Pelican West
Haircut 100
1982
Album Summary
Pelican West is the debut studio album by British new wave band Haircut One Hundred, released in February 1982 by Arista Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 31 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.The album featured three hit singles: "Love Plus One", "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" and "Fantastic Day". It was reissued on CD in 1992, retitled as Pelican West Plus and including five bonus tracks. Pelican West was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
WikipediaBritish 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.
Sounds like a budget Duran Duran at times. I approve of a budget Duran Duran
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.
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.
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
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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 🌟
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.
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 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.
New Wave funky y jazzy. Sin haberme gustado nunca mucho ese sonido esta gente consigue embelesarme. Instrumentación de locos, desarrollos larguísimos pero totalmente en su justa medida. Suenan modernos y el disco es del 81. Descubrimiento, me encanta.
Another blast from the past. I loved this album I was 10 when it came out!
Otra de las grandes sorpresas. Uno de los mejores discos de pop de los 80.
This album is so cheesy and stupid in the best ways possible. So enjoyable. 5 stars not even sorry, tho I understand if you can’t get into it
I had never heard of this band, so I was really struggling to justify why this album is on the list. My preconception was totally misguided; this album rocks. The band is so locked in. Their use of the funk palette works way better than it should for a bunch of young effeminate British white dudes from the 80s. The lyrics are fine, but the bass, percussion, and guitar more than make up for it. And a little clarinet in a pop album? bring it on!
I would have sworn that I'd never heard of these guys, but "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" sounded awfully familiar, and I definitely knew "Love Plus One." So that was a surprise. The bigger surprise: I fucking LOVE this album. It's new wave perfection, full of funky basslines, sexy sax, and the sort of overtly British vocals that somehow feel necessary for new wave to be *just* right. (Maybe because Duran Duran is inextricably linked to new wave in my mind? I don't know.) Regardless, this album was a delightfully upbeat surprise, and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Ha I loved this! Upbeat, 80s, a bit poppy a bit disco, cool stuff! Really liked the whole thing Saved songs: Love Plus One, Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle), Baked Beans, Calling Captain Autumn
4.5 rounded up. For fans of xtc, style council, Duran Duran. All groove. Only stinker is Calling Capn Autumn.
Cet album a été librement inspiré d'une histoire qui m'est arrivée. Je vous colle l'article sorti dans la presse à ce sujet : "Robfructisgarnière crée un malaise chez le coiffeur Robfructisgarnière, critique musical de renom, a causé un scandale chez le coiffeur aujourd'hui. Alors qu'il se faisait coiffer par Jessica, la jeune coiffeuse lui a demandé comment il voulait sa coupe. Au lieu de lui répondre, Robfructisgarnière a sorti une photo de pélican de sa poche et l'a montrée à la coiffeuse. La scène a rapidement tourné au drame lorsque Jessica, visiblement confuse, a maladroitement coupé les cheveux de son client. Robfructisgarnière a alors accusé la coiffeuse de délit de pélicanerie et a appelé la police. Lorsque la police est arrivée sur les lieux, Jessica a expliqué la situation et montré la photo de pélican à l'officier de police. Bien que l'image ne soit pas incriminante en soi, la confusion de Jessica et la réaction exagérée de Robfructisgarnière ont conduit la police à arrêter la coiffeuse pour délit de pélicanerie. Le délit de pélicanerie est une infraction rarement poursuivie par les tribunaux, mais dans ce cas, la police a jugé que l'accusation était justifiée. Jessica a été mise en examen et risque une amende substantielle ainsi qu'une peine de prison."
I love the 80's too much, even these less known bands (at least here, in Brazil) always surprise me positively. I really liked the songs, I will look for other works.
This album, like the last one, is very tough to rate. I enjoyed parts of it, but sometimes it didn't hold my interest that well. I could envision a situation in which I would come back to this album and really like it. There are a lot of cool elements to it. They clearly have some of the same influences as The Clash (or else were heavily influenced by The Clash themselves) 4/5 Second listen better than the first
Slick, funky grooves from a group I've never heard of before. Definitely saving this album for later...
This has some damn good funk and groove to it. The kind of music you can just chill to and have a damn good time.
Album cover: Tired. Disco riff that kicks the album off: Wired. They are kinda Talking Heads-ish with a sexy sax backing, ands more of a standard groove set-up.
This has got that kind of 80s pop music feel to it. Like…I imagine smiling people bopping their heads to it when it came on in the car.
look at those respectable young men tears for fearsy with brass interesting 4 starts for calling captain autumn alone!
Breezy summery songs for the early 80s. I'm surprised at how many of these songs I recall, I must have played Fantastic Day a thousand times in my yute when hanging out with my Uni girlfriend. I really could use the half star rating system here, so my 3.5 becomes a 4 purely for nostalgic reasons.
Verrassend leuk bandje. Ik kende dit totaal niet, maar vond het wel lekker catchy en vrolijk
I ended up liking this WAY more than I thought I would. Went in negative, was "meh" on the first couple of songs, but Lemon Firebrigade won me over and I enjoyed it from there on out. Why? I don't know. Probably because it reminded me of 80's movies - more fun, less serious. We can all use that from time to time.
Incredible guitar / horns work - really forward thinking and catchy. Definitely needs a re-listen
I was surprised to really enjoy this album. It was what I'd imagine plays at Club Tropicana all day and night. Very easy to find yourself dancing along to it! Feel good 80s yuppie music.
Completely new to me. I love it when a band is made up entirely of rhythm instruments. Really digging the bongos, horn, and rhythm guitar. 4.0
Undeniably dated, totally 80’s, almost tacky, extremely top heavy. Still such a lovely listen, I danced so much 🥰.
I enjoyed this alot more than expected, kinda felt like what the 90s would put over the Charlie's angels TV show
This album was quite interesting. The band merged Ska, Jazz, Latin, Funk, Pop, and dare I say a bit of Punk to pretty much every song. One of those albums and groups that didn't fit with the genre they were unfortunately placed. Good album.
What a strange beast this is - lots of chicken scratch white boy New Wave funk like 'Favourite Shirts' and 'Calling Captain Autumn', the latter of which almost tips over into Oingo Boingo territory. Liberal use of congas and daytime TV saxophone, which I don't mind - and smack bang in the middle is 'Fantastic Day', one of the most wonderfully uplifting examples of indie pop to emerge from the era. I do like it, quite a lot in fact, but a mildly puzzling experience.
I think participating in this project is developing a taste in me for new wave, as that was a lot of fun! Upbeat, light, poppy and funky - they sound like an earnest, humorless They Might Be Giants. Fave track - "Favourite Shirts", maybe. I like "Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle)" too, but damn that's a bad track name!
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.
The sound is very much of its time, but as a debut album it's impressive
I probably have a Jones for this for sentimental reasons, but it's still a great listen. I was four months from being graduated, we danced, wore ties & topsiders. Aaaaaaaanyway - added to my library.
It was decent. I'm a sucker for a good horn section, so I liked that aspect of it a lot, but the album felt a little long, and a lot of the songs all kind of sounded the same. I'm also rather tired, so I'm not sure how fair I'm being.
This doesn't sound as old as it is. I enjoyed this album! I wish I had heard it sooner.
Haircut 100 is considered to be a new wave funk band, which makes the jazz and rock elements in their debut 'Pelican West Plus' a welcome addition. Scattered across the tracks are pleasant musical intricacies, with almost engrossing guitar riffs and brass instruments. Sometimes unnecessary for what's it worth, the funk elements are executed well and doesn't leave a lot to be desired.
I really don't know what to make of this, I thought the singer from Duran Duran maybe took a side gig to produce something more poppy at first? It's a unique sound, very plinky-plonky on the guitars and keys, and they have a couple of horns players which I always appreciate in a band. I liked this, just a nice listen that didn't go too hard but had nice vibes and positive energetic instrumentals to it.
I'll go with a solid 3.5 for this one. I can see this influencing Oingo Boingo
Liked this album very much..never heard these guys before…back in the 80’s would have been rockin’out to this ..
This is my sweet-spot era and I first listened on cassette, for which I had to spring because "Love Plus One" was just too good then (despite dumb video I couldn't confess to like) and remains today an all-time pop delicacy -- light and pure and effervescent. Rest of record is more substantive than I remember, crisp playing and clean production. This disc is nowhere near Nick Heyward's "North of a Miracle" but holds up well.
This is so groovey! 4 So close to a 5 Great instrumentation, nice continuity between songs, and nice lyrics! Love it
ovo je zapravo dost dobar album. nekako djeluje optimistično - naravno zbog svojih ritmičnih (koje zvuče pozitivno) pjesama. Najviše volim kad čujem gitarski jingle jangle pop. Također mi je neki miks Talking Headsa (ritam), Morrissey (glas)... i još ponešto. naravno, par pjesama je uletilo u plejlistu 60ih.
New Wave Pop flirts with Jazz and Soul and I like the results. A very well balanced mix. It's consistently upbeat, catchy, and enjoyable. To take a term from beer parlance, I'd say this was crushable.
I actually really liked this? And the bonus tracks are better than the main album cuts? idk why I'm surprised, maybe it's because these guys are new to me and I was expecting something slightly different. But this is fun new wave, and if I ever see this in a dollar CD bin, it's mine. B
It was the first album on this list I had not heard before the recommendation. I really dig it. It was the right amount of guitar jangle to hit my sweet spot.
Hear before: no, not even of the band! Great sound - the horns and extra percussion really elevated things. I'd never heard of the group, and I don't listen to much New Wave, so this was interesting and fun. I'll definitely revisit this one - I can't say any of the tracks were standout, but overall I loved the sound and will let this one sink in a little more.
Surprisingly dynamic record for a new wave group; songs are diverse and arrangements are interesting with prominent conga and sax action all throughout.
Enjoyed the overall vibe of this - a little more on the pop side but Favourite Shirts was a good tune
Enjoyed it. Sounds exactly like how the cover looks, just some good, consistent new wave music
Reminiscent of Talking Heads and The Psychedelic Furs. Good, clean New Wave fun.
This thing is pretty fun. I feel like it’s if Steely Dan made funk or new wave. The mix of jazz and funk is really fun and there’s lots of silly little bits throughout. 7/10
7/10. Pretty goofy but solid new wave album. The horn parts were really nice.
Really enjoying all these creative British bands that I had never heard of. This one was really cool, at times reminded me of Talking Heads, sometimes XTC. The horns and funky bass made it all sound so original.
With horns and and exuberance aplenty, this sophisticated early 80s pop album from Haircut 100 is a mighty fine collection that not only captures the British music scene before the full blown invasion of the synths, but it shimmers and radiates with all the youthful optimism that was captured. One of the more accomplished yet underrated albums/bands of the era. Favorites: Favorite Shirt (Boy Meets Girl), Love Plus One, Lemon Firebrigade, Milk Film, Fantastic Day, Love's Got Me in Triangles, Surprise Me Again, Boat Party.