Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
If Orange Juice famously wanted to sound like a combination of Chic and the Velvet Underground, then Haircut One Hundred must have wanted to sound like a combination of Orange Juice and Chic. On their debut and only album with band founder Nick Heyward, Pelican West, the group display all the skittery beats, deep-voiced crooning, and pop smarts of OJ, while adding more funk and saxophone than Edwyn Collins and co. probably ever imagined. That Haircut One Hundred scored a bigger hit than the band they so clearly idolized must have rubbed the lads in Orange Juice the worst way, but it's clear from even one listen through Pelican West that Haircut 100 were more than just mere copycats. "Love Plus One" is that aforementioned mega hit and it deserved to be a timeless classic. Nick Heyward knew how to write pop hooks and the band fills it in with brilliant subtlety. There are siblings to that song scattered across the record. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)," "Marine Boy," and the ecstatic "Fantastic Day" all have wonderfully snappy melodies and huge choruses, "Milk Film," "Surprise Me Again," and "Snow Girl" have a refined pop sound that skews a little less gleeful and a little more melancholy. Sure, they are all prone to sax breakdowns and horn section crescendos that sound like Chicago happened by the studio, but the bulk of the album is first-rate '80s sophisti-pop. The few tracks that cast aside the traditional song structure and jump over to the Chic side of the equation are fun, though very much of their time. "Love's Got Me in Triangles" and "Calling Captain Autumn" are both quite British, with a sort of awkward kind of funk almost quaint in its unfunkiness. Heyward's attempts at rapping on the latter achieve beat poet-meets-Captain Sensible levels of uncoolness that circle back around to coolness in the end somehow. The entire record is a little like that. From their corny outfits to their lighter-than-air sound, Haircut One Hundred were never going to be dangerous or sexy. The best they could hope for was escapist, but never mindless fun, and on Pelican West they bury their arrows dead center in the middle of that target.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1981 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist - Nick Heyward, Vocal - Nick Heyward, Guitar
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist - Nick Heyward, Vocal
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Les Nemes, Composer - Les Nemes, Lyricist - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Composer - Haircut 100, Lyricist - Haircut 100, Performer
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Vocal - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1981 BMG Eurodisc
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Composer - Haircut 100, Lyricist - Haircut 100, Performer
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Bob Sargeant, Producer - Haircut 100, Performer - Nick Heyward, Composer - Nick Heyward, Lyricist
(P) 1982 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Album review
If Orange Juice famously wanted to sound like a combination of Chic and the Velvet Underground, then Haircut One Hundred must have wanted to sound like a combination of Orange Juice and Chic. On their debut and only album with band founder Nick Heyward, Pelican West, the group display all the skittery beats, deep-voiced crooning, and pop smarts of OJ, while adding more funk and saxophone than Edwyn Collins and co. probably ever imagined. That Haircut One Hundred scored a bigger hit than the band they so clearly idolized must have rubbed the lads in Orange Juice the worst way, but it's clear from even one listen through Pelican West that Haircut 100 were more than just mere copycats. "Love Plus One" is that aforementioned mega hit and it deserved to be a timeless classic. Nick Heyward knew how to write pop hooks and the band fills it in with brilliant subtlety. There are siblings to that song scattered across the record. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)," "Marine Boy," and the ecstatic "Fantastic Day" all have wonderfully snappy melodies and huge choruses, "Milk Film," "Surprise Me Again," and "Snow Girl" have a refined pop sound that skews a little less gleeful and a little more melancholy. Sure, they are all prone to sax breakdowns and horn section crescendos that sound like Chicago happened by the studio, but the bulk of the album is first-rate '80s sophisti-pop. The few tracks that cast aside the traditional song structure and jump over to the Chic side of the equation are fun, though very much of their time. "Love's Got Me in Triangles" and "Calling Captain Autumn" are both quite British, with a sort of awkward kind of funk almost quaint in its unfunkiness. Heyward's attempts at rapping on the latter achieve beat poet-meets-Captain Sensible levels of uncoolness that circle back around to coolness in the end somehow. The entire record is a little like that. From their corny outfits to their lighter-than-air sound, Haircut One Hundred were never going to be dangerous or sexy. The best they could hope for was escapist, but never mindless fun, and on Pelican West they bury their arrows dead center in the middle of that target.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 01:06:04
- Main artists: Haircut 100
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA Camden
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) This compilation 1992 BMG Entertainment International UK & Ireland Ltd.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.