About This Item
Lawrence Hayward knew that he wanted to be a pop star as a teen, and he devised a plan to ten albums and ten singles over ten years to make that dream come true. A particular and determined individual, he would only be known as Lawrence from that day forward. His hopes for stardom would be pinned on his newly formed band, the succinctly named Felt. Soon signed to Cherry Red Records, Lawrence's achingly cool vocals and the group's way with walking melodies were evident on their debut for the tag, InchSomething Sends Me To Sleep.Inch This compilation collects material from Felt's Cherry Red period of 1981 to 1985, kicking off with that confident start, assembling numerous high points, and closing with their biggest hit, InchPrimitive Painters.InchThis phase of the band is defined by the songwriting partnership and unique interplay of Lawrence and guitarist Maurice Deebank, with Deebank's stylish and confident playing the envy of many of their counterparts. He delivers a constant string of shimmering hooks that wrap themselves around and over top of Lawrence's more traditional beat combo song structures, as if trying to fit four songs worth of ideas into a pre-set radio friendly cutoff time. It works wonderfully as Lawrence always counters with a solid bedrock.In one of many brushes with the brass ring, in 1984 Felt recorded versions of InchDismantled King Is Off The ThroneInch and InchSunlight Bathed The Golden Glow,Inch for the newly formed and Warners-backed tag Blanco y Negro, in hopes that the band would follow their A+R man Mike Alway to the executive suite. Despite putting forward two of their finest songs, it was not to be. While major tag dreams had to remain on the shelf, fans were delighted to be able to hear these beautifully stripped down and more direct versions when this compilation was released a few years later.By 1985 the Felt roller coaster was somet
