A poster boy for growing up in public, Nick Heyward first enjoyed success as lead singer of Haircut 100. Instantly successful, they scored four top ten singles and a number 2 album Pelican West in 1981-82 before Heyward tired of their frivolous image (which often involved dressing up in sailor suits and chunky knitwear) and lightweight, frothy pop stylings. Jumping ship in 1983, his solo début North Of A Miracle included three top twenty hits, while his former bandmates carried on without him to no great acclaim.
As the ’80s wore on, Heyward found success harder to come by; flitting between ’60s-influenced jangle-pop, gentle acoustic ballads and hard-edged dance music, the hit singles dried up and it was three years before Arista could be persuaded to release his second album Postcards From Home which duly sank without trace. As Nick’s songwriting matured he found himself increasingly at odds with the public’s fickle taste; released in 1988, his third album I Love You Avenue (irritatingly not on Spotify) was lost among the tidal wave of house music in the charts. Disillusioned, he took some time away from the music business, returning in 1993 with a more guitar-based album From Monday To Sunday. While not a huge commercial success, singles Kite and He Doesn’t Love You Like I Do gained Heyward some credibility and follow-up album Tangled saw him back in the top forty, Rollerblade becoming his biggest hit for over a decade. Suddenly finding himself back in fashion at the height of Britpop, Nick signed to the iconic Creation label for 1998’s distinctly Oasis-flavoured The Apple Bed. Here we take a 90 minute trip through the ups and downs of Nick’s career, including all the hits and plenty of undiscovered gems.
SIDE A
01 Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) (Haircut 100 single, 1981)
02 Love Plus One (Haircut 100 single, 1982)
03 Love’s Got Me In Triangles (from Pelican West, Haircut 100 album, 1982)
04 Fantastic Day (Haircut 100 single, 1982)
05 Nobody’s Fool (12″ Version) (Haircut 100 single, 1982)
06 Whistle Down The Wind (single, 1983)
07 Take That Situation (single, 1983)
08 Blue Hat For A Blue Day (single, 1983)
09 The Day It Rained Forever (from North Of A Miracle, 1983)
10 On A Sunday (single, 1983)
11 Love All Day (single, 1984)
12 Warning Sign (single, 1984)
13 Laura (single, 1985)
SIDE B
14 Over The Weekend (single, 1986)
15 Pray For A Miracle (from Postcards From Home, 1986)
16 Goodbye Yesterday (single, 1986)
17 Kite (single, 1993)
18 Caravan (from From Monday To Sunday, 1993)
19 He Doesn’t Love You Like I Do (single, 1993)
20 Rollerblade (single, 1995)
21 Blinded (from Tangled, 1995)
22 If I Needed Someone (from A Hard Day’s Nick EP, 1996)
23 Today (single, 1997)
24 The Man You Used To Be (single, 1997)
