Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first album, after which he continued as a solo artist.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, Heyward spent his early years in and around south London. He attended Kelsey Park School for Boys in Beckenham where he studied art and photography. He left school at 16 to work as a commercial artist.

Haircut One Hundred

Heyward and school friends Graham Jones and Les Nemes, the core of Haircut One Hundred, started bands together as far back as 1977. They were first known as Rugby, then the Boat Party, Captain Pennyworth and Moving England, before settling on Haircut One Hundred. The band signed with

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

in 1981 and had four UK top 10 singles between 1981 and 1982. Their debut album, '' Pelican West'' (1982), written by Heyward, reached No. 2. It was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

. Work on the band's second album commenced in October 1982 but, in January 1983, a statement was issued confirming that Heyward had left the band, and percussionist Marc Fox had taken over on vocals. At the time of the announcement, Heyward told ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' magazine that he had been contemplating going solo for a while and had already recorded some tracks with session musicians. However, many years later, Heyward stated that he had been struggling with stress and depression at the time after a year of constant work and pressure which led to him being, in effect, sacked by the other members of the band. Over the years, the band has reformed several times, most recently in May 2023. Heyward described a "deep love" for the band and remarked that "the door is always open". In an interview with ''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'', he said he was "ever hopeful" that the band would one day play a reunion show at the Roundhouse where ''Pelican West'' was recorded.

Solo career

Heyward's solo career began in March 1983 with the single " Whistle Down the Wind", which reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Two further top 20 hits followed: "Take That Situation" (No. 11) and "Blue Hat for a Blue Day" (No. 14). His debut solo album, '' North of a Miracle'', was released in October 1983 and peaked at No. 10 in the UK. The successive non-album singles, "Love All Day" and "Warning Sign" both went top 40 although a subsequent single "Laura" failed to do so. '' Postcards from Home'', Heyward's second solo album, was released in 1986, and featured the singles "Over the Weekend" and "Goodbye Yesterday". By 1988, he had moved to Warner Bros. Records and released his third album, '' I Love You Avenue'', which included the single "You're My World". Heyward's 1993 album, '' From Monday to Sunday'', on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, featured a more classic rock style, and brought him his first hits of the 1990s. The first single, "Kite", reached No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 4 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 1995, Heyward released his second

album, ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...

'', providing him with the UK top 40 single "Rollerblade". In 1998,

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

released '' The Apple Bed'', Heyward's most recent major label release. It featured three singles, "Today", "The Man You Used to Be" and "Stars in Her Eyes". Since 1998, Heyward has released two independent albums: ''Open Sesame Seed'' (2001), a collaboration with British actor/singer Greg Ellis, and featuring Ellis reading Heyward's poetry to the accompaniment of Heyward's musical backing; and ''The Mermaid and the Lighthouse Keeper'' (2006), an album of songs recorded with singer/actress India Dupre. In November 2013, Heyward announced on his website that he was in the process of recording a new album with his son, Oliver. A preview of the album was made available on the site in October 2015. A PledgeMusic campaign to support the album was announced on Heyward's website, on 4 April 2017 and the album title, '' Woodland Echoes'', was released the following day.

Personal life

Heyward married Glaswegian Marion Killen in 1987. They had two children, Oliver and Katie, before divorcing in 2000. In 1998, he had a spiritual awakening that he described as a feeling of complete contentment and a deep connection with nature. Heyward lives in Stoke Row, South Oxfordshire, and in February 2016 announced his engagement to Sara, his American girlfriend.

Discography

Albums

Singles

*"Whistle Down the Wind" additionally charted at No. 20 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. *"Kite" charted at No. 7 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyward, Nick 1961 births Living people English pop singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English pop guitarists English male guitarists English male new wave singers English new wave singers People from Beckenham Haircut One Hundred members Arista Records artists Reprise Records artists Epic Records artists Creation Records artists Musicians from the London Borough of Bromley Boogie Box High members Singers from the London Borough of Bromley