Pelican West

Pelican West
Studio album by
Haircut One Hundred
Released26 February 1982 (1982-02-26)[1]
Recorded1981–82
StudioRoundhouse (London)
GenreNew wave
Length45:36
LabelArista
ProducerBob Sargeant
Haircut One Hundred chronology
Pelican West
(1982) 		Paint and Paint
(1984)
Singles from Pelican West
  1. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)"
    Released: October 1981
  2. "Love Plus One"
    Released: January 1982
  3. "Fantastic Day"
    Released: April 1982

Pelican West is the debut studio album by the British new wave band Haircut One Hundred, released on 26 February 1982 by Arista Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart[2] and No. 31 on the Billboard 200,[3] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[4]

The album featured three hit singles: "Love Plus One", "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" and "Fantastic Day". It was reissued on CD in 1992, retitled as Pelican West Plus and including five bonus tracks.

Pelican West was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2006).[5]

Frontman Nick Heyward later said, "It was a team effort, and everyone had their roles. My job was like the Paul McCartney one in the Beatles' Get Back film. The rest of the guys looked to me for direction, and I had to push them to turn these glorified jam sessions into three-minute pop songs."[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Classic Pop[8]
Q[9]
Record Collector[10]
Record Mirror[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Smash Hits8+1⁄2/10[13]
Uncut8/10[14]
The Village VoiceC+[15]

The album was well received by contemporary critics. Record Mirror gave it a full five star rating.[11] Smash Hits' Dave Hepworth was impressed by "the winning vocals, the sturdy, flexible rhythm section, creamy saxophone, the poignant, exhilirating and thoroughly British songs. Haircuts know just how far they can spin out their compositions and never resort to empty mannerisms."[13]

Retrospectively, Record Collector dubbed it "a true 1980s classic".[10]

Track listing

Original album

All tracks are written by Nick Heyward, except "Love's Got Me in Triangles" by Nick Heyward and Les Nemes. In the U.S., tracks one and two were in reverse sequence

No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)"3:06
2."Love Plus One"3:34
3."Lemon Firebrigade"3:56
4."Marine Boy"3:33
5."Milk Film"2:55
6."Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle)"4:25
7."Fantastic Day"3:14
8."Baked Bean"4:03
9."Snow Girl"2:56
10."Love's Got Me in Triangles"3:38
11."Surprise Me Again"3:19
12."Calling Captain Autumn"4:06
Total length:45:36

Pelican West Plus (1992)

Pelican West Plus bonus tracks (1992)
No.TitleLength
13."Boat Party"3:54
14."Ski Club"4:40
15."Nobody's Fool" (12" version)4:57
16."October Is Orange (Day 1 & 2)"4:20
17."Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (12" version)7:10
Total length:67:42

Double CD reissue (1998, 2016)

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)"3:05
2."Love Plus One"3:33
3."Lemon Firebrigade"3:55
4."Marine Boy"3:28
5."Milk Film"2:57
6."Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle)"4:24
7."Fantastic Day"3:13
8."Baked Bean"4:03
9."Snow Girl"2:57
10."Love's Got Me in Triangles"3:37
11."Surprise Me Again"3:17
12."Calling Captain Autumn"4:05
13."Boat Party"3:50
14."Ski Club"3:38
15."October Is Orange (Day 1 & 2)"4:17
16."Nobody's Fool" (7" single)4:13
Total length:58:32
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (12" version)6:28
2."Love Plus One" (12" version)5:40
3."Fantastic Day" (12" version)4:19
4."Nobody's Fool" (12" version)4:58
5."Calling Captain Autumn" (special extended version)4:34
6."Boat Party" (12" version)5:33
7."October Is Orange (Day 1 and Day 2)" (12" version)5:11
8."Ski Club of Great Britain"5:53
9."Marine Boy" (12" version)4:49
10."Love's Got Me in Triangles" (special extended version)5:10
11."Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (extended version)7:10
12."Fantastic Day" (live at Hammersmith Odeon)4:22
13."Calling Captain Autumn" (12" version)6:00
Total length:70:08

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[16]

Haircut One Hundred

Additional musicians

  • Herschel Holder – trumpet
  • Dave Lord – trumpet
  • Vince Sullivan – trombone

Production

Charts

Singles

Year Song Chart Position
1981 "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" UK Singles Chart 4
1982 "Love Plus One" UK Singles Chart 3
1982 "Fantastic Day" UK Singles Chart 9
1982 "Love Plus One" US Billboard Hot 100 37
1981 "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" US Billboard Disco/Dance 41
1982 "Love Plus One" US Billboard Disco/Dance 8
1982 "Ski Club of Great Britain" US Billboard Disco/Dance 21

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cultural references

In the 1983 Central TV science fiction series Luna - first series episode two "The Clunkman Cometh" - the villainous Clunkman accepts a copy of the album as payment for alien pet Jazzmine - he reckons the album will be valuable although he himself dislikes "classical music".[21]

References

  1. ^ "Haircuts in Hammersmith" (PDF). Record Mirror. 20 February 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Haircut One Hundred Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b "British album certifications – Haircut 100 – Pelican West". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  5. ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  6. ^ Thrills, Adrian (May 2023). "'I Didn't Know How to Deal with Being a Frontman'". Record Collector. No. 544. pp. 54–59.
  7. ^ Sendra, Tim. "Pelican West – Haircut One Hundred". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  8. ^ Lester, Paul (April–May 2016). "Haircut One Hundred: Pelican West". Classic Pop. No. 22. p. 102.
  9. ^ Roberts, David (November 1992). "Haircut One Hundred: Pelican West". Q. No. 74. p. 133.
  10. ^ a b Elliott, Mark (May 2016). "Pelican West | Haircut 100". Record Collector. No. 453. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  11. ^ a b Nicholls, Mike (27 February 1982). "Haircut One Hundred: Pelican West". Record Mirror. p. 15.
  12. ^ Considine, J. D. (8 July 1982). "Pelican West – Haircut One Hundred". Rolling Stone. No. 373. p. 51. Archived from the original on 2 July 2001. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  13. ^ a b Hepworth, David (4–17 March 1982). "Haircut One Hundred: Pelican West". Smash Hits. Vol. 4, no. 5. p. 29.
  14. ^ Sharp, Johnny (April 2023). "Haircut One Hundred: Pelican West". Uncut. No. 311. p. 46.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (1 June 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  16. ^ Pelican West (liner notes). Haircut One Hundred. Arista Records. 1982. HCC 100.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 131. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Haircut One Hundred – Pelican West". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Haircut One Hundred – Pelican West". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1982 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  21. ^ Luna - Series 1 episode 2 "The Clunkman Cometh" transmitted Sat, Jan 29, 1983, ITV