Fine Young Cannibals (fltr: David Steele, Roland Gift, Andy Cox)
Introduction
Late 1985, Fine Young Cannibals debuted with their self-titled album. The story of the lightning career of the British band and their debut album.
Fine Young Cannibals
In 1983, the English ska band The Beat broke up. Guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele decided to form a band together which they called Fine Young Cannibals, a reference to the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.
Cox and Steele went in search of a singer, which laster over eight months. Following an ad on MTV, they received over 500 cassette tapes from vocalists. After going through them, they landed on Roland Gift. Initially, the band had difficulty securing a record deal. That changed after the broadcast of a live performance of Johnny Come Home on the English (live) music program The Tube on March 21, 1985. After the broadcast, the band had become the hottest item in the country. They had their pick of labels, and ultimately chose London Records.
After the release of the single Johnny Come Home, which became a (modest) hit in the UK and Europe, the genie was out of the bottle. Fine Young Cannibals were destined for a bright future. Follow-up single Blue did not do all that well, but many still eagerly awaited the debut album.
Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals
The album was released on December 10, 1985, under the name Fine Young Cannibals. A hit album that sold well and was generally well received. Musically, it bore little resemblance to The Beat‘s blend of ska, reggae, and new wave. Funky soul, sparsely produced, with a singer possessing a unique vocal sound, but above all, songs that were very well crafted.
For a debut album, the band sounds remarkably confident and convincing. But what stands out most is the uplifting character of the album; the music is optimistic, which was certainly welcome after the dark, bleak early years of the 1980s.
Review
I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect I came across Fine Young Cannibals because of the beautiful Johnny Come Home, one of the best singles of 1985. The single Suspicious Minds from early 1986 was also great, but the album contains many other beautiful songs as well, such as Couldn’t Care More and Blue. The band handles uptempo soul well, but the ballads also sound convincing and particularly soulful.
When I visited the Pinkpop festival on May 19, 1986, Fine Young Cannibals also performed. I remember the band sounding good, delivering a fine set, and being well received.
Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals – Singles
Singles
Four singles were released from the album.
- Johnny Come Home
(released on 31 May 1985) - Blue
(released on 2 November 1985) - Suspicious Minds
(released on 2 January 1986) - Funny How Love Is
(released on 5 April 1986)
Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals – Back cover
Songs
All songs written by Roland Gift and David Steele, unless otherwise noted.
- Johnny Come Home
- Couldn’t Care More
- Don’t Ask Me To Choose (Andy Cox, Roland Gift, David Steele)
- Funny How Love Is (Andy Cox, Roland Gift, David Steele)
- Suspicious Minds (Mark James)
- Blue (Andy Cox, Roland Gift, David Steele)
- Move To Work
- On A Promise
- Time Isn’t Kind (Andy Cox, Roland Gift, David Steele)
- Like A Stranger
Musicians
- Roland Gift – vocals
- Andy Cox – guitar; organ on Time Isn’t Kind
- David Steele – bass, piano, keyboards
With help from:
- Martin Parry – drums
- Graeme Hamilton – trumpet; piano on Time Isn’t Kind
- Gavyn Wright – violin
- Saxa – saxophone on Funny How Love Is
- Beverlei Brown, Gloria Brown, Maxine Brown – background vocals on Like A Stranger
- Jimmy Somerville – background vocals on Suspicious Minds
- Jenny Jones – drums, background vocals on Couldn’t Care More
Fine Young Cannibals – Late 1984
Aftermath
After the release of the album, the single Suspicious Minds was released, which became a major hit. The tour earned the band an exceptionally positive live reputation. The tour also brought the band to the Dutch festival Pinkpop, where they were well received.
After the in-between single Ever Fallen In Love in 1986 and various activities by the band members, the group went into the studio for their second album. When they were halfway through the self-produced recordings, the label suggested bringing in other producers for the remainder. The band wanted Prince, but he was not available; even if he had been, he likely would not have done it. He did not produce “outside” artists. They did, however, have a substitute.
I got called out of the blue on [Fine Young Cannibals]. What it was, they wanted to work with Prince for their next record. They were told that Prince doesn’t work with anybody that way, as a producer-for-hire. But they were also told there was someone who works with Prince who does. That was me, and they were willing to try it out.
David Z., 2001
Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw & The Cooked
Fine Young Cannibals left for Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis and recorded several tracks with David Z., including She Drives Me Crazy. The drum sound of that song was groundbreaking, and especially the snare sound would, through sampling, appear in many productions. On December 26, 1988, She Drives Me Crazy was released as the first single from the forthcoming album. It became a worldwide hit, shooting into the top 5 of the charts and reaching the number 1 position in the US. It proved to be a sign of more success to come. The album The Raw & The Cooked followed a similar path and became a major success, often resulting in (multiple) platinum certifications.
In 1990, Fine Young Cannibals contributed to the Red Hot + Blue album, for which they provided Cole Porter’s Love For Sale. On December 12, 1990, the remix album The Raw & The Remix was released, a highly successful project.
And then it all went quiet, very quiet… In 1992, it was announced that the band had split up, but they reunited once more in 1996 and recorded three new songs, which ended up on the compilation The Finest. After that, it was truly over for Fine Young Cannibals. The reasons became known years later:
We just stopped wanting to do it. You might wake up one day and think “I’m out” but you don’t realise it’s been at the back of your mind for a while.
We had this thing where our manager and our record company had never had that size of success before and they didn’t know how to handle it.
They kept saying to us our next record had to be even bigger which was really stupid. That was one of the main things that killed it for me.
It was hard to stick to how we appraised the band originally, which was to make great music.
Roland Gift, Harrogate Advertiser, June 5, 2015
In closing
The Fine Young Cannibals’ body of work consists of only two albums, but what albums they are!
What do you think of Fine Young Cannibals the band, and Fine Young Cannibals the album? Let me know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Fine Young Cannibals debut in 1985. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.
