Paul Haig

Haig was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and grew up in middle class Oxgangs. His father, Edward, was an owner of a fibreglass factory and his mother, Margaret, was a secretary for a dental practice. His earliest memories of music were listening to Beatles records on his parents’ Stereogram. Though not from a musical family, his father bought him his first guitar at age 12. On his father’s advice, he first learned to play by ear, humming the melody until he could work out the parts. After taking a few guitar lessons, he began to teach himself songs by artists like David Bowie and the Velvet Underground, recording himself on guitars and vocals playing their song The Gift. When he played it for friends in one of his first bands, they encouraged him to be the vocalist as they were too shy. His baritone vocal style was influenced by listening to Lou Reed and Jim Morrison at an early age. Haig later attended nearby Firrhill High School along with future Josef K bandmates Malcolm Ross, Ronnie Torrance (his neighbor since age 8) and original bassist Gary McCormack. He reconnected with Ross at a party a couple of years after they had left high school. While chatting, they discovered they shared similar tastes in music, particularly the Velvet Underground. They began to hang out soon after, listening to music and playing guitar which led them to form TV Art, soon renamed Josef K.

Haig was the lead vocalist of Josef K, an Edinburgh band, which recorded five singles 1979 and 1981 and an album (The Only Fun in Town) signed to the Postcard record label, before splitting in August 1981; their final Scottish date was in Glasgow. The break-up was due to a combination of excessive expectations, too little financial return, Haig's dislike of touring, and disagreements over future direction. The following year Haig told Johnny Waller in Sounds: "I was pretty depressed for a week because it was the end of an era, but after that I was really happy that we'd split, because I could get on with everything I wanted to do. I've lost a lot of the ideals I had in Josef K. About not wanting to be commercially successful, suffering for your art and all that. I want to be signed to a major and make a great record that will get radio airplay and be a big hit, then make my own money from that. I don't mind being manipulated to a certain extent to get what I want, but in time I want to control everything."