Tonight the focus will be mostly on the music of Charles Hayward. From Quiet Sun to This Heat to Camberwell Now to his solo work, this drummer and singer has produced innovative, engaging, and original takes on rock music.
Starting off with some songs with words... Robert Wyatt is almost a blueprint for Charles Hayward, and some of Hayward's later vocal work reminds me of the Smiths. There's no particular reason to play Velvet Underground except that it's cool. |
Sea Song Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom - Rykodisc |
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come |
Heroin Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground & Nico - Polydor |
Charles Hayward had been in a group called Quiet Sun with Phil Manzanera, Bill MacCormick, and Dave Jarrett. Manzanera left to found Roxy Music and MacCormick joined Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt and others. Later, when Roxy Music had broken big and Manzanera was asked to make a "solo album", he reformed Quiet Sun so they could record their music. Released as "Mainstream", the music can be classified along with Soft Machine, Matching Mole, and Hatfield and the North |
Mummy Was An Asteroid, Daddy Was a Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil Quiet Sun - Mainstream - E.G. |
Charles Hayward went on to form This Heat with Charles Bullen and Gareth Williams. This Heat was a very influential "art-punk" band, mixing a lot of styles together from political songs to new wave to loops to noise. They created two studio albums, "This Heat" and "Deceit", as well as the EP "Health and Efficiency". "Made Available" is a collection of John Peel sessions that predate the first album and feature scorching live versions of material from the two albums and material not otherwise available. All of this, as well as a live album and other material, are available as 6-CD box set called Out of Cold Storage on This Is records, distributed by Recommended (ReR Megacorp) |
Horizontal Hold This Heat - Made Available - This Is |
Not Waving This Heat - Made Available - This Is |
24 Track Loop This Heat - This Heat - This Is |
S.P.Q.R. This Heat - Deceit - This Is |
Health and Efficiency This Heat - Health and Efficiency - This Is |
After This Heat disbanded, Hayward formed the group Camberwell Now, who released one album (The Ghost Trade) and two EPs. All of their work was reissued on a single CD called All's Well. While sharing certain stylistic traits with the art-song side of This Heat, Camberwell Now re-unleashes Hayward as a drummer and features some of his best work since Quiet Sun.
After Camberwell Now, Hayward released a series of solo albums, the first two continuing in the dark subject matter of This Heat and Camberwell Now, and then a third with Nick Doyne-Ditmas called "My Secret Alphabet" which is more upbeat and mellow. Later into the 90s Hayward released a number of albums recorded in Japan mixing live and studio improvisation. The album Near & Far includes a number of veterans of the Japanese new music scene including both Otomo Yoshihide and Tatsuya Yoshida on different tracks. |
Working Nights Camberwell Now - All's Well - Recommended |
That Distant Light Charles Hayward - Survive the Gesture - Sub Rosa |
Rumour Is Mobile Charles Hayward & Nick Doyne-Ditmas - My Secret Alphabet - Sub Rosa |
Eye Was Ear Charles Hayward - Near + Far - Locus Solus |
If you have made it this far, perhaps I can interest you in some Canadian psychedelic music? |
Do Re Mi Mock Duck - Test Record - Gear Fab |
My Spirit's Calling Roger Rodier - Upon Velveatur - Sunbeam Records |
We Threw Our Love Into the Universe Soft Canyon - Broken Spirit, I Will Mend Your Wings - Alien8 |
To close, a recent chamber suite from Jerome Langlois, and some mysterious electro-acoustic music from Piedmont Sorpid |
Loon de Miel Jerome Langlois - La Luna Suite - Molignak |
Explorations Jerome Langlois - La Luna Suite - Molignak |
Rescousse Jerome Langlois - La Luna Suite - Molignak |
Réconfort Jerome Langlois - La Luna Suite - Molignak |
The Sugars of our Eyes Piedmont Sorpid - The Sugars of our Eyes - Dainty Deathy |