50 MORE BEST 12” SINGLES OF THE 80’s: No.41 – Nick Heyward –Warning Sign (12” Version) (Mixed by Nick Heyward and Danny Schogger–5.48) As the frontman for Haircut 100, Nick Heyward had helped the band accumulate four Top 10 singles, – Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), No.4 in October 1981, Love Plus One, No.3 in January 1982, Fantastic Day, No.9 in April 1982 and Nobody’s Fool, also No.9 in August 1982 - a credible debut album, Pelican West, which peaked at No.2 on the UK Album Chart in February 1982, as well as giving the UK woollen industry an unexpected shot in the arm. Heyward didn’t stick around for the second album and launched a solo career the following year with Whistle Down The Wind, which reached No.13 on the Official UK Singles Chart. His solo debut album, North of a Miracle, hit the Top 10 and yielded another two Top 20 singles – Take That Situation, No.11 and Blue Hat For A Blue Day, No.14) – but by the end of 1983, all subsequent singles struggled to make much of an impact. In 1984 Heyward staged a dramatic, if short-lived, comeback to the singles chart with Warning Sign. Almost unrecognisable from his previous output, it was credible, with a certain confident swagger and decidedly less pop. Heyward had delivered an up-tempo slice of funky MOR, with bubbling synth-lines and a distinctly Walter Becker-esque/Steely Dan guitar sound and production. Reaching No.25 in December 1984, it would be the last time Heyward would place a single inside the UK Top 30. The 12” version was mixed by Heyward and producing partner Danny Schogger, adds an extended breakdown of synth stabs and half-spoken-half-rap vocals. It stands as an unlikely curio, the last stab at pop before Heyward embarked on a lengthy period of releasing albums in the vein of a more traditional singer-songwriter, with a largely acoustic sound, well into the early 2000’s. See the full list and catch up on last year’s ‘Top 50 Best 12” Singles of the 80’s’ here: https://facebook/twelveinch80s https://youtube/watch?v=N-ViF7E1fBY
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:38:11 +0000
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