Nick Heyward, songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of Haircut 100, recalls the creation of the band's classic hit 'Fantastic Day' in 1978. At the time, Heyward was living in the basement of the Ski Club of Great Britain, where his parents ran the bar. He had a tiny room like a ship's cabin and was standing in front of a chocolate-brown wall covered with the names of his favorite punk bands when he wrote the song. 'If I'd been sitting down when I wrote Fantastic Day, it would have been a different song,' he says. 'I was envisioning the future.'
The Song's Origins and Evolution
Heyward was learning to sing and play guitar simultaneously, using a homemade mic stand and only three chords: D, C, and G. He began singing 'fantastic day' over the progression, driven by the exuberance of youth. 'I thought: "I suppose this is a song, and I suppose it's my song." It seemed to come from this unconscious, magical realm.' He initially assumed the title had been used before, but after asking around, no one could recall a song called 'Fantastic Day.' The verses came more consciously, while lyrics evolved over time; Heyward never wrote words down early on, as he had a childhood stammer and learned to keep going by not trying too hard to remember. The opening line—'Well there's a great amount of strain about getting on that train'—came late, inspired by seeing Sheena Easton perform her song '9 to 5' on the TV series The Big Time.
Bittersweet Themes and Recording
Heyward did not consciously make the song bittersweet, but notes a sense of light and dark. He was working in commercial art in his late teens, in a room with no natural light, which drove him mad. This is reflected in the spoken word bit: 'I tried to shave myself / Be a happier guy,' added during studio recording. Producer Bob Sargeant, whom Heyward compares to George Martin, added a trumpet fanfare as a nod to the Beatles' 'She Loves You,' using a jazzy G sixth chord. 'The song goes right back to the birth of me having that vision of doing what I do now,' Heyward says. 'I've taken that mayfly moment all around the world, and I've never got bored of singing Fantastic Day.'
Les Nemes: A Mixed Relationship with the Hit
Bassist Les Nemes admits, 'I hate Fantastic Day! I shouldn't because it's the song that got us signed.' He recalls a showcase for Arista where the band played two songs without success. 'I suddenly thought: "Well, why don't we try that one I hate?" So we played Fantastic Day and they went: "Wow, we could have something here!" I guess it is a very strong chorus. It's very catchy, isn't it?' Nemes prefers other tracks on the album Pelican West, such as 'Snow Girl' and 'Milk Film,' which he finds more interesting. He says the early version of 'Fantastic Day,' when the band was called Moving England, was more urgent and Talking Heads-influenced, with an element of the Jam. 'I preferred it then, I've got to admit. It was raw. Then it developed into this teeny pop song, a little bit more polite.'
Emotional Impact on Fans
Despite his reservations, Nemes acknowledges the song's significance. When the band toured the US in the early days, they invited saxophonist Raf Ravenscroft, known for 'Baker Street,' to jam on 'Fantastic Day.' More recently, during their return to the States after 42 years, fans shared powerful stories. 'They'd say things like: "That was the song that got me through cancer when I was 16." I remember seeing a woman standing in the audience with her husband's arms round her shoulders and when we started playing the intro to Fantastic Day tears began streaming down her face—we were filling up on stage, too.' Nemes concludes, 'So although I have said, "If I was to choose one song to take out of the set, that would be it," I do recognise what it means to people.'
