Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band formed in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat), and singer

Roland Gift Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

(formerly of the

Akrylykz Akrylykz (originally Akrylyk(z) Vyktymz) were a British ska band, formed by members of Hull School of Art in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that featured Roland Gift (later Fine Young Cannibals) originally as a tenor sax ...

). Their self-titled 1985 debut album contained " Johnny Come Home" and a cover of "

Suspicious Minds "Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No. 1 song in 1969, and one of the most ...

", two songs that were top 40 hits in the UK, Canada, Australia, and many European countries. Their 1989 album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'', topped the UK, US, Australian, and Canadian album charts, and contained their two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones: "

She Drives Me Crazy "She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by English group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). Peaking at No. 5 on the British singles chart in January 1989, it ...

" and " Good Thing". In 1990, the band won two

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

: Best British Group, and Best British Album (for ''The Raw & the Cooked''). Their name came from the 1960 film ''

All the Fine Young Cannibals ''All the Fine Young Cannibals'' is a 1960 American film directed by Michael Anderson, based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall, starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton and Pearl Bailey. Hamilton said that the film " ...

'' starring

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

and

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

History

The group was formed in 1984 after the dissolution of The Beat, with whom Cox and Steele previously played. The duo of Steele and Cox spent eight months listening to over 500 cassettes of potential singers before picking Gift. They had difficulty obtaining a record contract, but when a video of their song "Johnny Come Home" appeared on British TV show '' The Tube'', recording contract offers flowed in immediately. The band's eponymous debut album was released in 1985, spawning two UK hit singles, " Johnny Come Home" and a cover of Mark James' "

" featuring additional vocals by

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and sou ...

. These two songs also became hits internationally, charting in the top 40 in Europe, Canada and Australia, although they failed to make a significant impact on the US charts. Fine Young Cannibals appeared as the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

in a nightclub in the 1987 comedy film '' Tin Men'' and also contributed songs to the film's

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

. In the gap between their first and second albums, Steele and Cox released an instrumental

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

single under the moniker "Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet" in 1987, called "Tired of Getting Pushed Around", which reached No. 18 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and was popular on the U.S. dance chart. During this time, Gift appeared in the movie '' Sammy and Rosie Get Laid''. The band continued their international success with the singles "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing", from the 1989 album '' The Raw & the Cooked''. Both songs reached #1 in the US, while She Drives Me Crazy topped the Australian Chart for 3 non-consecutive weeks. The latter song was their second #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 8 July 1989. It also peaked at #7 on the

and in Australia. ''The Raw & the Cooked'' included three songs the band had recorded for ''Tin Men'' (including "Good Thing"), and their cover of the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the indepen ...

' " Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" recorded for the film '' Something Wild''. In 1990, the band contributed a cover version of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

's song " Love for Sale" for the album '' Red Hot + Blue'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

, a collection of 20 Cole Porter songs recorded by various artists as a benefit for AIDS research. Fine Young Cannibals disbanded in 1992, although they briefly returned to the studio in 1996 to record a new single, "The Flame", which complemented their

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation '' The Finest'' released that year.

Band members

* Andy Cox – guitars, keyboards, organ *

– vocals * David Steele – bass, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, drum machine ;Session and touring members *Martin Parry – drums, percussion *Graeme Hamilton – trumpet, piano

Awards and nominations

{, class=wikitable , - ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Ref. , - , rowspan=4, 1989 , rowspan=4,

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

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" , Video of the Year , , rowspan=4, , - ,

Best Group Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...

, , - ,

Breakthrough Video Breakthrough or break through may refer to: Arts Books * ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger * ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life * ...

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, Themselves , British Group , , rowspan=2, , - , '' The Raw & the Cooked'' , British Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

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Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, , rowspan=3, , - , Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , - , rowspan=2, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' ,

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, , - , rowspan=2,

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

, International Album of the Year , , rowspan=2, , - , rowspan=3, "

" , International Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

, Best Contemporary Song , , rowspan=2, , - , International Hit of the Year , , - , Pollstar Concert Industry Awards , Tour , Best Debut Tour , , , - , rowspan=3,

ASCAP Pop Music Awards The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, " Good Thing" , rowspan=3, Most Performed Songs , , rowspan=2, , - , rowspan=2, "

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Discography

Studio albums

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Year ! rowspan="2", Album details ! colspan="10", Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2",

Certifications Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

( sales threshold) , - style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:30px;", UK
! style="width:30px;", AUS
Peak chart positions in Australia: *Top 100 (

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent (historian), David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music ...

) peaks to 12 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Music Report chart was licensed by

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988. *Top 50 (

) peaks from 13 June 1988: *Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: *"I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" (ARIA) peak: *"I'm Not Satisfied" and "It's OK (It's Alright)" (ARIA) peaks: *All ARIA-era chart peaks to 18 August 2018: N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart. ! style="width:30px;", AUT
! style="width:30px;", CAN
! style="width:30px;", GER
N.B. Select the Album tab to display albums chart peaks. ! style="width:30px;", NL
! style="width:30px;", NZ
! style="width:30px;", SWE
! style="width:30px;", SWI
! style="width:30px;", US
, - , 1985 , style="text-align:left;", '' Fine Young Cannibals'' * Release date: 10 December 1985 * Label: I.R.S. , 11 , 2 , — , 21 , 42 , 21 , 11 , — , 17 , 49 , * BPI: Gold * MC: Platinum , - , 1989 , style="text-align:left;", '' The Raw & the Cooked'' * Release date: 6 February 1989 * Label: I.R.S. , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 3 , 10 , 2 , 5 , 2 , 1 , * BPI: 3× Platinum *

: 3× Platinum * MC: 6× Platinum *

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

: 2× Platinum , - , colspan="21" style="font-size:8pt", "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Year ! rowspan="2", Album details ! colspan="6", Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2", Certifications
(sales threshold) , - style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:30px;", UK
! style="width:30px;", AUS
! style="width:30px;", AUT
! style="width:30px;", BEL
(Fl)
! style="width:30px;", GER
! style="width:30px;", NZ
, - , 1996 , style="text-align:left;", '' The Finest'' * Release date: 26 November 1996 * Label:

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 10 , 56 , 22 , 39 , 47 , 21 , * BPI: Platinum , - , 2006 , style="text-align:left;", ''The Platinum Collection'' * Release date: 21 March 2006 * Label: Warner Deluxe , — , — , — , — , — , — , , - , 2009 , style="text-align:left;", ''She Drives Me Crazy'' * Release date: 23 February 2009 * Label: MC Deluxe , — , — , — , — , — , — , , - , 2012 , style="text-align:left;", ''The Collection'' , — , — , — , — , — , — , , - , colspan="11" style="font-size:8pt", "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Year ! rowspan="2", Album details ! colspan="3", Peak chart positions , - style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:30px;", UK
! style="width:30px;", AUS
! style="width:30px;", GER
, - , 1990 , style="text-align:left;", ''

The Raw & the Remix ''The Raw & the Remix'' is a remix album by English alternative band Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1990 by I.R.S. Records, MCA Records and London Records. It contains remixes and alternate versions of songs by the band, mostly from their 1989 ...

'' * Release date: 11 December 1990 * Label: I.R.S. , 61 , 114 , 38 , -

Singles

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Year ! rowspan="2", Single ! colspan="10", Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2", Album , - style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:30px;", UK
! style="width:30px;", AUS
! style="width:30px;", BEL
(Fl)
! style="width:30px;", CAN
! style="width:30px;", GER
! style="width:30px;",

IRE Ire or IRE may refer to: Ire * Extreme anger; intense fury * Irē, the Livonian name for Mazirbe, Latvia * A town in Oye, Nigeria * ''Ire'' (album), a 2015 album by the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive * Ire (Iliad), a town mentioned in ...

! style="width:30px;", NL
! style="width:30px;", NZ
! style="width:30px;", US
! style="width:30px;", US
Dance
, - , rowspan="3", 1985 , style="text-align:left;", " Johnny Come Home" , 8 , 14 , 8 , 16 , 16 , 10 , 10 , 13 , 76 , rowspan="2", 9 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4", '' Fine Young Cannibals'' , - , style="text-align:left;", "Blue" , 41 , 13 , 34 , — , — , — , — , 45 , — , - , style="text-align:left;", "

" , 8 , 6 , 22 , 21 , 37 , 9 , 21 , 14 , — , 23 , - , 1986 , style="text-align:left;", "Funny How Love Is" , 58 , 97 , — , — , — , 27 , — , — , — , — , - , 1987 , style="text-align:left;", " Ever Fallen in Love" , 9 , 20 , 28 , — , 19 , 10 , 34 , 23 , — , 11 , style="text-align:left;", '' Something Wild'' (soundtrack) , - , 1988 , style="text-align:left;", "

" , 5 , 1 , 2 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 5 , 1 , 1 , 1 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6", '' The Raw & the Cooked'' , - , rowspan="3", 1989 , style="text-align:left;", " Good Thing" , 7 , 7 , 13 , 1 , 8 , 4 , 36 , 4 , 1 , 20 , - , style="text-align:left;", " Don't Look Back" , 34 , 38 , 38 , 10 , 29 , 10 , — , 23 , 11 , — , - , style="text-align:left;", " I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" , 20 , 109 , — , 35 , 33 , 8 , 29 , — , 54 , 8 , - , rowspan="2", 1990 , style="text-align:left;", " I'm Not Satisfied" , 46 , 145 , — , 83 , 66 , 19 , — , — , 90 , — , - , style="text-align:left;", "It's OK (It's Alright)" , — , 169 , — , — , 44 , — , — , — , — , - , 1996 , style="text-align:left;", "The Flame" , 17 , 85 , 65 , — , 65 , — , — , 36 , — , — , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", '' The Finest'' , - , 1997 , style="text-align:left;", "She Drives Me Crazy 1997" , 36 , — , — , — , — , — , — , — , — , — , - , colspan="13" style="font-size:8pt", "—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fine Young Cannibals Brit Award winners London Records artists I.R.S. Records artists British musical trios Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2017 Musical groups disestablished in 2017 Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands English pop rock music groups English ska musical groups Sophisti-pop musical groups British soul musical groups