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 Greedy Ugly People
Hefner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trying to guess what she needs,
Trying to guess what the fuss was about.
She had a conscience that surely did need pricking,
I was there for the picking as she would soon find out.
The Greedy Ugly People are not like us,
I had her on a chair in the middle of the living room,
And then we went to the bedroom, where we were making spoons.
When we went out she started clicking her heels,
She was sticking her chest out, cause she was starting to feel.
Love don't stop no wars, don't stop no cancer,
It stops my heart.
The opening lines of "The Greedy Ugly People" by Hefner describe a sexual encounter with a woman who is trying to figure out what she wants and needs. The singer seems to recognize her vulnerability and takes advantage of it, "picking" her as if she were some kind of fruit. He plays with her both physically and emotionally, creating a sense of power that she is not able to resist. The song's lyrics suggest that there are those among us who are able to exploit others for their own gain, without caring about the consequences. These people are called the "Greedy Ugly People", and they are contrasted with those who are capable of feeling love and empathy.
Throughout the song, Hefner creates a sense of tension between these two groups: those who are driven by greed and those who are driven by love. The singer is clearly on the side of the latter, desiring a connection with his partner that goes beyond the physical. Yet he seems to recognize that this kind of love is fragile and that it can't solve all the world's problems. "Love don't stop no wars, don't stop no cancer," he sings. "It stops my heart." In other words, love is powerful but limited, and it can only affect the individual, not the larger world.
Line by Line Meaning
I had her on the carpet twisting and squirming about,
I had her in a difficult situation, where she was trying hard to figure out what she wants, and what was the issue that caught her attention.
Trying to guess what she needs,
She was in a situation where she was trying to identify her needs, but she wasn't able to do so alone.
Trying to guess what the fuss was about.
She was trying to figure out what all the chaos around her was about.
She had a conscience that surely did need pricking,
She was the kind of person who needed a reminder of what's right and wrong, and she needed me to give her that push.
I was there for the picking as she would soon find out.
I was there for her to choose, to decide if she wants to change or not.
The Greedy Ugly People are not like us,
There are people who only think about themselves, and they don't share the same values as us.
They don't feel the love that she and I would die without.
Those people don't understand the importance of love and care, which is something we cannot live without.
I had her on a chair in the middle of the living room,
I had her in a central place, where all her senses could perceive her surroundings.
And then we went to the bedroom, where we were making spoons.
We went to a more intimate setting, where we can be more affectionate and close.
When we went out she started clicking her heels,
After spending time with me, she started to feel more confident and proud of herself.
She was sticking her chest out, cause she was starting to feel.
She was becoming more expressive and confident about her feelings and desires.
Love don't stop no wars, don't stop no cancer,
Love is not powerful enough to stop the most severe things that can happen to us.
It stops my heart.
Love is the most important and powerful thing in my life, and it can affect me deeply.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DARREN HAYMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
well399
the problem for hefner was they were miles ahead of their time. . . if they came out now they would be huge. . . amazing band x
Brian Meijers
but that was 10 years ago . . .
Deep Dive Gaming
amazing band
saw them a couple of times
love nearly every track they have done
Chris McAulay
This song is one of those rare and special gems that will always be near and dear to my heart yet for some reason I find it heart breaking and beautiful at the same
Kate Sickles
Same.
Camilo Oyarzún
I heard this track for the first time in a promo CD of the Rockdelux magazine in 2000 :) I had forgotten how great this song is!
Francisco Serra
me too!
annitabar
Camilo Oyarzún same here
Kensing
igual que yo, los conservo como oro, lo aprendí casi todo con esos cd
Alexandra Proudhon
Buenas líricas hefner, wen grupo