Neo-psychedelic pop band 14 Iced Bears was formed in South London in mid-1985 by singer/guitarist Rob Sekula, bassist Alan White and drummer Nick Emery. Soon after relocating to the Brighton area, White exited the group, with bassist Dominic Minques and rhythm guitarist Kevin Canham signing on to record their 1986 Frank label debut single "Inside." Roster changes continued to plague 14 Iced Bears over the course of a series of singles including 1987's "Balloon Song" and the following year's "Come Get Me" (the latter an early release on the famed Sarah label), but upon signing to Thunderball to record their self-titled 1988 debut LP, the line-up finally stabilized, with Sekula and Canham joined by bassist Will Taylor and drummer Graham Durrant. The album was a cult favorite both at home and abroad, leading to a brief flirtation with major label Geffen, but nevertheless 14 Iced Bears' next single, 1989's "Mother Sleep," again appeared on Thunderball; the company collapsed in the wake of the following year's "World I Love," however, and the group landed with the Borderline imprint for 1991's 'Wonder' before disbanding. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dislocation Dance can be seen as the unsung forebears of mid-'80s jazz-inflected acts such as Swing Out Sister and Matt Bianco; their influence can also be heard on Stereolab. Formed in the early '80s by Andy Diagram (trumpet, vocals), Ian Runacres (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Paul Emmerson (bass), and Richard Harrison (drums), Dislocation Dance stitched together a patchwork of minimalist new wave, '60s French pop, and jazz. The group's unassuming sound was warmly embraced by the indie crowd in the U.K., and they even appeared on Top of the Pops. In 1981, Dislocation Dance released their debut album, 'Music Music Music'; in addition, they performed live for pioneering British DJ John Peel.
When vocalist Kathryn Way joined Dislocation Dance, the band almost sounded like a distaff version of Liverpool's The Pale Fountains, a group Diagram was also a member of. After recording their second LP, 1984's 'Midnight Shift', Dislocation Dance disintegrated. Diagram eventually joined James; he also formed the Spaceheads. In 1999, Vinyl Japan released Dislocation Dance's BBC Sessions from 1981-1982. A year later, the label reissued 'Midnight Shift' on CD with B-sides, remixes, and a cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." 'Music Music Music' was also finally released on CD. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
An unfortunately short-lived but utterly wonderful neo-psychedelic jangle pop band, Close Lobsters only managed two albums and an EP in their brief career, but all three releases are brilliant, some of the best music of the late-'80s U.K. indie scene.
Close Lobsters were formed in the Scottish village of Paisley (prophetically enough, given the band's psychedelic tendencies) in 1985 by singer Andrew Burnett and drummer Stewart McFayden. The pair couldn't decide between the names The Close and The Lobsters and simply combined the two for their nonsensical but evocative handle. Adding guitarists Tom Donnelly and Graeme Wilmington, plus Burnett's brother Robert on bass, Close Lobsters gained some early notoriety when their song "Fire Station Towers" showed up on the legendary New Musical Express cassette "C-86", which lent its name to an entire movement of post-punk guitar bands. Close Lobsters had a greater commitment to melody than most of the C-86 bands, though, as shown on their first single, "Going to Heaven to See If It Rains," which was released in November 1986. A second single, "Never Seen Before," appeared in April 1987, with a superior re-recorded version of "Fire Station Towers" and a cover of The Only Ones' "Wide Waterways" on the flip.
The quintet's first album, 'Foxheads Stalk This Land', was released in late 1987 to lukewarm response in a U.K. press already tired of the C-86 propaganda, but its inviting mix of jangle pop, hazy psychedelia, inscrutable lyrics, and monster guitar hooks gained Close Lobsters a small but fervent following on the U.S. college radio scene. A follow-up single, "Let's Make Some Plans," came out in early 1988; this new song and four other excellent tracks were collected by Close Lobsters' American label, Enigma Records, and released as the EP 'What Is There to Smile About?' in the summer of 1988. Simple and direct, without a wasted note, it's probably the best Close Lobsters release. For the U.K. fans, Strange Fruit released Close Lobsters' four-song 'Janice Long Session' from July, 1986, including the a-sides of the first two singles, the B-side "Nothing Really Matters" and "Pathetic Trivia," which would be reworked as "Pathetique" on 'Foxheads Stalk This Land'.
Close Lobsters' second full album, 'Headache Rhetoric', was released in March 1989. Darker and less immediately accessible than either of the band's previous releases, with a druggily psychedelic vibe akin to Love's best work, it's the sort of album that takes a while to sink in but packs a mighty wallop once it does. Unfortunately, it sank almost without trace in the U.K., and Enigma Records by this time was undergoing the financial problems that would cause it to fold within the year, so the label was unable to capitalize on the band's cult success in the states. After a final EP, 'Nature Thing', with appropriate covers of Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)" and Leonard Cohen's "Paper Thin Hotel" on the flip, was released in the spring of 1989, Close Lobsters quietly called it a day. In 2012, the original band members got back in touch and they decided to reform to play live shows in selected European cities. The response was favorable and the next year the band played the NYC Popfest and released their first new music since 1989, an EP titled 'Kunstwerk in Spacetime' for the Shelflife label. Their comeback was made complete in 2015 with the release of the career spanning collection 'Firestation Towers 1986-1989', which was released by Fire Records. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Coming out of the then-overlooked Austin, TX, punk scene of the early '80s, the Big Boys combined two irresistible rock styles into one feverish mix: raging, speedy guitars and fat, funky backbeats. And although they went on to make a few so-so recordings, never really living up to their early promise, it's difficult not to be supportive of what the Big Boys tried to do in the start of the hardcore era, wherein the sexiness of a funky rhythm section disappeared amongst the ultra-fast tempos and sexless pummeling. On their wonderful EP 'Fun, Fun, Fun', the Boys tore up Kool & the Gang's "Hollywood's Swinging" like it was their birthright, and the transition from speedcore ranting to danceable funk & roll was rarely more eloquently rendered. In 1984, never reaching beyond a loyal but small audience, the Boys split up and provided musicians for a seemingly endless number of early alternative rock bands like Rapeman, Scratch Acid, and Poison 13. Chris Gates hooked up with ex-Minor Threat/Dag Nasty guitarist Brian Baker and formed Junkyard, proof positive that even hardcore purists were capable of an egregious attempt at selling out. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Arguably the most criminally under-recognized band of their era, the British duo A.R. Kane anticipated virtually all of the key musical breakthroughs of the 1990s a decade before the fact, with the roots of everything from shoegazing to trip-hop to ambient dub -even those of post-rock- lying in their dreamy, oceanic sound. Formed in London in 1986, A.R. Kane were essentially the partnership of Alex Ayuli and Rudi Tambala; hailed in the press as "the black Jesus and Mary Chain" upon debuting the following year on One Little Indian with the single "When You're Sad," they moved to 4AD later in 1987 to release the follow-up EP 'Lollita', an impressively eclectic blend of gorgeous dream pop bliss and nightmarish squalls of feedback produced by the Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie.
While at 4AD, label chief Ivo Watts-Russell suggested that Ayuli and Tambala team with roster mates Martyn and Steven Young of Colourbox, champion mixer Chris "C.J." Mackintosh, and London DJ Dave Dorrell to record a single fusing the rhythms and beats of classic soul recordings with state-of-the-art electronics and production. Dubbing the collaboration M/A/R/R/S, the resulting single, "Pump Up the Volume" -a breakthrough effort heralding sampling's gradual absorption from hip-hop into dance music and ultimately the pop mainstream- soon topped the British charts, the first 4AD release ever to accomplish the feat. Plans for a M/A/R/R/S follow-up never materialized, however, and A.R. Kane again picked up stakes, moving on to Rough Trade to begin work on their much-anticipated full-length debut.
The resulting album, 1988's '69', fulfilled all the promise of A.R. Kane's earlier work and more; cosmic yet funky, its liquid grooves immersed in waves of ecstatic noise, the record's mastery of atmosphere and mood -in tandem with its nearly formless songs- establish it as a clear antecedent not only of the nascent shoegazer sound but also much of the underground dance music to emerge in the years to follow. The duo's double-LP follow-up, 1989's 'i', was even more impressive in its scope, breathlessly veering from melodic dance-pop to eerie drone-rock to epic dub mosaics. And then...nothing: only three years later did the next A.R. Kane LP, 'Americana' -a handful of new tracks combined with past highlights- appear on the Luaka Bop label. By the time of a proper follow-up, 1994's 'New Clear Child', the moment had clearly passed. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
An intelligent alternative pop duo with folk and country leanings (though they often relied on synthesizers and drum machines, even while playing live dates), Timbuk 3's Pat and Barbara K. MacDonald wrote many better songs than their surprise 1986 hit "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades." The couple, who met in the late '70s while Barbara studied at the University of Wisconsin, were based in Austin, Texas by the mid-'80s, when they recorded their debut album 'Greetings from Timbuk 3' in 1986. After the LP was released on IRS Records, "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" hit number 19 late that year. Though it was Timbuk 3's only hit, they continued recording and found a niche in the college/alternative community with albums such as 'Eden Alley', 'Edge of Allegiance' and 'Big Shot in the Dark'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of England's leading goth bands of the 1980s, The Sisters of Mercy play a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often incorporating dance beats; the one constant in the band's career has been deep-voiced singer Andrew Eldritch. (There is some disagreement as to whether the group took its name from an order of Catholic nuns or from the Leonard Cohen song of the same name.) Eldritch originally formed the band in 1980 with guitarist Gary Marx and recorded its first single with a drum machine dubbed Doktor Avalanche. Guitarist Ben Gunn and bassist Craig Adams were added to make live gigs feasible, and the Sisters built a reputation through several singles and EPs. Gunn left the band in 1983 and was replaced by Wayne Hussey. The Sisters of Mercy recorded their first full-length album, 'First and Last and Always', in 1985, but two years later, internal dissent had split them apart; Marx left to form Ghost Dance, and Adams and Hussey departed shortly thereafter. A legal dispute ensued over the rights to the name Sisters of Mercy; Adams and Hussey attempted to use the name Sisterhood, but Eldritch released an EP under the name to prevent its usage, and the two finally settled on The Mission. Eldritch chiefly utilized a corps of temporary sidemen from this point on (although former Gun Club bassist Patricia Morrison was an official member of the group for a short time) and rebounded with his two biggest-selling American LPs, 'Floodland' and 'Vision Thing'. Despite ceasing studio recordings, Eldritch kept the band active as a performing entity through the first decade of the 2000s and beyond. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Replacements initially formed in 1979, when Paul Westerberg joined a garage punk band formed by brothers Bob (guitar) and Tommy Stinson (bass) and drummer Chris Mars. Originally called The Impediments, the Minnesota residents changed their name to The Replacements after being banned from a local club for disorderly behavior. In their early days, they sounded quite similar to Hüsker Dü, the leaders of the Minneapolis punk scene. However, The Replacements were wilder and looser than the Hüskers and quickly became notorious for their drunken, chaotic gigs. After they built up a sizable local following the Minneapolis label Twin/Tone signed them.
'Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash', a sloppy hardcore collection, was released in 1981 but failed to make much of an impact on the national scene. It was followed the next year by the 'Stink EP', which followed the same pattern as the debut. It was the band's second album, 1983's 'Hootenanny', that first garnered the band attention and helped build their fan base. On 'Hootenanny', the group started playing around with other genres, adding elements of pop, straightforward rock & roll, country, and folk, although sometimes the eclecticism was ironic.
'Hootenanny' set the stage for 'Let It Be', the band's critical and artistic breakthrough. Released in 1984, 'Let It Be' showed that the band had successfully expanded their musical reach and that Westerberg had grown considerably as a songwriter; he was now capable of pop like "I Will Dare," full-throttle rock & roll, and introspective ballads like "Answering Machine." Critics and fellow musicians were quick to praise the band, and they developed a large underground following. The buzz was large enough to convince Sire to sign the band in 1985.
The Replacements' first major-label album, 'Tim', was scheduled to be produced by Westerberg's idol, Alex Chilton, but the sessions fell through; the album was produced by former Ramone Tommy Erdelyi. Upon its release in 1985, 'Tim' garnered rave reviews that equalled those for 'Let It Be'. Though the band was poised for a popular breakthrough, they were unsure about making the leap into the mainstream. As a result, they never let themselves live up to their full potential. The Replacements landed a spot on Saturday Night Live, but they were roaring drunk throughout their performances and Westerberg said "f*ck" on the air. Their concerts had became notorious for such drunken, sloppy behavior. Frequently, the band was barely able to stand up, let alone play, and when they did play, they often didn't finish their songs. The Replacements also refused to make accessible videos -the video for "Bastards of Young" featured nothing but a stereo system, playing the song- thereby cutting themselves off from the mass exposure MTV could have granted them.
After the tour for 'Tim', Bob Stinson was fired from the band, allegedly for his drug and alcohol addictions. The Replacements recorded their next album as a trio in Memphis, TN, with former Big Star producer Jim Dickinson. The resulting album, 'Pleased to Meet Me', was more streamlined than their previous recordings. Again, the reviews were uniformly excellent upon its spring 1987 release, but the band didn't earn many new fans. During the tour for 'Pleased to Meet Me', guitarist Slim Dunlap filled the vacant lead guitarist spot and he became a full-time member after the tour.
Two years later, the band returned in the spring of 1989 with 'Don't Tell a Soul', The Replacements' last bid for a mainstream audience. The bandmembers had cleaned up, admitting that their years of drug and alcohol abuse were behind them, and were now willing to play the promotional game. 'Don't Tell a Soul' boasted a polished, radio-ready production and the group shot MTV-friendly videos, beginning with the single "I'll Be You." Initially, the approach worked -"I'll Be You" became a number one album rock track, crossing over to number 51 on the pop charts. However, 'Don't Tell a Soul' never really took off and failed to establish the band as a major commercial force.
Defeated from the lackluster performance of 'Don't Tell a Soul', Paul Westerberg planned on recording a solo album, but Sire rejected the idea. Consequently, the next Replacements album, 'All Shook Down', was a solo Westerberg record in all but name. Recorded with a cast of session musicians as well as the band, 'All Shook Down' was a stripped-down, largely acoustic affair that hinted at the turmoil within the band. Chris Mars left shortly after its fall 1990 release, claiming that Westerberg had assumed control of the band; he would launch a solo career two years later. The Replacements toured in support of 'All Shook Down', with Steve Foley, formerly of the Minneapolis-based Things Fall Down, as their new drummer. Neither the tour nor the album were successful, and The Replacements quietly disbanded in the summer of 1991.
Tommy Stinson formed Bash & Pop the following year; in 1995, he formed a new band called Perfect. Dunlap released a solo album in 1993. Bob Stinson died February 15, 1995, from a drug overdose. Westerberg began a solo career slowly, releasing two songs on the "Singles" ("Dyslexic Heart," "Waiting for Somebody") soundtrack in 1992; he also scored the film. He released his debut solo album, '14 Songs', in the summer of 1993 to mixed reviews. Paul Westerberg's second solo album, 'Eventually', was released in the spring of 1996. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Taking their name from an NME feature on the group Jamie Wednesday (later known as Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine), the archetypal grebo band Pop Will Eat Itself formed in Stourbridge, England in 1986. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Clint Mansell, keyboardist Adam Mole, drummer Graham Crabb, and bassist Richard March, PWEI began their existence as a Buzzcocks-influenced indie guitar band, and issued their self-produced debut EP, 'The Poppies Say Grrr', in 1986.
While recording their follow-up, 'Poppiecock', PWEI became immersed in sampling, drawing material from sources ranging from James Brown to Iggy Pop; soon Crabb emerged from behind his drum kit to join Mansell as co-frontman, and a drum machine was installed in his place. Honing a fusion of rock, pop, and rap that they dubbed "grebo," the Poppies kick-started a small revolution; by the release of their 1987 full-length debut, 'Box Frenzy', and the hit "There Is No Love Between Us Anymore," grebo -the name quickly given the entire subculture of similarly grimy and raunchy bands- was all the rage in the British music press.
The influence of hip-hop was even more pronounced on singles like "Def. Con. One." and "Can U Dig It?," both included on Pop Will Eat Itself's 1989 masterpiece, 'This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!', their debut for RCA. "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina," an ode to the Italian porn actress turned politician, was another hit, while 1991's 'Cure for Sanity' marked an increasing interest in dance music. By 1992's 'The Looks or the Lifestyle', PWEI even added a live drummer, Fuzz (born Robert Townshend), to expand their ever-mutating sound.
In early 1993, the Poppies issued their biggest U.K. hit, "Get the Girl, Kill the Baddies"; ironically, later that same year the group was dropped by RCA. After signing to Infectious in Britain, they were picked up in the U.S. by Nothing, a label owned by longtime fan Trent Reznor; sporting a harder-edged, funk-metal sound, PWEI resurfaced in 1994 with 'Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'. Prior to the release of a 1995 remix record, 'Two Fingers, My Friends', Crabb exited the group to focus on his side project, Golden Claw Musics. March later gained fame in the big beat act Bentley Rhythm Ace. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
A post-punk band whose music blended stripped-down rock & roll with the lean rhythms of dub, the Mo-Dettes were formed in London in 1979 by American-born guitarist Kate Korris (she also used the spellings Kate Korus and Kate Corris), who previously had performed briefly with The Slits and The Raincoats very early in each band's history. Korris teamed up with bassist Jane Crockford, ex-Bank of Dresden, to form the Mo-Dettes, and they rounded out the lineup with Swiss singer Ramona Carlier (whose heavily accented vocals became one of the band's aural trademarks) and drummer June Miles-Kingston (whose brother Bob Kingston was also a figure on the British rock scene as guitarist with Tenpole Tudor). In 1979, the Mo-Dettes made their recorded debut with the single "White Mice" b/w "Masochistic Opposite," which was released on the band's own Mode Records label. Thanks to steady airplay from iconic radio host John Peel, the 45 fared well on the independent charts, and the band recorded three live-in-the-studio sessions for Peel's show between 1980 and 1981. The success of the "White Mice" single led to a deal with Deram Records, who released the Mo-Dettes' first album, 'The Story So Far', in November 1980. While the Mo-Dettes cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" was a minor chart success, the album didn't sell as well as expected, and a non-LP single, "Tonight," released in June 1981, failed to break into the Top 50. Bowing to pressure from their record company, the Mo-Dettes briefly expanded to a quintet with the addition of a second guitarist, Melissa Ritter, but the lineup became unstable after Ramona Carlier left the band in May 1982; Jane Crockford took over on vocals before Sue Slack took over as singer during the group's last few months. By the end of 1982, the Mo-Dettes broke up. June Miles-Kingston went on to a successful career following the Mo-Dettes, working with the Fun Boy Three, the Thompson Twins, Everything But the Girl, and The Communards. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Richard Lloyd was the rhythm guitarist for New York punk legends Television; he released the solo album 'Alchemy' in 1979 and then dropped out of sight due to drug addiction, returning in 1985 cleaned up and with a new record, 'Field of Fire'. The follow-up, a live album recorded at CBGB's and titled 'Real Time', appeared in 1987. Along with ex-Voidoids guitarist Robert Quine, Lloyd next helped bring Matthew Sweet to prominence on a series of albums starting with 1991's power pop classic 'Girlfriend'; after the follow-ups 'Altered Beast' and '100% Fun', both guitarists departed.
In addition to teaching, Lloyd returned to his solo career, forming a backing band that included bassist Peter Stuart and drummer Chris Butler. A new studio album, 'The Cover Doesn't Matter', was released in early 2001. Lloyd revisited his second solo album, 'Field of Fire', in 2005, completely redoing it, and the results were issued as 2007's 'Field of Fire' on Reaction/Parasol, which included both the original and redone versions of the album. The all-new 'Radiant Monkey' arrived that same year. In 2009 LLoyd completed work on the 'Jamie Neverts Story', an ambitious collection of Jimi Hendrix covers. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best known as the in-house producer and proprietor of the Shimmy-Disc label, Kramer (first name Mark) has also had an extensive career as a musician, mostly with other bands or collaborators, but occasionally solo as well. Born in 1958, Kramer initially chose film school as his creative path, but wound up dropping out twice; instead, he worked as a sound engineer for several late-'70s New York bands and eventually joined the band that became Eugene Chadbourne's Shockabilly as a bass player and sometime organist. Upon Shockabilly's mid-'80s dissolution, Kramer served a brief stint as the Butthole Surfers' touring bassist, then decided to concentrate on running his Shimmy-Disc label and Noise New York (later Noise New Jersey) recording studio. As well as being a member of the twistedly humorous bands B.A.L.L. (later Gumball) and Bongwater, Kramer produced acts ranging from the label's own GWAR and King Missile to Galaxie 500, Urge Overkill, Half Japanese, Daniel Johnston, Fred Frith, Palace Brothers, Low, and Royal Trux, while also releasing albums by Ween, The Boredoms, John Zorn's Naked City, Damon & Naomi, and many more.
From the late '80s on, Kramer was a highly active collaborator, releasing projects with Jad Fair of Half Japanese, John S. Hall of King Missile, Ralph Carney and Daved Hild, ex-Gong frontman Daevid Allen, ex-King Missile member Dogbowl, ex-Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper, and Captain Howdy, a band featuring magician Penn Jillette on vocals and cartoon voice-over master Billy West ("Ren & Stimpy", etc.) on guitar. Kramer's solo career began in 1993 with the release of 'The Guilt Trip', which was followed in 1994 with 'The Secret of Comedy' and 1995's Japanese-only 'Music for Crying'; the albums combined Kramer's warped humor with his ample production skills and (sometimes) pop songwriting sense. In 1998, Kramer returned to solo recording with 'Songs from the Pink Death' on Shimmy-Disc and 'Let Me Explain Something to You About Art' on Tzadik. A second Kramer release on Tzadik, 'The Greenberg Variations', arrived in 2003. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
b. 6 October 1960, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Jobson was born the brother of John, a striker for Meadowbank Thistle Football Club, for whom Richard was also on the books. After a four-year tenure with The Skids (1977-81), Jobson moved on to join The Armoury Show, which failed to repeat the success of any of its illustrious personnel’s former bands. With their demise, Jobson toured the UK with Scottish acting company Poines Plough. Turning to poetry, he hit the road once more, falling between two schools in terms of critical reception. On one side, rock critics viewed the move suspiciously, castigating him as pretentious, while the poetry critics reacted with venom to the vulgar intrusion of a rock singer. Placed in its proper context, Jobson was capable of writing good poetry, but was too much at the whim of his own indulgence. The worst example of this was his infamous live rendition of Sylvia Plath’s ‘Daddy’.
Jobson continued to release albums throughout the 80s, the best of which was '16 Years Of Alcohol', also the title of a book that described his alcohol problems. He also suffers from epilepsy. 'Badman', released on Parlophone Records in 1988, was produced by Ian Broudie. Although the imagery was typically grandiose, it did include a sprightly cover version of Everything But The Girl’s ‘Angel’. Meanwhile, Jobson had chanced upon further careers in television and fashion. He appeared variously as the pop correspondent on BBC Television’s "The Garden Party", as presenter of "01 For London", and in regional arts programmes and the opinion show "Biteback". On top of this came his highly paid, and some might say unlikely, stint as a fashion model. Most notable was a series of car adverts, for which he also composed the music. In the mid-90s he moved into film production, working on "Just Another Day In London", "Tube Tales" and "Heartlands". [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Nick Heyward (vocals, guitar) left his band Haircut 100 just when they were cruising through the pop charts in the U.K. Instead of destroying his career, the move actually provided him with more artistic credibility. Heyward was born on May 20, 1961, in Beckenham, Kent, England. In 1980, Heyward formed the new wave group Haircut 100. Haircut 100 became as well-known for the preppie outfits they wore as much as MTV bubblegum like "Love Plus One" and "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)," two of the most endearing songs of the '80s. Both singles hit the Top Ten in Britain in 1982. Heyward recorded one LP for Haircut 100, 'Pelican West', and then departed for a solo career. Once on his own, Heyward's work lost much of Haircut 100's teen gloss; the music was still catchy, but the lyrics were more adult and introspective, as displayed on tracks like "Whistle Down the Wind" from his 1983 solo debut 'North of a Miracle'. Heyward's solo output in the '80s didn't have much commercial impact in the U.S.; however, his popularity -and pin-up appeal- in England was kept intact by 'North of a Miracle'. But it was temporary: 1986's 'Postcards From Home' and 1988's 'I Love You Avenue' didn't grab listeners. In 1994, the Beatles-like "Kite" on 'From Monday to Sunday' was a surprise smash on American modern rock stations. Heyward continued to record albums in the '90s, none of which received attention outside of his loyal fan base. In 2001, Heyward released 'Open Seseme Seed' with Greg Ellis. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
