Felt
Biography
In the pantheon of indie pop's most enigmatic figures, Lawrence Hayward stands as a singular force of nature, a man who transformed his obsessions with love, literature, and the liminal spaces between beauty and melancholy into some of the most quietly revolutionary music of the 1980s. Under the deceptively simple moniker Felt, Hayward crafted a body of work that would influence everyone from Belle and Sebastian to The National, while maintaining an almost pathological commitment to artistic purity that bordered on the sublime and the ridiculous in equal measure.
Emerging from the post-industrial landscape of Birmingham in 1979, Felt was initially conceived as Hayward's vehicle for exploring the intersection between his twin passions: the jangly romanticism of Television and the literary pretensions of his beloved poets. The band's early incarnation featured a rotating cast of musicians, but it was the arrival of guitarist Maurice Deebank in 1981 that truly ignited Felt's creative fire. Deebank's crystalline, almost classical approach to the guitar provided the perfect foil to Hayward's deadpan vocals and obtuse lyrical observations about unrequited love and suburban ennui.
The band's 1982 debut single "Index" announced their arrival with characteristic understatement, its delicate guitar arpeggios and Hayward's monotone delivery creating an atmosphere of studied melancholy that would become their calling card. This was followed by a string of singles on Cherry Red Records that established Felt's reputation as purveyors of the most refined form of indie pop, music that wore its influences lightly while creating something entirely new.
Felt's early albums, particularly 1984's "The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories" and 1985's "Ignite the Seven Cannons," showcased a band operating at the peak of their powers. Deebank's guitar work reached heights of technical brilliance that rivaled classical composers, while Hayward's songwriting displayed an almost supernatural ability to find profound meaning in the mundane details of romantic failure. Songs like "Primitive Painters" and "The World Is as Soft as Lace" became underground classics, their influence rippling through the indie underground like stones thrown into still water.
The band's aesthetic was as carefully curated as their sound. Hayward's insistence on specific artwork, his cryptic interview style, and his almost monastic dedication to the craft created an aura of mystery that only enhanced their appeal. They were the thinking person's pop band, too cool for the mainstream but too melodic for the art galleries.
The departure of Deebank in 1986 marked the end of Felt's first chapter, but Hayward was far from finished. Relocating the band's operations to New York, he embarked on a more experimental phase, incorporating elements of country, folk, and even dance music into Felt's sound. Albums like "Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death" and "The Pictorial Jackson Review" showed a band unafraid to reinvent themselves, even if it meant alienating some of their core fanbase.
Throughout their decade-long existence, Felt maintained a prolific output that included ten albums and numerous singles, each one a carefully crafted statement of intent. Hayward's famous declaration that the band would split after exactly ten years and ten albums wasn't mere rock star posturing – it was a commitment to artistic integrity that few musicians have ever matched.
When Felt disbanded in 1989, they left behind a legacy that would prove far more influential than their modest commercial success suggested. Their approach to indie pop – literate, melodic, and uncompromisingly artistic – became a template for countless bands that followed. Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian has cited them as a primary influence, while their impact can be heard in everyone from The Smiths to Vampire Weekend.
Hayward continued making music with Denim and later Go-Kart Mozart, but neither project matched the sustained brilliance of Felt's output. The band's influence, however, continues to grow with each passing year. In an era of manufactured pop and algorithmic playlists, Felt's commitment to artistic vision over commercial considerations feels increasingly radical.
Their music remains a testament to the power of obsession, the beauty of limitation, and the eternal appeal of perfectly crafted pop songs that reveal new layers of meaning with each listen. In the end, Felt achieved something far more valuable than commercial success – they created a world entirely their own, one that continues to enchant and inspire more than three decades after their
