This is a group who I have featured in one of my longer pop music pieces, but it’s time to feature them in this series too. Haysi Fantayzee were a duo (although technically speaking they were actually a trio), the main members were Jeremy and Kate. They did some things on the chart in the early-80s that were rather bizarre even by the standards of that era.
They had four hit singles, two of which made the Top 20, and they are still remembered for these today. They were “John Wayne Is Big Leggy” and “Shiny Shiny”. And if you had to push me, I would have to say that my favourite of the two is “Shiny Shiny”. But it must not be forgotten that they had two smaller hits with “Holy Joe” and “Sister Friction”, neither of which made the Top 50.
And there was also their only album “Battle Hymns For Children Singing”. They were fairly popular, but their time on the chart lasted for barely a year, and they split in 1983. Since my last piece, I have found out a little more about what they did next. Kate had only one solo single. In November 1983 “Love Me Like A Rocket” was released, although this only reached an unofficial no. 140.
There was also a video made for this that was rather exciting. How this wasn’t a chart-sweeping sensation I’ll never know. After this, Kate went on to become a hugely successful photographer, working with lots of people who would go on to have lots of hits on the chart, after she had stopped having them herself. I also said about Jeremy becoming a successful club DJ, and I was sure that he had at least one more hit single on his own.
I knew that he had been involved in the dance group E-Zee Possee, who had some hits in the early-90s, and are probably best-known for March 1990’s “Everything Starts With An E”. But it turns out that it wasn’t as hard to track down his other hit singles as I originally thought because they were released under his real name, which is rather useful.
In October 1996 he teamed up with Amos for “Stamp!”, which reached no. 11 (the same position as “John Wayne Is Big Leggy”). This also got him back on to Top Of The Pops for the first time since those days. And in May 1997 he had another hit when “Argentina” reached no. 30. Since then he has continued to be in much demand as a remixer.
ADAM'S NOSTALGIC MEMORIES 