<\/p>\n
\n\tHaircut 100<\/a> might be the most Eighties band of the Eighties. A gang of cheeky English boys, barely out of their teens, with preppy ties and sweater vests. They sparkled with wit and charm, riding the New Wave hit parade with MTV classics like \u201cLove Plus One<\/a>.\u201d They had a scream-worthy teen idol in singer Nick Heyward, direct from the London suburbs. In 1982, Rolling Stone<\/em> called them \u201cthe freshest new sound in pop.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThey also had one of history\u2019s most brilliantly ridiculous band names. As Heyward says now, laughing, \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018Well, if we don\u2019t do anything, at least we\u2019ve got a good name.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut thanks to Heyward, they had the smartest gimmick of all: songs, which is why Haircut 100 were never forgotten. \u201cLove Plus One\u201d is over-the-top romance, all boyish yearning over the splashiest bongos, marimbas, jazzy horns, cha-cha guitar. They stuck around long enough to make one perfect album, their 1982 debut, Pelican West<\/em>, with dance-floor hits like \u201cFavourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)<\/a>\u201d and \u201cFantastic Day<\/a>.\u201d They had style, humor, and their own infectious sound, a frothy mix of pop, funk, salsa, bossa nova \u2014 the kind of band that dares to call a song \u201cLemon Firebrigade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n