Haircut 100 return with their first album with the classic line-up since 1982’s Pelican West, marking a new chapter for Nick Heyward and the band more than four decades after their breakthrough.
by Paul Cashmere
British pop group Haircut 100 will release their new album Boxing The Compass on May 29, the first full studio album from the band’s classic line-up since their 1982 debut Pelican West.
The album represents a significant moment for the London band, whose original success in the early 1980s produced a string of hit singles including Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Love Plus One, Fantastic Day and Nobody’s Fool. More than 40 years after that first wave of success, the reunited line-up of Nick Heyward, Graham Jones, Les Nemes and Blair Cunningham have returned with a new body of work that reconnects with the melodic pop style that defined their early catalogue.
The release follows renewed momentum for Haircut 100 over the past two years. In 2024 the band toured North America with ABC and Howard Jones, while the single The Unloving Plum became BBC Radio 2’s Record Of The Week. Subsequent live shows across the United Kingdom and North America sold out, reinforcing the enduring interest in the band’s distinctive early-80s pop sound.
Heyward says the album title reflects both reflection and movement after decades apart. “Boxing The Compass is the traditional way of finding out where you are on land or sea using the compass rose,” Heyward said. “We’re arriving back at the port we left 43 years ago with a log of songs from our personal travels. Wherever I’ve been in the world, I’ve always been Nick Heyward of Haircut 100 and we’re all ready to set sail again for more adventures on the high seas.”
For bassist Les Nemes, the recording process deliberately leaned on the methods that shaped the band’s early work.
“We still tend to record in the old school fashion as much as possible,” Nemes said.
“The technology moves forward all the time but our creativity and the way we approach the writing, performance and recording still has its roots firmly in 1982.”
The new album was written and recorded with producer and musician Sean Read at Famous Times Studio in East London. Guitarist Graham Jones says the sessions revealed how the group’s musical chemistry remains intact after decades apart.
“When we were recording backing tracks with Sean Read he watched us working in our unique way and said something like, ‘Ahh, I get it, I see how you get the Haircut sound’,” Jones said. “It’s what happens when you know and trust the other members to be themselves. We know when it’s not Haircut.”
Haircut 100 originally formed in 1980 in Beckenham, London, when childhood friends Nick Heyward and Les Nemes began performing together before recruiting guitarist Graham Jones. The group soon expanded with drummer Blair Cunningham and additional members, eventually signing to Arista Records.
Their debut album Pelican West, released in February 1982, reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and delivered several major singles that defined the era’s pop radio landscape. Love Plus One also crossed into the US Top 40, helping the band establish an international profile.
Tensions within the band led to Heyward’s departure in early 1983, after which the group continued briefly without him before releasing the album Paint And Paint in 1984. The band split soon afterwards while Heyward pursued a successful solo career, beginning with the album North Of A Miracle.
Over the years the original members periodically reunited for special performances. A full reunion gained renewed momentum in the early 2020s when the band reconnected for live shows and began writing new material together. Recording sessions for Boxing The Compass confirmed that the songwriting partnership between Heyward, Nemes and Jones remained productive.
Nemes says the creative dynamic of the group remains central to how the band operates in the studio.
“When you are recording an album, you just have to turn up every day,” he said. “The universe will take care of everything else and it has never let us down. All you have to do is trust, never question and the ideas will flow out of you.”
He added that the long history between the members still drives their performances.
“We are best mates but also we are a band. We live like a band, we talk like a band, we act and feel like a band and we play and record like a band. That is where the magic happens.”
Haircut 100 will support the new album with a series of UK shows through April and May, followed by summer festival appearances. The record will arrive digitally and on CD via October Is Orange Ltd, with a vinyl edition scheduled for June 26.
Boxing The Compass Tracklisting
Come Back To Me
Vanishing Point
Soul Bird
Raincloud
Sunshine
The Unloving Plum
Someone
That’s A Start
Dynamite
A Wonderful Life
Haircut 100 Live Dates
Apr 27, Southend UK, Chinnerys
Apr 28, Oxford UK, O2 Academy
May 1, London UK, Palladium
May 2, Warwick UK, Arts Centre
May 3, Poole UK, Lighthouse
May 7, Cambridge UK, Corn Exchange
May 8, York UK, Barbican
May 9, Manchester UK, Albert Hall
May 10, Glasgow UK, Pavilion Theatre
May 14, Bath UK, Forum
May 15, Bexhill UK, De La Warr Pavilion
May 16, Basingstoke UK, The Anvil
May 17, Lincoln UK, Engine Shed
Jul 5, Guildford UK, Guilfest
Jul 17, Hampton UK, Hampton Court Picnic Concert
Jul 25, Dundee UK, 80s Calling
Aug 8, Darlington UK, Discovery Festival
Tickets for all shows are available via official venue and festival ticket outlets.
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