Hefner Are Hear Again
Darren Hayman, leader of geeks and former frontman of the Britpop band that got away, Hefner, is about to embark on his only solo tour of this year, gracing our fine city of Liverpool on July 6th in Korova. [
With the recent success of his first solo album, ‘Table for One’, Hayman’s set in Liverpool – only one of two dates on this tour that will be without any backing band – is a rare opportunity to catch the man in his element. A man clearly in love with his ukulele (in fact his last EP was called “Ukulele songs from the North Devon Coast”), but not at all fond of touring, his solo performances often see him alternate between this and an electric guitar, showing his skill as a musician as well as lyricist, although it is predominantly his lyrics which get him noticed when he does eventually get around to doing some live dates. Hayman has become well known as the man who has helped to ease many of us through those difficult teenage years with his melancholy tales of heartache and suffering at the hands of countless cruel-hearted adolescent girls. Communicating to legions of devoted fans through his heartfelt lyrics and acute observations, as part of Hefner, Hayman taught us what love was really about, what sex really wasn’t, and how failure was something even the cool kids felt. Gorgeous stuff. His solo projects have not strayed far from this formula as, in his lyrics, he still combines humour and irony, while at the same time hinting at truths that cut that bit too close to the bone.
With lyrics like;
“She’s got forty year old eyes/even though she’s twenty nine/
She says they’re just laughter lines/or too long on the sunbed.”
It is often difficult to tell if Hayman is poking fun or really letting us in on a world we’d rather forget; the comedy is obvious but one cannot escape the bittersweet undertones or help but wonder if, should we find the porn star, school geek or lonely librarian funny, the joke is really on us.
Catch Darren Hayman at these dates;
17th June – How Does it Feel to be Loved – London, DJ set
28th June – Vienna – Chelsea
6th July – Liverpool – @ Korova (solo)
7th July – London – Mixtape night at Barden's Boudoir, Dalston (solo)
8th July – Newport – @ Meze Lounge
15th July – Birmingham @ Birmingham Bar Academy
16th July – Manchester Swap Festival @ Jabez Clegg
23rd July – Truck Festival – Early evening acoustic stage
11th August – Emmaboda Festival – Sweden.
25th August – Copenhagen, Denmark
26th August – Stockholm, Sweden
16th September – End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens
Buy the Liverpool tickets from here – link
Download the video for “Rain All Sumertime” here – link