Why Nick Heyward has great affection for Reading (apart from platform six)
Nick Heyward, lead singer with the 1980s band, recalls how he regularly stood on platform six with his then girlfriend, Sara, waiting for the train to Heathrow.
“Sara is from Minnesota and when she visited her family, it was always a sad time waiting at the station for her train (to take her to the airport). Maybe there’s a song that needs to be written,” says Nick.
Aside from those unhappy days, Nick enjoys visiting the town and he’s back again later this month: “I have a fondness for Reading. It’s a place I know well, all the nooks and crannies, the best shops and tea rooms. I’ve played Reading many times as a solo artist and always enjoyed being there.
“The Reading home crowds have always been so warm and welcoming, that I wanted to make sure that Reading was on the schedule for this new Haircut 100 tour. This is going to be such a special tour for us, we’re all back together again, and although it’s over 40 years on, we’re still bursting with that Haircut 100 joyous spirit that fans love us for.
“We’re so excited to play in cities that we’ve never played together before – Reading here we come, we can’t wait.”
Nick, now married to Sara, fronted the chart breaking Haircut100 which had numerous hits with songs such as Fantastic Day, Nobody’s Fool and Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl).
The group’s single Love Plus One and album, Pelican West, both released in 1982, were immediate successes securing them international fame.
Nick wrote the album and when asked to describe his creative process, he explains: “I was young and suffered from teenage angst.
“You have no control over what you write. I am often asked about the lyrics and I say I don’t know why I wrote what I did. It just came out.”
Haircut100 were known for their joyful sound, costume changes and bright, breezy videos. Yet, they were no fizz bang bubble gum group put together as a short-term commercial project. In the early half of the 1980s, few bands could blend the high gloss of sophisticated, jazz-influenced pop with the carefree breeziness of sunny lyrics, skittering guitars and sax solos with such ease or imagination. This unique sound brought them to the attention of numerous contemporary performers. Nick remembers the day when he and Paul McCartney jammed Beatles songs before the legendary musician invited him to write poetry together.
“I was in this studio when a dog popped in followed by Heather McCartney, Paul’s daughter,” explains Nick.
“They were followed by Paul and he said hello. He was such a great guy, never playing the big music star at all. I asked him to show me the chords of Beatles songs like Paperback Writer and to explain his writing process. I was just 21 and here I was sitting with a major star. At times like that, you are just gobsmacked, not really knowing what to say.
“I met him again later and he asked me to write poetry with him. It was amazing.”
The Beatles man was not the only musician who understood Haircut100 had a special quality. Taylor Hawkins, the late legendary drummer with the Foo Fighters, credited the band and its drummer, Blair Cunningham, as one of his biggest influences.
“Blair is a gifted, natural drummer. He’s an amazing talent. His brother played with Otis Redding,” says Nick.
When asked how at 62 he looks so fit he says, “because I got ill”.
“I used to just eat whatever I wanted. If I felt like a curry, then that’s what I’d have. But during my 50s I became ill with different issues, so I had to stop and focus on my diet and lifestyle. Back then, we didn’t even have a manager, so we had to do everything ourselves,” explains Nick.”
“Now, we have great management and everything from bookings to travel to publicity, even our meals are all taken care of. We are all geared up for the tour and can’t wait to be on stage singing the songs fans love.”
Should any Haircut100 fans spot a pensive looking Nick wandering about Reading Train Station, it would be wrong to assume he is lost.
He might just be writing that song about Sara, Minnesota, and Heathrow airport.
■ Haircut 100 will be at The Hexagon, on Saturday, October
28. Doors open at 7pm and tickets cost £34.50 for standing downstairs and £37 for balcony seats. A VIP package is £120 and includes a pre-show meet and greet, some souvenir goodies and a photo opportunity. For more details, or to book, log on to: whatsonreading.com or call: 0118 960 6060.