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HOW TO BUY - Paul Haig Albums (updated)
During the late '70s, several labels appeared around the UK with rosters great enough to make most major labels blush and worry. Factory had a welter of talent, 4AD had their dark, ethereal collective of artists, Fast sported a quirky chest of treasures and Postcard fielded a winning team of Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Go-Betweens and the jerky, twisting Josef K.
The latter were easily the less obvious and commercial band on Postcard, yet never quite set the world alight. Orange Juice notched up a few hits with "Poor Old Soul", "Blueboy" and later on, "Rip It Up" and "What Presence?". Aztec Camera chalked up hits via Rough Trade with "Pillar To Post" and "Mattress Of Wire" as well as a reasonable batch of plaintive songs on WEA. Go-Betweens recorded the most luscious and feel-good catalogue of songs that critics loved but the public ignored. "Cattle & Cane" - if you have the slightest interest in Americana or strum-a-long good times then hear this. Or buy it.
Josef K specialized in literate and frenzied songs with a foot firmly placed in the pool of quirk. Their lead singer looked cool, their music IS still cool and they are name-checked by several current bands including Franz Ferdinand. Trouble is, JK collapsed and their lead singer was in a precarious position - should he play or should he go?
Paul Haig decided to forge ahead with his own songs and inked a deal with Island for a brace of singles and an album. Belgian label Crepuscule picked up his work and, as part of the Island deal, released Haig's synth-pop hybrid around Europe including a few exclusive compilation tracks for good measure.
The first official release was the seminal "Blue For You" 12" on the Crepuscule imprint Interference. Although the release itself was swept under the commerical carpet, both the vocal and instrumental versions stand up as some of his most timeless work some 30 years later. His next single actually reached the top 75. "Heaven Sent", awash with Linn drums and funky syn-bass, reached 74 for 3 weeks and secured Paul a place in the annals of pop history. Subsequent singles made up the core of his debut set, Rhythm Of Life (7/10) and forged a path ahead for the songwriter, mainly comprised of thoughtful pop-dance music with just a hint of Haig's trademark flickering guitar sound from the JK days remaining.
Haig continued to be recognized as a solo artist and persevered with a 2nd set of songs, this time via the UK arm of Crepuscule, Operation Afterglow. The result, Warp Of Pure Fun (9/10), was packed with some great songs from end to end. BeMusic were responsible for much of the production and it shows with sequenced basslines and sharp electro-drums being not dissimilar to New Order records. Sadly, a lack of radio-play and a diminishing marketing budget did little to propel any one of the album's singles chartbound and the album became another TWI number on a list.
Paul Haig was undaunted - another album was recorded and shelved almost as quickly. Eventually, Circa signed him up and 3rd album Chain (8/10) was born. An album firmly rooted in late 80's technology, it was a sophisticated clutch of songs that begged for radio play and promotion. But it just didn't happen. "Something Good" was released on several formats yet failed to stoke Haig's pension plan and it sadly sank without trace. It's a smashing record but, to these ears, there were better tracks on the album. "Times Can Change", "Chained", "Turn The Vision", "Time Of Her Time" and the re-recorded "Swinging For You" were certainly worthy of airtime, but Circa stalled at further radio promos and subsequently detached themselves from the artist (Circa as a label became defunct within a few years). Haig was once again unfairly on the rack.
His next releases revolved around a couple of tracks, "I Believe In You" and "Flight X", the latter with Mantronik installed as producer. However, radio ignored these slick slices of high-brow pop and the planned parent album, Coincidence Vs Fate (7/10) was scrapped until Crepuscule offered a deal, distribution and another classy Hennebert sleeve. Although the album featured contributions from house maestro Lil Louis and yet more Mantronik productions, as well as both sides of the failed single, Coincidence struggled to sell and Haig finally opted to go it alone with his own ROL imprint.
Paul has continued to record albums such as the cinematic Cinematique (7/10) series, Electronik Audience (6/10) and Go Out Tonight (6/10) containing a few classic songs such as "Reason" and "TroubleMaker". His 2009 album Relive (8/10) was a definite return to form, while the compilation And Then Again (8/10) successfully gathers up odds and sods from b-sides, remixes, compilations and vaults, so good it's like listening to a proper album.
But for me, "Warp Of Pure Fun" remains his most perfectly executed set.
Salute Mr Haig - he came, he wrote, he sang, he still plays on.
The first official release was the seminal "Blue For You" 12" on the Crepuscule imprint Interference. Although the release itself was swept under the commerical carpet, both the vocal and instrumental versions stand up as some of his most timeless work some 30 years later. His next single actually reached the top 75. "Heaven Sent", awash with Linn drums and funky syn-bass, reached 74 for 3 weeks and secured Paul a place in the annals of pop history. Subsequent singles made up the core of his debut set, Rhythm Of Life (7/10) and forged a path ahead for the songwriter, mainly comprised of thoughtful pop-dance music with just a hint of Haig's trademark flickering guitar sound from the JK days remaining.
