Pelican West

Robert Dimery really out here forcing us to listen to every mid Britpop album he liked in his teens, huh

Haircut 100? The (barely) one-hit wonder from the early 80s? Essential album? All spoken/written from admitted ignorance and after listening I could take two paths: 1) Sure, this album is light fun from the early 80s but why is this mandatory or special listening? 2) This was an overlooked gem (at least in North America) and there should have been 3-4 radio or MTV staples. I could make a quick Duran Duran comparison but I like this far more. There's an airiness to the mix and arrangements that absolutely has that 80s feel but still sounds kinda fresh some 40! years later. Never imagined I'd discover a Haircut 100 album but I'm kinda glad I did; I hear some unpredictably jazzy/funky elements of Joe Jackson and Madness (compliments, those). I'll split the difference between the above thoughts and say while it might never be a favourite I think I'll happily listen to this again. A pleasant surprise. 6/10 3 stars.

Sounds like a budget Duran Duran at times. I approve of a budget Duran Duran

British white boy jazz-funk/pop complete with chunky sweaters and knitwear. This is super groovy music for the body and dancefloor that doesn't take itself too seriously, and is a hell of a lot of fun.

This cover does not tell you how FUNKY this album is. I really enjoyed this, new wave with that funk influence. This reminds me a lot of Orange Juice. The instrumentation for a bunch of white boys from England was a pleasant surprise. Dug it, will listen again. Favorite song: Favourite Shirts (Boys Meets Girls) Least favorite song: Calling Captain Autumn

It's not terrible, but I don't understand the inclusion on this list. Even if you take the UK centric nature of some of the selections, why would this be included instead of something like Ultravox or Visage or Howard Jones? (all UK options) Icehouse or Split Enz or Thomas Dolby? These six are all much more worthy "new wave" inclusions than this album -- even if you were just looking at UK options in the same general timeframe, this is a poor choice. Looking at the charts, Asia would be a better option and bring something interesting to the list... Gap Band IV would have been amazing as an inclusion... Flock of Seagulls debut! Scorpions "Blackout"! Anyhow, poor choice. I owned this record in the 1980s and gave it away back then... it didn't stay in my collection for any real duration.

Catchy, inventive and fun. Seem slightly too mainstream and poppy to be labelled 'indie', which is perhaps why they don't seem to pop up on other lists of 'most influential/important' records, but at the same time, they steer well clear of the stereotypical synth driven sound I associate with bands of this era. A good find that I would never have listened to if it wasn't for this site.

More garbage British new wave. I'm done with it.

This so isn't worthy. It's generic 80's new wave. It's fine and that's it. It shouldn't be on the list.

Can really hear how this band must have influenced others of the time and that came after them. The rhythm guitar is immaculate. Great new wave sound.

Sounds like a German Oktoberfest ska band doing the cure.

If you can't tell the band name from the album name something isn't right. And that kind of sums up this album.

Funky, rhythm driven pop with lots of sax and horn and Chic / Nile Rodgers style guitar. Sometimes has a little Latin flair. Plus I like marimba. This didn’t come across as New Wave to me: there’s no edginess, no heavy synth. Just bright, fun pop. I liked this way more than I thought I would.

There are some positives and negatives imho. Positives: The lads know how to play and they lay down some very good rhythm.  Negatives: Some of the songs didn't age very well  and were probably a little to "pop-ish'' to start with. Marine Boy is a good example. The rhythms are reminiscent of a Carlos Alomar led rhythm section blended  with very capable horns, woodwinds, bongos / congas, and other alt percussion that Talking Heads brought to their sound around this time. But when the singing comes back, it sounds like music you might expect on a Love Boat episode. Fortunately, only half the songs suffer from the  "vocals jealous of the rhythm section" condition.  It was impossible not to love the New Wave since it was such a relief from all that disco crap that overstayed its welcome.  The sound was fresh and fun when it started but some of it did end up being pop that didn’t age well. Notwithstanding my Love Boat reference, I enjoyed the listen.

I remember when this came out. I bought it in a bargain bin year's later (90's sometime). I've listened to it a few times and it's fine but in no way do I think this is critical listening for anyone LOL. This is coming from an 80's kid who still unironically plays a lot of 80's music. Not sure what the fuss is. I'm assuming they were a much bigger deal in the UK than in the states and so the creators of this list maybe had more nostalgia attached to this or the songs were more cultural touchstones there. For me-- meh Standout tracks: Baked Bean - Like Talking Heads with more horns

This was great - super funky and horn packed British new wave. This was like a lovechild of Joe Jackson and Talking Heads. I loved listening to this today.

It's ok but not really standing out for me.. kinda weirded out by it being on the list tbh

Funky little album this is. Some really great danceable rhythms. My wife really liked this album. I liked most of it but did get annoyed at times by the syrupy tone of the sax which fell I to Kenny G territory from time to time. A fun listen that probably doesn't have any real staying power. 3 🌟

If you like your funk pasty white, look no further. RIYL: Sperry’s, pastel polos, yachting with Chad and Buffy.

Like a blend of the Smiths and the specials if they decided to be happy and do jazz. Was it weird and interesting, maybe? Does it deserve to be on this list? Meh. Feel harsh rating it a 2 but it's a very strong 2.

4.5 rounded up this lot are fucking groovy. Duran Duran with better song titles and a big fuck off saxophone

Haircut 100 is a name I’ve seen pop up on 80s compilations for as long as I can remember, and I always enjoyed the few tracks I’d heard. But beyond that, I honestly assumed they were just another one hit wonder from the decade, and to be fair, they probably are. But after listening to this album, I can definitely see why it had its moment in the spotlight when it first came out. It’s a great blend of new wave, sophisti-pop, jazz, and funk. That might sound like it would be some musically dense, artsy record, but it’s actually the opposite. It’s lighthearted, bright, and breezy, with a beat and rhythm section that gives the whole thing a super danceable energy. If you’re into 80s new wave and want something a little off the beaten path, this one’s definitely worth checking out. It feels like a forgotten classic that deserves a bit more love.

I'm glad didn’t write down my initial thoughts on Haircut One Hundred after reading that it was yet another British new wave band, or I would be digesting that piece of paper right now. The idiom eat my words dates back to at least the 1570s, but no one knows the origins of the phrase. I'm envisioning some 1300s pre-printing press monk writing something blasphemous and being ordered to chew that vellum up. Kind of like jerky? Except they didn't have any good flavor or spice in Europe in the 1300s... But I was wrong. Haircut One Hundred is not your average new wave band. In fact, I think new wave is a bit of a mischaracterization of their sound. The singer's voice does fit in that genre, but that is where it stops for most of the tracks. The tight collaboration of saxophones, trumpets, drums (even bongos!), and rhythm guitar set their sound apart, and create a fun dance vibe. The horns sometimes veer too far into poppy island/yacht rock territory, but when it’s funky and jazzy, it’s quite good. It's almost good enough to make up for vocals that very much fit into British new wave. But this was way more interesting to me than most new wave, largely thanks to the aforementioned jazz and funk influences.

"They were first known as Rugby, then as the Boat Party, then as Captain Pennyworth, and lastly as Moving England, before finally becoming Haircut One Hundred. " usually when you find out what a band was previously called their old name was shit. i would be happy with all of their old band names, rugby is a bit shit but Boat Party is phenomenal. music wise, enjoyable - a bit too many tracks but some excellent bass. ocassionally it strayed away from club tropicana and got a bit close to copacabana but never went full manilow. fuck it, i'm learning to 80s dance. gonna get some slacks, some boat shoes, a polo neck, put some old top of the pops on and study the moves.

I laughed when i saw this album on here. What have cheesy, cheeky pop chappies got to do with influential albums? Actually its not bad. Aside from their singles, i was surprised by their musicianship

I spent the first half of this album thinking it was from 1992, because that was the date of the re-release, and being utterly baffled at how out of time it sounded. Then I read that it was actually released in 1982 and everything made sense.

This was fun but also completely left my brain almost immediately.

Super 80’s. This is the nondescript 80’s style background music I would expect to be in something like one of the Police Academy flicks or Weekend At Bernie’s. Admittedly, it was pretty catchy and an enjoyable listen. Love those horns 3.5⭐️

You didn’t know white boys could bongo like this

You mean to tell me there were 99 haircuts before this

Our project’s manifesto is we-love-the-fey, so Haircut 100 default to the top echelons due to mood, instrumentation, titles, vocals, Smash Hits-prominence, and band name. This contains at least two bangers and a mob of tracks so light and vague they’d dissolve into the ether were they not lashed to the mast by a tropical salad of busy, fast and high chukka-chukka guitar, brass, wind and a bouncy rhythm section. Some of my favourite albums are tuneless, blistering noise barrages, or layers of ambient buzz, drone and echo; a pop album where vibe is privileged over earworm has some appeal to me. The bangers are brill. The “ ring ring ring” of Love Plus One took me back to childhood and overwhelmed me.

Another band with a lead singer who has this type of singing voice. I feel like I'm in a rut. I liked the funky guitar, percussion, and horns on this album - it was a nice peppy way to shake things up. But please give me a break from dudes who sing like Simon Le Bon/David Byrne/Billy Bragg. Not bad, and it's not their fault that they're showing up after a long line of similar bands.

Stands up better than some of the other 80's albums that have come up so far on the list

Haircut 100? Huh. I genuinely cannot decide if that’s a good band name or not. Is it? Maybe. Then again, maybe not? I’m stumped. But I kinda enjoyed the tunes, overall. At times, it felt like an inferior version of Tears for Fears with more saxophone, but that’s also not something that sounds terrible in theory to me to begin with. “Love Plus One” is a song I’ll listen to more than twice. So, I’m happy I heard this if for no other reason than that.

Incredibly interesting album. Really enjoyed the selection of instruments on a lot of the tracks. The whole thing had a very in-between feel, in a way. Not entirely new wave but a progenitor of a sort.

You'd think I'd love this given the ingredients. However, I am already a big fan of very similar contemporaries (Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, A Certain Ratio) and find it all a bit dull, probably because Nick Heyward's voice is not very distinctive. Could Nile Rodgers have predicted he would inspire so much feyness with his Chic guitar? I'm also resentful after being teased for a poor coiffure ca. 1983 with "Haircut 100!", a devastating playground insult, so there's that..

Very Duran Duran…didn’t love it and didn’t make it through a lot…

I believe that the person who put this on this list as never listened to that album. First of all they feel like what a door to door encyclopedia salesman must have felt like. The sound is trying really super hard to be cool, (which is the most obvious way to do that), but it is also 1982, disco has been here for a decade at least, and is in fact at the end of its rise. The straight white boys are not helping. I blame this band especially, though they are not all white, and I don't know them enough to know that there all straight, but the absence of joy is really giving me Crypto Bro energy. There are very few bops, all front loaded. The album would have been ok with like 5 tracks on there. But it's not, it's long, it draaaags, and refuses to say anything of substance ever. The back half is a mix between the worst of Chic and the terrible writing of Depeche Mode. ("Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, oh Yeah, Calling Captain, Autumn" Hell no.) I would not know the sound of this band from a thousand others, cause it's as bland as this type of music can get. The worst offenders : the baseline that are mostly flat or very reminiscing of other bands, but most of all the saxophone on every song. It's not even good sax, (good sax, is always and forever sexy sax) it sounds like lazy sax cause they have the charisma of the toothbrush you keep for bathroom cleaning. After this album, I am unsure if the starting thoughts have any validity to them. Has any of them ever met a girl?

I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS

Classic 80s

Half the people in the reviews were calling this generic new wave, whatever the hell that means, and it seemed like it’d be another uninteresting britslop contribution from the list makers This was actually cool as hell. Generally great vibes, a singer who kinda took a back seat and let the music shine, and some awesome instrumentals with the horns doing their thang and some nifty rhythm guitar. Loved so much of this that I even started listening to the bonus tracks!

Bought this when it was first released on vinyl. Pulled it out of my record stack recently and it sounds even better than I remember. Not a bad or filler track in the bunch.

Another banger discovery that I might not have found without this project! It makes the mediocre and bad albums worth it!

Fun!

Delightfully polished. For once I'm actually enjoying the voice of the 80's brit pop group.

First track is a vibe

безумно хороший альбом, поднявший мне настроение нью-вейв всегда держит отдельное место в моем сердце особенно заставил улыбаться клип на fantastic day. раньше все было таким простым и живым

Really good 4.8

Brilliant. Absolute high end jingly jangly pop, start to finish. New fav.

These white boys can jam

didn't finish it, but great cleaning music

Love it

One of my favorite albums of all time that I listen to at least once every couple months. 10/10

Brilliant album!

Had never heard of this band. Absolutely loved every single track

That was a jam! Very bright, fun and feel-good! I especially loved the brass!

My youth!! Remember the girls all wanted to dress like them...of its time!

Who knew that I only disliked 80s pop because it’s missing a horn section? This rocks.

I remember when this was released. I loved it. “New wave” music. I still love it!

This was funky and fun as hell.

Brilliant. So typical of that vibrant 80's era

from the moment i put this on, i instantly loved it. the elements of funk, jazz, new wave, power pop, and rock, along with a thorough coating of 80s cheese come together in a delicious auditory confection. it's like if the jam, duran duran, talking heads, huey lewis, and pigeons playing ping pong all morphed into a group of sweater-wearing white dudes from britain. in short, this slaps. the biggest bummer is that these dudes only ever made one album. glad they reunited recently to continue playing the same album, though. favorites: tracks 1-8, ski club, october is orange (day 1 & 2)

Who expected this?? Pelican West sounds like Talking Heads mixed with Japanese Jazz artist Masayoshi Takanaka (particularly the guitar work and happy, tropical groovy rhythmic breaks) This album rocks and Ive never heard of PW before this. I found a few filler songs, but there are over 10 solid tracks out of 14. Great sax work on nearly every song. Most chorus hooks are catchy as fuck. Love me some fast tempo guitar and bass lines 4.5 and rounding up. Not a perfect 5 because of how shitty I thought Fantastic Day was 😆

3 songs in and its already a favorite. Great vibes

White boy funk with some superb samba experimentation. I'm a sucker for a Britfunk horn section. This is one of the first albums that I grew up with. It always reminds me of autumn. It left me feeling very happy, despite the often downbeat tales of lost love.

Endlich mal wieder eine überraschend gute Neuentdeckung. Optimistisch, hörenswert, super!

Incredible, one of the most unique albums from this era

Maybe it’s just because I had such low expectations but I adored this. The fusion of high energy post punk with afro and latin jazz influence is so insane and so fun.

¡Muy bueno! sonido variado, alegre, vibrante, es perfecto

Happy music!

What a discovery. Love them instantly!

Perfect

I bought this for 20p in a charity shop. I got more than double that back in enjoyment. Great fun, such groovy bass!

On paper I should not like this but damn, I've listened to this 3 times back to back

Fab

This gets a soft 5 stars from me. I actually quite liked the album as a whole and will probably revisit it at some point, but I can't help but feel like something is missing from it. That said, it was a good experience and I'm glad to have been suggested it. I'll slot 'Calling Captain Autumn' as my fave here, though there were a lot of tracks I vibed with and ended up saving.

ok oingo boingo Ótimo pra tocar naqueles churrascos de familia com seus tios que cresceram nos anos 80 EU GOSTEI MUITO DE LOVE PLUS ONE E LEMON FIREBRIGADE hit 5 estrelas fodase

I was totally surprised by this one. I remembered Fantastic Day and Love Plus One from when they were first released. Back then i was just a kid who was into the whole Mod revival and considered Haircut 100 as a novelty act, one hit wonder type of band but the musicianship on this album is amazing. I will definitely be getting this on vinyl, highly reccomended.

First couple of songs: oh, I didn't know this band were the ones that sang that. This is very 80's and for me, very pleasant. The singer's voice, the instrumentation, the lively rhythms... enjoyed it!

LOVE this album

Had never heard of thisbgorup ever in my life. Loved it and was in awe with this album smooth running well produced raw beginning of New Wave mixed with brit pop. Really good as in I still can’t believe I had never heard their music.

A band I had never heard of. But from the first track I could dig the sound. Baked Beans is my fave track (despite no singing about baked beans!) with Fantastic Day a close second. A number of the songs, like Baked Beans and Love's Got Me In Triangles give me some early Talking Heads vibes and I like it.

I grew up during this era and although familiar with Haircut 100 they weren't what I would consider "my kind of band", I had almost dismissed them as a bit of a gimmick really. I was very, very wrong - this is a fantastic album. I don;t think there was one weak track. I will be listening again.

I was not expecting this amount of funk and jazz. Listened to it twice it was so good

An old fav from its release. The band's debut and best... I listen to ti from time to time and can never just give it s solo play. I'm biased, but it has a nice beat from top to bottom. Came out in "New Wave" era but that is so unfair - much more, Listen to the great percussion.

Que buena sorpresa con esta banda!

Good funk

hella funky, i love it

This was absolutely delightful. Will definitely be checking out more from them

Brightened my sleepless early morning right on up. Love these vibes.

i really didn't know what to make of this album going in, it's not a band i've ever heard of and the album cover didn't really let on to what was going on. I had a really fun time with this one! front to back, really nice, catchy tunes. definitely very 80s in sound. cool stuff!

Damn, this album kicked ass. The music here is so upbeat and catchy, I really liked this one.

Another unexpected album! I’ve never heard of this band before but wow did I really enjoy the tunes on this album. Very jazz-fusion-y and the bass is absolutely killer.

10/10 a beautifully rich new wave album blending a wide variety of different genres

Quality from start to finish.... Amazingly funky. Has surprisingly stood the test of time. One to add to the collection.

This album was beloved by my 13 year old heart. Played it continuously.

What a nice discovery! I think with this site I would have never found this record. Their music reminds me of orange juice und I like them very much.

Oh boy, I have to admit I love this one. I'd never heard this album beyond the favorite "Love Plus One" with its iconic guitar-marimba-saxophone-aye-aye-aye-aye-aye-yah intro, but I was not disappointed. I'm just a sucker for a great brass section in some happy jazzy new wave pop! I'm happy that I noticed that Kingsize doesn't have the lyric "you're my little fat one" as I'd originally thought, although that might be just a little funny.

The only Haircut 100 I can think of is Love Plus One, which I dearly love. So much so that I used to use a variation of this group’s name as a password. I really enjoyed the rest of this album as well. Take Duran Duran, add some heavy cream and sugar, and whip into a light, frothy Haircut 100 treat!

A classic