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Formed way back in 1988, The Haywains, based near Bristol, played three-chord buzzy guitar indie-pop with bittersweet lyrics and sixties style melodies. Part of the ’twee’ pop underground and the fanzine culture that held the scene together, The Haywains were familiar faces at Bristol’s legendary Tropic Club and many of the ’Waaaaaah!’ indie-pop nights around the UK.

The band’s early gigs could be rather shambolic at times, but their back-to-basics minimal approach aswell as singer Jeremy’s jovial on-stage banter would define the very ethic of their lo-fi punk-pop roots. Bristol rapidly became one of the UK’s most productive areas on the ’indie pop’ scene of the late ’80’s, and The Haywains were simply one of many bands on a vibrant pop scene that the city enjoyed during that now legendary ’C86’ era.

The Haywains began their recording career with the ’Surfin’ Trowbridge EP’ a flexi-disc issued with a pop fanzine called ’Woosh!’ in 1988. The following year, the band’s first single ’Fisherman’s Friend’ was released on the band’s own ’Emily’s Shop’ label and received some all-important exposure by John Peel. The band went on to release a string of somewhat elusive 7" singles for small independent labels in Europe and the USA, ultimately signing to Vinyl Japan in 1991. The band recorded two albums for the label, ’Never Mind Manchester, Here’s The Haywains’ and the follow-up ’Desperately Seeking Something’. Those hard-to-find early singles were also re-released on a compilation CD ’Get Happy With The Haywains’ by Vinyl Japan in 1992. Another seven-inch single ’Why Do I Get The Feeling Your Mother Hates Me?’ was released in Spain by Elefant Records in 1995. It would be their last.

There comes a time when you just get too old for singing songs about teenage angst, and The Haywains officially disbanded after announcing a farewell hometown gig in the summer of 1996. A brief reunion took place in 2002 showing that the boys, and girl, could still get away with playing pop music five years after their split. The band continue to have tracks released posthumously. Indeed, their video ’Bye Bye Boyfriend’ has been released in August 2005 on a DVD compilation by ’No Parachute’ in the USA. Meanwhile, the former band members still insist that the recipe behind their irresistible charm was in doing it just for fun. Let’s hope that spirit lives on.

So, where are The Haywains now? Well, in 2006, Paul formed a new band called ’The Westfield Mining Disaster’, indie-pop with a ’grown-up’ country twist. Jeremy is currently Road Manager for Bristol punk band ’Valdez’ (when he’s not following Bristol Rovers of course). Meanwhile, Marc is in a Sgt. Pepper’s Tribute Band, Rachel is a proud mother of two and Dave is a poker addict making regular hauls to Las Vegas. There are rumours of the band playing some comeback gigs in 2008, but that folks, remains to be seen! Many thanks for visiting this page.

Related Links:

The Haywains on TweeNet Click Here

The Haywains on Last FM Click Here

The Westfield Mining Disaster Click Here

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