Last weekend was a blast. I was booked to play two different shows in Copenhagen Denmark. One as Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern the other as Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter play Hefner Songs. I don't like messy branding, thats what I have at the moment - messy branding. I'm looking forward to a point when all the Hefner re-issues are out, the HWTL project has quietened down and I can just be Darren Hayman all the time. It doesn't help when you arrive to find the promoters have advertised the show in some places as Hefner. It makes me a little sad, I'm trying to make the Jack and Darren shows as respectful as possible to John and Ant and Hefner was definitely the four of us. Anyway...

Friday Night we played as Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern. I can't lie, this was the show I was looking forward to the most. The line-up was Me (uke and guitat), Dan Mayfield (violin), Jack Hayter (Guitar and Pedal Steel), James Milne (bass) and the return of Amos Memon (for one night only) on drums. Amos, as you may know, has become a member of Fanfarlo since leaving the Secondary Modern however he's agreed to come back to the Secondary Modern on occasions because he gets better women when he's with us.

I was so happy with the way the guys played. Its so exciting to hear a lot of my new songs played by this bunch of pros. I've been playing an acoustic guitar on stage lately which is areal change for me. In fact its hard to believe but this is the first acoustic guitar that I've ever owned!

Darren and Jack playing some Hefner.

I particularly enjoyed playing Big Fish and Out Of my League from Pram Town. I'm busting to get that album out.

Saturday was Hefner night. The first time me and Jack had played a lot of these songs since out last shows in 2001. It was amazing how slipped into the songs in rehearsal, but we knew certain songs missed John and Antony, so we try to play the songs that play to our strengths. We've also tried to play one or two personal choices as opposed to drumming out the hits. There are also a couple of Darren vetos. A couple of tunes are too hard to go back to. We got on and my guitar didn't work, I'd only played the first few chords to Postal Service but everyone sang along. Me and the audience did the song together without guitar or microphone.

I enjoyed the show much more than I expected. Like any artist, I'm wary of looking backwards too much, but I love Hefner and I love those songs. Also Jack is such a fantastic musician, such a thrill to play with him. Offstage we still bristle occasionally, I bark sometimes and am not always thoughtful, Jack can fuss over technical issues now and then, but on stage, we're the best friends. I don't know why its taken me so long to get round to play with him again. The set as best i remember it was...Hymn for the Postal Service, Don't Go, Hymn for the Coffee, As Soon as Your Ready, Junk, Hymn for the Alcohol, I Stole a Bride, Alan Bean, The Librarian (James and Amos joined us on Drums and Bass for...) Greedy Ugly People, Hello Kitten, Sad Witch, The Day that Thatcher Dies and Half a Life. I think there were more I forget sorry.

Oh and Antony was there. He didn't play, just kept a watchful eye. Made sure we didn't screw up.

3 out of 4 Hefners.

Haven't posted for a while. Here's whats being going on. Back at the end of March, I played a gig with (yet another) line up of the Secondary Modern. Now I know it looks like I'm falling out with a lot of musicians but its really not the case, people have jobs and other commitments I want to change things round a lot. Everybody's friends and the records I've been making recently feature the best of all the musicians. Anyway on March the 30 th I was playing with Dan Mayfield (violin), James Milne (bass), James Williams (percussion) and of course Jack Hayter.

Its so much fun to be playing with Jack again and we have to be minful to not bore the other guys with our war stories of Hefner. I was pretty nervous going on stage. Not least because The Wave Pictures had just played a great set.

I had a lot of songs I wanted to do, I want to play some of the rarer Hefner songs and recent stuff, but also wanted to play some songs from Pram Town, my new record that I hope to have released later this year.

I get really excited by playing with new musicians, which is perhaps why I get through so many. I also really like the sound of musicians when they haven't quite learnt a song properly, that is to say when people are finding out how a song works, they stumble upon the most interesting things.

With that in mind after the show I quickly got the band together to record some songs, we recorded 7 songs two days. Working very quickly, learning the song for an hour or so, choosing the instruments and then recording a live take. I don't know that every song worked, I'm so far ahead of myself that I thought I should allow myself to record songs several times finding the best arrangement and musicians for each songs. Two songs in particular came out really well, Alibi and Two Tree Island. The songs are going to be part of an album which at the moment is called Essex Arms.

Me and Jack have been having so much fun that we quite forget that we were supposed to be rehearsing Hefner songs. Last Thursday we finally got down to it, and it wasn't nearly as hard as we imagined. We wrote a rough set list of what we wanted to do, trying to choose things for ourselves that we liked but also trying to choose a cross section of live favourites that people would want to hear. Wouldn't want to give anything away but here's an MP3 of me and Jack getting a couple of songs wrong. LIVE REHEARSAL LINK.

On Friday night we do the Jack and Darren show for the first time in Copenhagen, Denmark. See shows for details.

I'll let you know how it goes. - Darren

Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee were all getting ready to play at the Local last Friday when Dan Mayfield was hit with shingles. We have played show before without Dan, but felt perhaps that we shouldn't headline without him, so asked to go in the middle of the show. Then I had an idea I've been rehearsing with Jack Hayter for next Sunday (30th March) show at the Luminaire and I thought Jack could fill in for Dan in the bluegrass band. Jack came over Friday afternoon and learnt the songs, adding harmonica and lap steel to the tunes and then we drove over to Crouch End where we played a blinder. Well, I don't know that it was a blinder , but it was so much fun to be on stage with Jack again. Although I've been on stage with Ant a couple of times since Hefner, I haven't played with Jack on stage in seven years since the last Hefner show.

We had a great time, but I don't think anybody knew who we were or why we were smiling so much! Anyway a great way to prepare for next weeks show. The Jack and Darren reunion proper takes place next Sunday 30th March at the Luminaire in Kilburn with the Wave Pictures and comedian Robin Ince in support., we'll play some Hefner tunes, honest. Tickets from here.

I will have copies of the 2CD Fidelity Wars, The Holiday EPs and the Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee album to sell at the show.

Last Sunday was a great day for me. I got to play with Jack Hayter for the first time in maybe 6 years or so? The occasion was the first rehearsal of the new Secondary Modern (version 4 if your counting). The line up of the band is Jack Hayter (steel guitar and guitar), Dan Mayfield (Violin and some stuff), James Williams , Jack's son, (Cajon, Percussion) and James Milne from Cornershop on bass.

I think both me and Jack were just a little nervous about playing together again, but there's something quite natural about playing with people you know. As you may know Jack and I are playing some shows later this year where we play just Hefner songs, but actually the idea to have Jack play with the Secondary Modern came first.

My next album proper; Pram Town, has a very sweet, folky sound (there are two songs on my myspace) and I wanted the new line up of the SM to be much less rock. The New line up makes its debut on the 30 th March with our good friends The Wave Pictures and also comedian Robin Ince. It will be very exciting to present a band so soon after forming it, we're going to play some songs from Pram Town and the Holiday EPs as well as my last album. We're also going to play some Hefner tunes too, but perhaps some of the slightly rarer songs, we ran though China Crisis and Weight of the Stars. In the spirit of my new resolution of using the web and myspace to get music to you quicker here is an MP3 of the new band running though Wu Tang Clan. Of course I'm getting the words wrong and everything, but you get the picture.

Here's the link. Be good to see you on the 30th you can get tickets here.

Three albums behind.

In May, Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee release their debut album. June (ish) sees the release of Great British Holiday EPs. Hopefully, possibly this year will also see the release of Pram Town, my folk opera. I have currently completed two thirds of my '12 Astronauts' project and a half written album on the notion of memory.

I'm not boasting, honestly I'm not. I'm sure there's some people who think that I would do much better to slow down and not release so much stuff. I mention it because, well its odd. Whilst people tell me what they like or don't about 'Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern' I have two more albums and am thinking about the third.

The advantage to this is that I'm making music in a bubble. I'm not reacting to an audience or critical opinion, because I don't know what people think of the album before it. Consequently I'm currently making a lot of gentle folk music when everybody seems to like my guitar and banjo rock.

The disadvantage is its all a bit frustrating. I'd love to release them all on the same day but there's all sorts of creative and commercial reasons why that would be a bad idea.

Anyway, this all led to me feeling that I'm really not using this Myspace streaming thing to its potential. To that end I have put up four unheard songs on my Myspace page. Two are from Pram Town, one is the new re-recorded version of Alan Bean from the astronaut album and one is a song I finished this morning! Yep just this morning! I don't know what its for or wether I'm going to add words to it but I thought somebody might want to hear it.

Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee play Bar Monsta in Camden next Wednesday. Its our first headline gig in ooh ages. If you haven't seen us come along, its always a laugh.

-Darren Hayman

A funny week. Last week I announced two shows where I would be playing a night of Hefner songs with Jack Hayter and the shows sold out in 2 days. This makes me very happy. As many of you know who come to my shows, I've never had a problem playing Hefner songs in my sets and if you came to see me on any night you might hear me play 4 or 5.

Jack came round my house on Saturday. First time we'd seen each other in about a year. We agreed that despite the popularity of the shows and the potential money to be made it would probably be best to leave it at just the two shows. Its difficult to explain in a way that everyone will appreciate, but although I'll enjoy playing all those Hefner songs there is a danger that if we do it too much my career may become a little cabaret?

I hate all these bands reforming to be honest and I also have a problem with the 'Pantera play their classic album for one night only' stuff. I have tons of new songs and a new band and I want to play them live, even if it means less people at gigs.

We may however take the Jack and Darren show to a couple of other British Cities, just waiting to confirm deals with promoters.

This idea came about becuase I asked Jack to join the Secondary Modern for a while. If you are disapointed at not being able to get tickets for the two Jack and Darren shows why not come and see us both play on the 30th March at the Luminaire. Tickets here. We're still going to play a bunch of Hefner stuff, but also solo songs and new songs from the forthcoming Pram Town album and the Holiday EPs compilation.

The new band is quite different, very acoustic and soulful, I hope you like it. Support comes from The Wave Pictures and comedian Robin Ince.

- Darren Hayman

Yes, a completly redesigned Hefnet. The last one was looking pretty dated. The idea of this page is not only to act as a news page for Hefner related shows, records and merchandise, but also to act as diary for me. Hopefully the new site will be more efficient but also more personal, with me talking here a little about future projects etc. In the meantime, have a look around here. There is (or will be soon) lots of new stuff up on the site.

Releases for 2008: Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee album. 2CD reissue of Fidelity Wars, Great British Holiday EPs CD and DVD set.

New T-shirts coming soon