Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop Fun Boy Three Allmusic bio/ref> band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left

the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

. They released two albums and had seven UK top 20 hits.

History

Fun Boy Three reduced the ska sound that they and Jerry Dammers had crafted with great success with

and initially took a more minimal approach with the focus on percussion and vocals.Green, Jim & Robbins, Ira
Fun Boy Three
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', retrieved 27 January 2010 For their second album they assembled a six-piece backing group including a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and a

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

player, allowing the record to feature more diverse and expansive arrangements, and also enabling them to play live instead of being a purely studio group as previously. The band enjoyed six UK top 20 singles, starting with "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" and including the top 10 hits " It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", " Tunnel of Love" and " Our Lips Are Sealed". They created two albums of which the eponymous debut was the more successful. The follow-up album '' Waiting'', produced by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

, was well-received critically.Fun Boy Three
from Christgau's website Following the trio's last UK hit "Our Lips Are Sealed", co-written by Terry Hall and

Jane Wiedlin Jane Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The Go-Go's. She voices Dusk, the drummer and ba ...

the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...

, who had a U.S. hit with the song a year earlier, they then toured the United States and split afterwards. They were credited with helping launch the career in 1982 of

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

, whom Hall first saw in '' The Face'' magazine. The three women provided credited chorus vocals on the hit " It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"; the Fun Boy Three later sang on the Bananarama song " Really Saying Something", both reaching the top 5 in the UK.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* * {{Authority control English new wave musical groups English pop music groups English musical trios Musical groups from Coventry Chrysalis Records artists British political music groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 1981 establishments in England 1983 disestablishments in England