Nick Heyward

The Apple Bed (Big Deal)
by Chris Adams

As far as band names go, Haircut 100 has to be one of the daftest that anyone’s come up with, ever. This is the legacy that Nick Heyward has left us. (And “Nick Heyward” – that’s a pretty rock and roll name, huh? “Lock up your daughters, moms, here comes Nick Heyward, armed with his tweed jacket, pastel cardigan, breath mints, toothsome smile, and lemonade!”) But let’s not judge the man’s past too harshly. After all, he was just 19 when the Haircut’s (gawd…) brand of exuberant, adolescent bubblegum was floating weightlessly up the British charts. Nowadays, he’s pulling the “serious rock artist” trip and, amazingly enough, he fairly pulls it off with The Apple Bed. Not that the album’s filled with portent and furrowed brows – far from it. But the CD is loaded with melodies that McCartney would give his left ear for, and it’s got more hooks than a fishermen’s convention in Sweden. And songs like “The Man I Used to Be” beat Oasis at their own waning game. Not at all bad for a chap – and, if there ever was one, Heyward is a chap – who, by all accounts, oughtta be playing cricket in the Midlands by now.
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