LET’S JUST START AGAIN
A CONVERSATION WITH NICK HEYWARD & LES NEMES OF HAIRCUT 100
When Nick Heyward left Haircut 100 officially in 1983, Haircut 100 soldiered on for their second album, Paint and Paint, while Heyward went on to a solo career. After the release of Paint and Paint, it seemed Haircut 100 was finished. But, in 2004 the band reunited and over the years continued to get together for very successful tours. Last year it was announced that the band was not only touring but recording a new album with the original line-up of Nick Heyward (lead vocals, guitar), Les Nemes (bass), Graham Jones (guitar) and Blair Cunnigham (drums). That album, Boxing The Compass is long overdue, but very welcomed by fans, new and old.
Haircut 100 is currently on tour promoting the album, and I had a chance to talk with Nick Heyward and Les Nemes about the album, recording, the tour, and anything that came to mind. It proved to be a very animated conversation.
As Nick Heyward joined us, Les Nemes was prompted to comment on Heyward’s hair, “that’s quite a quiff you have there!” “Is it too high?” Heyward asked. “It’s Rick Astley territory,” responded Nemes. They were clearly having fun and enjoying each other’s company. But we were gathered together to discuss the new album, Boxing The Compass. Before we got into the album, I reminded them that they had played Niagara Falls last year.
“That was a good gig, wasn’t it Les,” Heyward commented.
“It was, but it wasn’t so great getting into the country,” Nemes recalled. “When they checked our coach driver, they found out he had a DUI, but it was 35 years ago or something, and they wouldn’t let us in. So, we were sitting at the border at four o’clock in the morning, waiting for another driver to come so we could cross the border to get into Canada.”
And this brings us to this year, a new tour and a new album. The title, Boxing The Compass is an unusual title for a reunion album, Heyward commented as the origin of the title
“It is a nautical term, even though we are a nautical band, none of us are nautical. We are not sailors, are we Les? But, Graham lives by the sea, and if I had to think of a description for Graham he would be a ‘rockpool,’ where he is a crab in the rockpool pointing at the other creatures, and then the tide comes in and he joins the whole of the ocean, but for that one day, that fantastic day, he is a crab. I could go through the whole band like that, but I won’t.”
And just like that, Heyward goes back to the title of the album. “Boxing The Compass is a fact of a change in direction. And that is what Haircut 100 was, because it was pretty lost at sea for many years. We were trying to get back on board. We would get back on board, but then set sail…you know, you have to take the boat back into the harbour, you have to strip it, you have to do all the things you do in a boatyard for a ship to get it seaworthy again. With this album, we pulled into port and we are back. That is why the whole show is about returning to the harbour and becoming seaworthy again. On the sleeve we look like old sea dogs, don’t we Les? It has taken its toll being lost at sea. But it has also given us a really good sea dog look. Like lighthouse keepers.”
However, the band sounds refreshed and energized on the new album. They sound like Haircut 100 but Haircut 100 with a whole new purpose. “The album, musically, sounds fresh as a daisy, if I don’t mind saying so myself. We sound like a band. You can listen to Pelican West and then you can put on Boxing The Compass, and it sounds like no time in between. That 44 years has not been. It is a continuation. Everybody plays their part, their rolls, their position on the pitch, on the team and before you know it, you have new material. That was the message I got from watching The Beatles’ Get Back. Just get in a room…get a room guys, that is what we did. We got a room.”
BOXING THE COMPASS ALBUM REVIEW
“We have a formula we use,” added Nemes. “It is not something you think about, it is something that just happens when we get together. It has always been the same and it will always be the same because that’s who we are and that’s what we do.”
The band has had reunion tours, but this time around the band decided to record brand new material. Besides being influenced by The Beatles, the band had a manager who supported the idea and the time seemed to be right. “Melvyn and the universe. Melvyn is Melvyn Taub and the universe is the universe, which helps everything,” said Heyward. “We are nowhere, well Nowhere land. Nowhere land is where we all…well this conversation is in Nowhereland, isn’t it. It’s not here yet, but it will be when we are done. And then there will be an interview, and it will be called ‘an interview’. It came from Nowhereland. But Melvyn had watched us reform again, this time, and called up and said, ‘do you want help?’. We said, ‘God yeah.’ He had a mad idea to become Haircut 100’s manager.”
“Well, first and foremost, he was a big fan of the band as well,” added Nemes. “It just kind of fell into place. Everything that happened, seemed to fall at our feet. We didn’t really have to ask for anything. It was the universe saying ‘there you go, I’ll do everything you need to do. All you have to do is turn up. So, we turned up. We turned up every time, and we said ‘yes’ to everything that was offered. In a small way, it was the same for Melvyn. He loved the band and saw an opportunity to manage us and guide us and that fell at his feet as well. We had tried to get together many times but this time it felt a little different. A bit like, ‘let’s give it a go.’ Sadly, Melvyn Taub passed away in 2025.
“One thing hasn’t changed. Are you a band and do you want to make an album? Do you want to make music, albums? If you are a band, it is very basic, just keep turning up. There is something about being in a band. When you are a teen, that is the dream. Les, you’ve talked about yours and I have mine, but it is that moment when you think ‘this is exactly what I want to do.’ You make a commitment to it. You know it is the best job in the world if you do it. But it does get so complicated. You just come back to that one simple thing; it is the best job in the world. Here we are, 65 and we are still in a band.
“It is way cooler than your Hollywood actors and your Formula One drivers. Being in a band is far more cool. That is why you see people like Keanu Reeves starting bands. Because they all know being in a band is the coolest,” added Nemes.
“They come from all different ways,” said Heyward. “They come in all different sizes, and all come from different places. Some are easy to finish, and some are really, really hard. I could go through fine detail of the whole new album but basically, it is a similar process…turn up. That is what we did for “Raincloud” and “A Wonderful Life”. “A Wonderful Life” is 2008 and this is the new record business. We are still Haircut 100, we are back together for a gig, in a cricket green. Someone put together a gig, and they wanted us to play on a forest green in Cookham. We jumped into a studio, we started playing and it was like, ‘ah, we got something’. I had this idea and off we go, and we play around with it.”
“Don’t worry so much. “Don’t get so easily upset. A lot of things don’t matter. A lot of things you think are going to happen usually never happen, so what’s the point of worrying or getting upset? People say things and do things because at the time, that is what they think is the best thing to do at the time. But, as the years go by, you might look back and realize, maybe I shouldn’t have said that or done that. That was one of the things we touched on when we first met up this time. When I came over to Nick’s house, and Graham came over as well and we just sat down and chatted and I was like, ‘I don’t care what you said in the past, or what happened. It’s gone. Let’s just start again.”
“Real friends, not brothers. Brothers, oh God, they are crazy people!”
Artist Links
Photo Credits: Andrew Cotterill
