2… Read Full Bio ↴1. A British indie pop and "urban folk" band fronted by Darren Hayman.
2. electronic downtempo artist Lee Jones who released an album called Residue,
3. An experimental side project of Swedish indie, electronic, hip hop artist Lechy
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1. Hefner were a British indie pop and "urban folk" band fronted by Darren Hayman. They were active from about 1996 until 2002; since then they have played together only once, for a tribute to the DJ John Peel, who was a strong supporter of theirs.
Hefner began as a live band in 1995. In 1996 Darren Hayman recorded a tape for Sticky Records (named The Devotion Chamber) on which all instruments were played by Darren himself. His friend from art school, Antony Harding, assisted, providing backing vocals.
The band's first release was in April of 1997 when the 7" single "A Better Friend" was released by Boogle Wonderland. The single featured Antony on drums and John Morrison (from Rhatigan) on bass. Shortly after the release, the record label Too Pure offered a record deal to Darren, who extended the offer to Antony and John.
After a few more singles, Hefner recorded their debut album Breaking God's Heart. A lo fidelity album primarily recorded in one take, Hayman has declared that this album is the one he is least interested in listening to, due to its unrealized potential.
The Fidelity Wars would be their next record (with the recent addition of multi-instrumentalist Jack Hayter playing on some tracks, who would later join the band properly); a darker collection of songs. In the official website of the band Darren has explained that all of the songs gravitate around the concept of breaking up.
Hefner had, at this point, recorded a large number of singles and EPs. Boxing Hefner collected some of those tracks that had not appeared on the previous albums, often as new recordings. The compilation also included some unreleased material. The band stated that this album was released primarily to mark Jack's actual joining.
We Love the City marked a change in direction for the band. In contrast with previous records, which had older songs, all of the compositions on We Love the City were made for this record, which had better production value and more varied instrumentation.
Dead Media, released in 2001, continued the interest that Hefner had shown in exploring new ways. Dead Media is certainly different from previous records in the sense of its electronic weight, an interest that led Darren to eventually create The French.
After the band's final gig at the ICA in London on 10 December 2001 and the release of an EP called The Hefner Brain the following March, the band went on a seemingly permanent hiatus, save for one reformation for the "Keeping It Peel" tribute show, marking the death of one of their biggest supporters, Radio 1 DJ John Peel. In 2005 a t-shirt was released that read "Hefner, Britain’s Largest Small Band (1997-2002)", and in an interview Darren Hayman said "no, no reunion planned".
In 2005, after a legal dispute between Darren Hayman and Too Pure, the rights to all the band's Too Pure recordings have reverted to Darren. As a result, he has released The Best of Hefner 1996-2002 (on Fortune & Glory) and Catfight (Cargo), a 2 CD collection of 43 unreleased songs, both in 2006. The full recording of Hefner's special live Peel Session performance from 23rd August 2000 in the eight piece We Love the City formation (amelia fletcher and a horn section - part of which appeared as a limited bonus disc with some copies of the CD of We Love the City) has been released under the title of Maida Vale in November 2006. All of the band's albums have also been reissued with bonus tracks.
In 2008 Darren and Jack got together and played Hefner songs on a limited number of venues around Europe. This project is not planned to continue further after September 2008 though.
Darren Hayman tours and releases music as a solo artist - sometimes as Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern, but he has been involved in several solo projects: The French, the Stereo Morphonium and Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee.
Antony Harding's solo project is known as Ant
Jack Hayter releases solo stuff as well.
www.hefnet.com
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2. The other is Lee Jones who released an album called Residue, a number of 12"s and remixes on Inertia Records.
Residue sold 85,000 albums independently through Inertia Records. Lee Jones, in response, took the project on the road around Europe, playing throughout Holland, Germany, Italy and France. Also appearing on national TV in both Germany and Holland. The album was voted number 3 in the BBC Radio 1 urban albums poll.
Then all went quiet. He worked on Josee's solo album, Lost Souls Dancing, and moved to Berlin.
At this time in order to satisfy demand Inertia released a compilation of his best remixes called "Reworks" featuring his versions of tunes by Lamb, 4 Hero, Omar faruk Takbilek and others and took time off to produce some other artists.
In 2003 Inertia hooked Hefner up with Frazey Ford, lead singer of The Be Good Tanyas, a fantastic rootsy, folky band from Vancouver. The resulting material was magical but due to recording commitments to EMI the project had to be stalled until the Be Good Tanyas album was finally released. As of the end of 2006 the project has been revitalised with the partnership working together again. An album is due at the end of 2007.
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3. Dr. Hefner, the Prince of Holmiapolis
The Cure for Evil
Hefner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To make a window, to make you mine.
It took a little look, that made you shudder,
It took a little tear to draw you near
But all the while you knew your smile,
Would make it easy to fall in love.
It took a little word, a stupid something,
It took a little stroke, from my hand,
To make you kiss me, to understand.
But all the while you knew your smile,
Would make it easy to fall in love.
Will you want me if I grow boring?
Will you want me if I grow ill?
Will you want me when I grow colder?
Will you want me? Will you kiss me still?
There's far too many ideals fighting for the air time,
I was shameful back in â??96 but I'm not so careless now.
And all those brutal discos that taught me how to pine.
I've no regrets for what I did but I regret I had the time.
Will you want me? Is it too late?
Will you want me? Don't hesitate.
I've been spiteful, you've been kind,
Will you want me in six weeks time?
When you're in the bathroom and when you've locked the door,
I am dirty in the bedroom, I've not felt this way before.
Don't let my hands go idle, when they feel this much for
you, Can't you tell this much is true when I hold you.
If I sometimes seemed ungrateful, If I doubted you sometimes,
If I called you by the wrong name, I was out of my tiny mind.
Cause you were the one with sexy shoes,
You frazzled my mind I forgot what I knew,
Oh you were the one, so console me.
The song "The Cure for Evil" by Hefner tells the story of a relationship that had a slow start but ended up blossoming into something beautiful. The lyrics describe how it took a little bit of time, a little bit of wine, and a little bit of effort to get the other person's attention and affection. Throughout the song, the singer acknowledges that their partner is aware of their smile's power and how it makes it easy to fall in love. However, the singer still has insecurities about their future together, wondering if their partner will still love them as they age and change. In the end, the singer expresses their desire for their partner's comfort and seeks reassurance that they won't be abandoned.
The song is all about love and the complexities that come with it. The lyrics are relatively straightforward; it's clear that the singer is head over heels in love with their partner. Still, they have fears about the future and doubt whether their partner will stick with them through thick and thin. This song's message is that relationships take effort, and love must be nurtured to be sustained over the long term.
Line by Line Meaning
It took a little time, it took a little wine,
It took some time and alcohol for me to win you over.
To make a window, to make you mine.
To create an opening for us to be together.
It took a little look, that made you shudder,
A single glance that gave you thrills.
It took a little tear to draw you near
It took some tears for you to come closer to me.
But all the while you knew your smile,
You knew your smile had an effect on me.
Would make it easy to fall in love.
It made it easy for me to fall in love with you.
It took a little word, a stupid something,
Something silly I said made you hold on to me.
To make you hold me, to make you cling.
To make you hold onto me tightly.
It took a little stroke, from my hand,
A touch from my hand made you kiss me.
To make you kiss me, to understand.
To help you understand your feelings for me.
Will you want me if I grow boring?
Do you still want me even if things become mundane?
Will you want me if I grow ill?
Do you still want me even if I become sick?
Will you want me when I grow colder?
Do you still want me even if my love for you fades?
Will you want me? Will you kiss me still?
Do you still love me and want to be with me?
There's far too many ideals fighting for the air time,
There are too many conflicting values and ideas in the world.
I was shameful back in â??96 but I'm not so careless now.
I made mistakes in the past but have learned from them.
And all those brutal discos that taught me how to pine.
The disco scene taught me how to yearn for someone.
I've no regrets for what I did but I regret I had the time.
I don't regret my actions, but I regret wasting my time.
Will you want me? Is it too late?
Is it too late for you to love me?
Will you want me? Don't hesitate.
If you still love me, don't hesitate to show it.
I've been spiteful, you've been kind,
I've been mean, but you've been good to me.
Will you want me in six weeks time?
Do you still want me in the future?
When you're in the bathroom and when you've locked the door,
When you're alone in the bathroom and no one can hear.
I am dirty in the bedroom, I've not felt this way before.
I'm feeling lustful and passionate in bed like never before.
Don't let my hands go idle, when they feel this much for you,
Embrace my love and passion, don't let it go to waste.
Can't you tell this much is true when I hold you.
My love for you is evident in the way I hold you.
If I sometimes seemed ungrateful, If I doubted you sometimes,
I'm sorry if I ever seemed like I didn't appreciate or trust you.
If I called you by the wrong name, I was out of my tiny mind.
If I made mistakes, it was because I was confused or not thinking straight.
Cause you were the one with sexy shoes,
I was attracted to you because of your style and fashion sense.
You frazzled my mind I forgot what I knew,
You made me feel so strongly that I became forgetful and unbalanced.
Oh you were the one, so console me.
You were the one I fell in love with, please give me comfort and support.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thomas Blake
The most underrated Hefner song. With the possible exception of Seafaring.
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"All those brutal discos that taught me how to pine" is a great line
Howling Huntley
One of the best albums ever
Yan Wong
Is this the greatest song in the world?