Nick Heyward (born Nicholas Heyward, 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 #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.
Heyward's solo career took off in March 1983 with the single 'Whistle Down The Wind', with the album North of a Miracle, produced by Geoff Emerick. The album reached #10 in the UK and contained a further singles three Top 20 hits. In 1984, he released two new singles, "Love All Day" and "Warning Sign", which were both minor Top 40 hits.
The 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, 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 heralded a change to a more classic rock style. The album yielded a US hit with "Kite" which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.
In 1995, Heyward released the album Tangled on the Epic label, and provided him with his first UK Top 40 single in twelve years when "Rollerblade" reached #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. An album of songs recorded with singer/actress India Dupre, The Mermaid and the Lighthouse Keeper, was released in 2006.
Heyward has been active out of the public view writing and recording for various future projects. He plays solo gigs from time to time, and with a reformed Haircut One Hundred.
Heyward has been involved with a planned re-issue program of his solo catalogue through Cherry Red Records. Starting with two releases in October 2010, the first being a double album deluxe edition of his debut album, North of A Miracle. This new edition included all the b-sides and mixes from the original singles, and a previously unreleased concert, recorded for Capital Radio on 7 November 1983, at London's Dominion Theatre. The second reissue is a expanded edition of his 1993 album From Monday To Sunday. This features selection of tracks from a previous unreleased album produced by Bob Sargent along with b-sides from the singles. Both these editions were overseen by Heyward and included notes from him and Gary Crowley, along with rare photographs and lyrics.
The third and fourth releases in the reissue campaign are expanded versions of Tangled (1995) and The Apple Bed (1998). Both feature all the b-sides from the single releases and, in the case of The Apple Bed, a previously unreleased song called 'The End'. These were overseen by Heyward and feature notes, previously unseen photos and lyrics for both the album and b-sides.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Heyward
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