickets -- and we were both dazzled by how youthful leadman Nick Heyward looked and sounded, as if a fraction of the 42 years since the band's seminal debut album had been released.
Longtime fans will recall that the band imploded after "Pelican West" became a worldwide hit, spawning several hit singles and garnering rave reviews. By the time the band returned to the studio for a follow-up, Heyward began suffering from psychological issues -- before it was trendy to admit it -- and ended up leaving the band. (After returning from a mental institution, he discovered the guys had been writing songs without him, and decided he was no longer welcome, never bothering to talk things over.) Although he went on to have a moderately successful solo career in his native Great Britain, he never returned to the U.S. Top 40 again, with just one of his albums hitting the Billboard Hot 200 at all ("North of a Miracle" peaked at No. 178 in 1983).
But this tour -- the band's first in the U.S. since 1982 -- was all about revisiting happy times, as was my reunion with my 1980s partner in crime, with whom I saw my first concerts (Go-Go's, Missing Persons, Pretenders, A Flock of Seagulls, Talking Heads, etc.) .
Although the set list has changed slightly from city to city, our show was six straight songs off their famed LP, which at point led to a fan standing up and screaming: "Do you have any idea how frickin' great this album is?"
Obviously we were left dying for more. But having never thought this day would come -- it’s already been another 20 years since Haircut 100's "Bands Reunited" episode and none of the subsequent reunions have ever crossed the pond -- we were in no mood to be greedy.
Bummed the ticket -- which I paid to have a hard copy of -- didn't even mention HC100.
"Love Plus One" live from Kansas City!
Afterward, and before the main acts, Nick, bassist Les Nemes and guitarist Graham Jones signed memorabilia and posed for pictures with their adoring public. Here's me and Greg with the guys, who truly seemed to be basking in the adulation.
Haircut 100 is about to release their first single with Nick since 1982's "Nobody's Fool" --- called "The Unloving Plum" -- and Nick tells me a full album will follow soon. (Percussionist Marc Fox and saxophonist Phil Smith aren’t part of this reunion, but I’m not sure what drummer Blair Cunningham's status is. He was in the recent promo photos but I haven't seen him in any of the videos from this tour.)
Confession: Don't tell Mr. Heyward, but Greg and I both loved the Nickless follow-up album, "Paint and Paint," with Fox on lead vocals and even produced a CD version in the 2000s long before it got a Super Deluxe reissue!
Next up was ABC, which for decades now really just consists of Martin Fry and his touring band. Damian and I had recently seen them in NYC, yet they were so "on" that it felt like a whole new sensation.
The band also focused on its famed debut (also from 1982), "The Lexicon of Love," but quickly reminded the audience that they were far from one-hit wonders, having succeeded on the U.S. chart with numerous singles after "The Look of Love" including "Poison Arrow" (a favorite), "That Was Then but This Is Now," "How to Be a Millionaire," "Be Near Me" and "When Smokey Sings" as well as the U.K. hits "Tears Are Not Enough," "All of My Heart" and favorites like "Vanity Kills," "The Night You Murdered Love" and "King Without a Crown."
Something that I didn't see the last time I saw ABC was their hunky keyboardist.
And then last (but least), Howard Jones came out with his guitar-style synthesizer and crazy duds. He opened with "New Song," which happens to be the one single of his I bought at the time (the 12-inch, natch!), back when I was so in love with him, and doing everything in my power to look like him. (Who knew I was once a wannabe boyfriend twin?!) It's funny to think I have seen him at least three times before this, yet didn't purchase an album of his until "The Essentials" CD in the 2000s.
It didn't take long before Greg noticed that former Kaja(GooGoo) bassist (and onetime lead singer) Nick Beggs was there on (an annoying) bass. This led to a sweet (if a bit awkward) moment where Howard got the audience to participate in a singalong of "Too Shy," which apparently cannot be officially performed presumably because ex-bandmate Limahl won't allow for it. (I've read that the other guys pushed him out back in the day when they discovered he was gay, although I don't know this to be a fact.)
Howard, of course, had his share of chart hits in the U.S., including "What Is Love?," "Like to Get to Know You Well," "Things Can Only Get Better," "Life in One Day," "No One Is to Blame" and "Everlasting Love." But as the headliner he did a longer set, including many that the crowd wasn't familiar with, as well as adding sort of a "house"/"rave" beat and light show to the set that didn't really work coming from a 69-year-old white dude. Still, there was enough nostalgia to make for an enjoyable set, which of course was all the better by having my BFF by my side again.
P.S. We weren't in Kansas City for long, but I can report that I liked what I saw. We stayed at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza and were dazzled by the stately homes along Ward Parkway, all the way to the Trader Joe's where we stopped by so Greg could do some reconnaissance. (He works at an Omaha location.)
Midtown, where the concert was held at the fabulous Uptown Theatre, and the whole Westport area was charming and full of restaurants and shops. (I got Damian an anniversary present at The Bunker Inc., although we were bummed the city's Hamburger Mary's is closed on Monday.) Greg visited Lenexa (where my aunt lived) and thought it was very nice, too.
Here's hoping global warming doesn't make it uninhabitable -- it was over 100 on Monday -- because it seems like a lovely place to live.
I'm told Midtown/Westport isn't officially a "gayborhood." But with numerous LGBT bars and gay-friendly shops and restaurants, it definitely reminded me of my beloved Chelsea back in its heyday.
UPDATE: Greg pointed me to these photos from Haircut 100's previous U.S. tour -- back in 1982!
Doesn't get any more '82 than a Jane Fonda workout video!
No Detroit or Phoenix dates, so I was doomed from the start!
Total Fox: I can see why Nick felt "threatened" by this one!
Here's wishing Nick Heyward a very happy birthday. The former Haircut 100 crooner was born in 1961 -- and is still looking very good -- which means my brother Bill also would have turned 59 this year had cancer not come along. (That's kind of crazy to think about.)
Nick just announced a Patreon, which if I understand correctly is sort of like an OnlyFans except you're allowed to keep your clothes on. Learn more HERE.
Hard to pick just one, but this seemed fitting ...
Sunny single from Nick Heyward's new album, "Woodland Echoes," which comes out Nov. 24 in the U.S. Read a fun interview -- in which he discusses the record, the video and the odds of a Haircut 100 reunion -- in Billboard HERE.
Nick Heyward has a new album available for pre-order. Not sure if I'm the only one who still loves the gifted singer/songwriter of Haircut 100 fame, but teasers of "Baby Blue Sky" and "Forest of Love" sound like vintage Heyward. "Woodland Echoes" will be released in June in a multitude of formats, including its own brand of tea! Details HERE.
If you're reading this, Nick: please tour the U.S. soon!
This came out as a stopgap single between his first and second solo albums.
This current photo of the former Haircut 100 leader show he's still in fine form, which keeps me dreaming from Monday to Sunday about finally seeing him live one day.
"Love Plus One" slipped into the Top 40 for a nanosecond back in 1982, peaking at No. 37, and the album from which it came, "Pelican West," is a delightful debut. But if you had told me that I'd still be hearing it in drugstores some 32 years later -- last night, Rite Aid in Chelsea -- I'd have said you were mad.
Wow! I can't think of too many things more fun than seeing Haircut 100 reunite to perform their classic "Pelican West" album in its entirety. (Has it really been nearly seven years since their episode of "Bands Reunited"?! It's already time for a reunion from that reunion!) If any of my readers across the pond make it, please send a full report -- and pictures!
I hear that five years after their triumphant reunion on VH1's "Bands Reunited," Haircut 100 played together again this past December at Cadogan Hall in London. (Were any of you there? Would love to hear details! Have brief pre-concert interview below.) Hardly anything makes me happier than to hear "Love Plus One" or "Fantastic Day" from the band's 1982 debut. And Nick Heyward's solo career has certainly had no shortage of pop gems ("Whistle Down the Wind," "Over the Weekend," "Traffic in Fleet Street" and "Kite," to name a few). But even after all these years, my friend Greg and I still have a huge amount of affection for H100's one post-Nick album, "Paint and Paint." Percussionist-turned-singer Marc Fox all but called the album rubbish on the VH1 reunion special, saying he was out of his league and just tried to write and sing the songs "the way he thought Nick would have." But in my mind, "Too Up, Two Down," "So Tired," "40-40 Home" and "Prime Time" rival anything on "Pelican West" or Nick's solo albums. (And what about those gorgeous singles sleeves?) Having only gotten my vinyl transferred to digital files in the last few years, it's certainly been in heaviest rotation around my house. Is this because I am making up for 20 lost years or because it's my favorite album? If you've heard it then you know the answer is immaterial. But if you don't want to give me the benefit of the doubt, you can download the album for the next seven days HERE.
A reunion show at Cadogan Hall on Dec. 18, 2009, that at the time was billed as a "one off" thing.
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