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Nice quality video recorded live from Top Of The Pops 1983. 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 100, and also had a briefly successful solo career after he left the band in 1983.

Heyward formed Haircut 100 in 1980. During Nick Heyward's time with the band, they had four UK Top 10 singles and their debut album, Pelican West (1982), reached no.2. In 1982, the band began work on their second album and recorded the instrumentation to which Nick Heyward would later add vocals. It was at this time that the first effects of what Nick Heyward was to later describe as a nervous breakdown began to take hold[citation needed] and decided he could not carry on within the band. He then quit to pursue a solo career in January 1983. Haircut 100 recorded a third album without him in 1984, entitled Paint and Paint but broke up when it failed to repeat the success of their debut. The second album was leaked some years later as a bootleg entitled Half Baked.

Initially, Heyward's solo career was modestly successful commercially. His solo debut album from 1983, North of a Miracle, produced by Geoff Emerick, peaked at no.10 in the UK and contained three Top 20 hits. Further singles from the album failed to make the Top 40. In 1984, he released two new singles, "Love All Day" and "Warning Sign", which were both minor Top 40 hits, but by this time his career had peaked. The singles would feature on his second solo album, 1986's Postcards From Home, but the album was unsuccessful, failing to even make the Top 100. By 1988, he had moved to Warner Bros. Records and released his third album, I Love You Avenue, but this was also a commercial failure. 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. Over the next two years, he toured regularly, particularly in the U.S., where he supported Belly, The Lemonheads, Mazzy Star and Therapy? (arguably the most unlikely coupling, given Heyward's reputation for gentle, pastoral songs).

Heyward released From Monday to Sunday in 1993, which heralded a change to a more classic rock style. The album yielded an American radio hit with "Kite" which reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.

In 1995, Heyward released the album Tangled on the Epic label, which chimed with the Britpop zeitgeist, and provided him with his first UK Top 40 single in twelve years when "Rollerblade" reached No.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.

After a brief reunion with Haircut 100 for the VH-1 series Bands Reunited, Heyward then appeared on week three of the 2005 reality TV programme, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time.

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.

Nick has been active out of the public view writing and recording for various future projects. He plays gigs from time to time solo and with a reformed Haircut 100. He is planning more gigs for 2011.

He has been involved with a planned reissue program of his catalogue through Cherry Red Records. Starting with two releases planned for Oct 2010, the first being a 2CD Deluxe Edition of his debut album 'North of A Miracle'. This new edition includes all the relevant 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 1CD Expanded Edition of his 1993 album 'From Monday To Sunday', which again includes all the original b-sides from the singles and 5 previously unreleased demos from early sessions for the album. These were produced by Haircut 100 producer Bob Sargent. These Editions have been personally overseen by Nick and includes notes from him and broadcast and friend Gary Crowley along with photos and lyrics in 16page booklets. Please visit my other Channel. Keep Rockin!.
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