DeClunk managed to meet up for a chat with Dan Haywood, a rambling chat that went unrecorded. Dan was raised in the market town of Stourbridge, in the Midlands. You may be thinking of a sleepy little place, but in the late eighties/early nineties it was home to a thriving music scene, from which Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, The Wonder Stuff and Pop Will Eat Itself herald. Have you ever wondered what the red mark is on the beak of a Herring gull? The red spot on the beak of a Herring gull is called the gonydeal spot. What’s it for? The young chicks peck at it, the parent then regurgitates food for the chick. Now you know, you see, Dan is an ecologist and ornithologist. He is also the man behind a multitude of songs and responsible for one of the great guitar solos. If you have never heard the track ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ from the Pil Fangs album PF1 then take a break and give it a listen now! PF1 was the first DeClunk feature of ‘A Classic Album That You May Not Know’.
Some key Dan info in his own words:
Born 1975 West Midlands to non-musical parents
1993 moved to Lancashire; played and wrote for in a number of bands, releasing often non-musical, demo tapes, CD EPs, DATs. Phew. Those were the days.
Got good at it in early 00s and wrote prolifically. Spent five years recording a 32-song suite called Dan Haywood’s New Hawks. Eventually came out on triple vinyl and double CD via a small Manchester label in 2010. It had lots of heavyweight admirers including some writers I really dug. Sold veeerry slowly….
2006-2012 An often big band led by myself toured that material in UK and Europe. Wild times. Big fun. Baffled audiences.
2013 released acoustical ‘Dapple’ album- a short suite recorded. Got some good press. Sold smallll.
2014-2016 spent fair bit of time in London recording yet to be-released possible masterpieces. Possible.
2015-2025 formed, performed and recorded higher gain Pill Fangs. Four albums I think? High gain. Rekindling my electric yoof? Revisiting some unfinished fangs material this summer.
2020 released Country Dustbin on Cafe Oto’s Otoroku label. 52:52 one-track album and book. Probably longest non-repeating lyric in pop history. I like it. Most don’t!
There is a new album, Ten Signs, that Dan has made with Harvey Lord. It’s a different vibe to the Pil Fangs work. There are song titles such as ‘Ullswater Charr’, ‘Redstart’, ‘Ptarmigan’ and ‘Lobworm’, a bit of a homage to the natural world. The collaboration came about through the shared enjoyment of nature and being outside, leading to the album. The third time I gave the album a listen was on a beautiful evening sitting in my garden. For my pleasure, I had the extra accompaniment of a singing blackbird. It’s a perfect album for sitting quietly outside on a warm summer’s eve, with a cool beer. It’s one of those albums that gently grows on you. It kicks off with a different take on a song from PF1. Bison Grass on PF1, this time round a different title, ‘Brownsleeves’. The album moves onto ‘May Was The Month’, it has an old, medieval feel about it, as does the next track. Harvey Lord sings up on ‘Fishing The Charr’, the anticipation of setting out to catch this rare species in the glacial lakes of the Lake District. Further into the album the Charr gets another starring role in the track ‘Ullswater Charr’. Birds feature too, often heard twittering throughout the album. The songs are poem-like, set to music. For example on ‘Redstart’…..
a poll ablaze as white as sun
the flickering firebrand flickers on
nor will I rest, I climb the cleugh
my daft desire- be seen by you
It’s a fabulous record, demands to be listened to. You may get transported to some olde worlde woods, mountainsides and lakes. It’s gentle yet still carries with it that Dan Haywood oddness.
Here’s what Dan has to say
‘It’s an ecology themed release I suppose, with five songs by my bad self (I’ve been listening to James Brown as per!) and four by Harvey Lord, my Westmorland friend. A tenth is our interpretation of a lyric by his friend (and fellow Lake District Charr fisherman) Bill Lloyd, who you might know. It all came about as we explored the interior of Dumfries and Galloway together last spring, comparing nature notes as we went.
Harvey is a remarkable man and brought great new material to the table in days. It took me weeks and months to write mine (!) which are meant to complement his tunes and expound on some of the thoughts we seem to share. We heard that our choons commingled well and went from there. Harvey’s first release in years and years. I’m glad to have tempted him out of retirement!
We recorded them live in a friend’s above Settle, Yorkshire, with the studio door ajar to catch nature sounds to settle our nerves. We got a lovely stark ribbon mic sound which Sam Lawrence (engineer) and myself are very pleased with. See what you reckon.
Musicians jamming mine and Harvey’s pieces there included my old friends Matt Canty (dbl bass), Paddy Steer (lap steel), Andy Raven (mandolin), Mikey Kenney (fiddle on the album opener), Sam (woodwind, organ, strings) and more. Ten in total I think. I sing half and Mr. Lord sings half’.
Your next task is to click the Bandcamp links below. You can hear the Ten Signs songs and delve into other Dan Haywood material. Then why not splash some cash and grab what takes your fancy. We recommend everything! Then check out the Harvey Lord link. You’re not going to be disappointed.
https://danhaywood.bandcamp.com
https://harveylord.bandcamp.com
Dan, Matt Canty on double bass and Harvey doing their thang.
DeClunk 