Pelican West

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 🌟

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

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.

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

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..

I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS

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.

Perfect

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

What a discovery. Love them instantly!

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

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.

Excellent! Also very different and mostly upbeat Jazz rock infusion

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.

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

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!

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!

Otra de las grandes sorpresas. Uno de los mejores discos de pop de los 80.

Another blast from the past. I loved this album I was 10 when it came out!

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.

Exciting fun album

Good funk

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.

hella funky, i love it

Love me some new new wave

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Dig the 80s vibes. Fun and dancey.

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

I've been waiting for this album to come up, because it has long been one of my favorite albums of the 1980s. Optimal when listened to with the car windows open on a fine spring day. It's so much fun. Don't let the teen magazine album cover fool you. These gents bring some solid musical chops to the table. This album is full of gorgeous, danceable songs with breezy pop hooks, latin jazz-inflected arrangements, and some the most effective uses of horns that you will ever hear in pop music. Like the best British pop, these songs are clever, charming and pleasant on the ears, but they're also surprisingly funky. I get how this ended up being a niche sound, but I would love to live a day in the alternate 1982 universe where this became the dominant sound in pop music, because it's delightful. The band totally went for a certain vibe with this album, and they nailed it. Fave Songs: (All songs, from most to least favorite... okay fine, "favourite"): Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Love Plus One, Baked Bean, Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle), Fantastic Day, Calling Captain Autumn, Lemon Firebrigade, Surprise Me Again, Snow Girl, Milk Film, Marine Boy, Love's Got Me in Triangles

very cool

Wow, this album had everything, from a saxophone, to sounding like a happy Morrissey. I thoroughly enjoyed this album and this band's willingness to do whatever they wanted. I believe they should've gone farther in the industry, but this was the 80's and sex n drugs could ruin any band. Damn you Nick Heyward!!! I can't wait to own this on vinyl one day!

Very solid. Interesting, a bit funky, the horns get a bit jazzy, the singer kind of vaguely reminds me of The Cure at times, and the tracks are catchy. I haven’t run into a song I didn’t enjoy the first listen to. I got to track 12 before I found one that I thought was just a fun jam that I might not want to hear again on a repeat listen. (And track 11 was a standout IMO.)

TOP TIER

Okay I love this. It feels like proto-vulfpeck. They had to draw from these guys. The amount of silky sax and moving guitar and upbeat lyrics and music. Hell yeah. I'm gonna explore more of these guys.

This rules. I had never heard of them and I loved this

Happy music!

Hot

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.

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.

Fab

LOVE this album

Sucker for 80’s electronic dance

New Wave?! NEW wave? But what's this?! Trumpets?! Funky rhythm guitars?! Samba drums? Evidently I don't know what new wave is, but this is amazing. Standout Track: Calling Captain Autumn

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

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

Great stuff. Learning about new music is why I'm here!

Favorite so far

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.

Que buena sorpresa con esta banda!

4.5 rounded up. For fans of xtc, style council, Duran Duran. All groove. Only stinker is Calling Capn Autumn.

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

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.

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

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!

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.

Genuinely quite surprised at how good this is. It's got some great swing, the composition and performance is great. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

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 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.

Bland and boring

With a name like "haircut 100", how can they be good? I feel a bit dirty liking this as much as I did. Favourite song: Fantastic Day

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.

Verrassend leuk bandje. Ik kende dit totaal niet, maar vond het wel lekker catchy en vrolijk

7/10. Pretty goofy but solid new wave album. The horn parts were really nice.

Earth, White Boys, and Fire

Putting the “fun” in Funk. Catch me head-bobbing to “Ski Club.”

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.

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

Slick, funky grooves from a group I've never heard of before. Definitely saving this album for later...

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.

Shred that sax, boys. 8/10