Rewind some 42 (!) years, and Haircut 100 were in the midst of the kind of success that they could have only dreamed of: four UK Top 10 hits, all of which were definitive ‘80s classics - ‘Love Plus One’, ‘Fantastic Day’, ‘Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)’ and ‘Nobody’s Fool’ - followed by a debut album, ‘Pelican West’, which peaked at #2 during an eleven week run in the Top 10, in the process reaching Platinum status. While it was “one big adventure… everything was uplifting,” the band’s moment in the spotlight shined brightly yet only briefly.
When they reunited for a band meeting in 2023 (admittedly with a few nerves, notes Nick, as they hadn’t spoken for so long), the vibe instantly switched from a business meeting to a laidback hangout between old friends. With little in the way of planning, the band somehow instigated its own rebirth with a series of unplanned moments: a life-affirming headline show at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire; a broader UK headline tour; a sensational Radio 2 Piano Room session; and an unexpected offer to be managed by the team behind Wet Leg. Haircut One Hundred 2.0 was firmly underway.
‘The Unloving Plum’, a first taste of the band’s new album sparkles with the exuberant joy of a band loving what they do. It’s a song which speaks to the universal experience of something great in life emerging from what you initially thought was the worst possible outcome: a neat metaphor for the band resurfacing after all these years.
