| Biography | Nick Heyward (born 20 May 1961, Beckenham, Kent) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the frontman of the early 1980s band Haircut One Hundred, and also had a briefly successful solo career after he left the band in 1983.
Nick Heyward formed Haircut One Hundred after the demise of a previous band, Moving England. The band had four UK Top 10 singles and their debut album, Pelican West (1982), reached No. 2.
During the sessions for their second album Heyward became unwell and Mark Fox took over vocal duties with the band as songwriters. Heyward departed at the end of 1982.
Solo career[edit]Heyward's solo career took off in March 1983 with the single 'Whistle Down The Wind', and the album North of a Miracle, produced by Geoff Emerick. The album reached No. 10 in the UK and three further singles from it were Top 20 hits. In 1984, he released two new singles, "Love All Day" and "Warning Sign", which were both minor Top 40 hits.
The 1984 singles featured on his second solo album, 1986's Postcards From Home. By 1988, he had moved to Warner Bros. Records and released his third album, I Love You Avenue. For the next four years, Heyward concentrated on his second career as a graphic artist, until returning to music in 1993 with a new album for Epic Records and tour dates alongside Squeeze and Paul Weller. Over the next two years, he toured regularly, particularly in the US, where he supported Belly, The Lemonheads, Mazzy Star and Therapy?.
Heyward released From Monday to Sunday in 1993, which featured a more classic rock style. The album yielded a US hit with "Kite", which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.
In 1995, Heyward released the album Tangled on the Epic label, which provided him with his first UK Top 40 single in twelve years when "Rollerblade" reached No. 37 on the UK Singles Chart. After being 'discovered' by Alan McGee performing at an Ed Ball gig, The Apple Bed was released in 1998 on Creation Records. However, his 1990s albums received little attention outside of his loyal fanbase, and he was dropped by Creation the same year.
Heyward has released new music less frequently in recent years. Open Sesame Seed (2001), a collaboration with British actor/singer Greg Ellis, featured Ellis reading Heyward's poetry to the accompaniment of Heyward's musical backing.[3] An album of songs recorded with singer/actress India Dupre, The Mermaid and the Lighthouse Keeper, was released in 2006. |