Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)

"Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" is the debut single by the British new wave band Haircut One Hundred, released in October 1981 by Arista Records. The song appeared on their 1982 debut album Pelican West. The single reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1981^[1] and was certified silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 200,000 copies.^[2]

Composition

The song was written by group vocalist Nick Heyward. The writing credits of the B-side, Boat Party, are attributed to Haircut One Hundred, although the song features guitar riff patterns similar to Favourite Shirts. Both tracks were recorded at the Roundhouse Studios in Chalk Farm, London, soon after the band had signed to Arista. These recordings are the only ones to feature Pat Hunt, later replaced by Blair Cunningham, on drums.^[3]

Release and reception

Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) was released in October 1981 in 7" and 12" formats. Writing in the October 1981 issue of Smash Hits, critic Fred Dellar described the single as doing "for jazz-funk what Dexy's once did for R&B". He described it as a "slight" song, although "the musicianship is both impeccable and exciting".^[4]

Track listing

• 7" Single (Arists CLIP1)

1. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)"
2. "Boat Party"

• 12" Single (Arists CLIP121)

1. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" – 6:25
2. "Boat Party" – 5:10

This original 12" mix is different to the one later released on The Best of Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred (1989), Pelican West Plus (1992) and The Greatest Hits of Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred (1996), which featured longer 12" mixes.^[5]

Chart performance

The single initially entered the UK Top 40 at no. 40 at the end of October 1981. It then reached its peak position of no. 4 within three weeks, remaining at the same position for a further week, kept off the top spot by such artists as Queen and David Bowie, Julio Iglesias, The Police and Earth, Wind & Fire. The single spent a total of eight weeks in the Top 40 and 14 in the Top 100.^[1] The group appeared to perform the song on Top of the Pops for the first time on 29 October 1981, when the single had reached No. 40 in the UK charts. They performed the song on the show for a second and final time on 12 November 1981, when it had reached No. 9.

Live performances

A live performance was recorded for commercial release for the group's Live at the IndigO2 28th Jan 2011 album.

Cover versions

The song was covered by Japanese vocalist Hideki Kaji for his Blue Boys Don't Cry EP release in 2009.^[6]

References