Album · Haircut 100
Pelican West by Haircut 100
Pelican West is an album by Haircut 100, released in 1982. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 37 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Love Plus One”, on 34 lists with a best position of #26.
Pelican West, the debut album from Haircut 100, came out on Arista on 26 February 1982, and it bottles the bright, sax-honking, sunny side of new wave. The band had formed in Beckenham, London, in 1980 around Nick Heyward, bassist Les Nemes and guitarist Graham Jones, with Blair Cunningham on drums, Marc Fox on percussion and Phil Smith blowing saxophone.
Heyward, the singer and frontman, later cast himself as the one who steered the group, prodding their loose, sprawling jams until they tightened into three-minute pop tunes. You can hear the result: scratchy funk guitar, bouncing bass and choruses built for shouting along. "Love Plus One", "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" and "Fantastic Day" were the hits, the album went to No. 2 in Britain and No. 31 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum at home. A 1992 CD reissue, Pelican West Plus, tacked on five bonus tracks.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Pelican West on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Plus One | 34 | #26 | – | 1982–2026 | |
| 2 | Fantastic Day | 3 | #279 | – | 1991–1999 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.