Fine Young Cannibals

Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) were a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, West Midlands, in 1984 by former The Beat bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox, with singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled 1985 debut album contained "Johnny Come Home" and a cover of "Suspicious Minds", two songs that were top 40 hits in the UK, Canada, Australia and Europe. 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" and "Good Thing".

In 1990, the band won two Brit Awards: Best British Group and Best British Album (for The Raw & the Cooked).

History The group was formed in 1984 after the dissolution of The Beat, with whom Cox and Steele previously played. Their name came from the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. 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 Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" featuring additional vocals by Jimmy Somerville. The 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 in a nightclub in the 1987 comedy film Tin Men and also contributed songs to the film's soundtrack, including "Good Thing".

In the gap between their first and second albums, Steele and Cox released the instrumental house single "Tired of Getting Pushed Around" in 1987 as "Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet", which reached No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart 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 No. 1 in the United States. "She Drives Me Crazy" also topped the Australian chart for three non-consecutive weeks and peaked at No. 5 in the UK, while "Good Thing" peaked at No. 7 in both countries. The Raw & the Cooked included three songs the band had recorded for Tin Men (including "Good Thing"), and their cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" recorded for the film Something Wild.

In 1990, the band contributed a version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" to the AIDS research benefit album Red Hot + Blue, produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Fine Young Cannibals disbanded in 1992, although they briefly returned to the studio in 1996 to record a new single, "Flame", for the greatest hits compilation The Finest. In 2025, Gift announced a two-show tour in 2025 billed as "Roland Gift Presents Fine Young Cannibals", with an unknown line-up as of July 2025.

The group released the album “FYC 40” to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their self titled first album on 12 May 2025.

Band members Andy Cox – guitars, keyboards Roland Gift – vocals David Steele – bass, keyboards, drum machine

Session and touring members Martin Parry – drums, percussion Graeme Hamilton – trumpet, piano Nigel Darvill – keyboards

Awards and nominations {| class=wikitable |- ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Ref. |- | rowspan=4|1989 | rowspan=4|MTV Video Music Awards | rowspan=4|"She Drives Me Crazy" | Video of the Year | |rowspan=4| |- | Best Group Video

| Breakthrough Video

| Viewer's Choice

| rowspan=2|The Raw & the Cooked | Album of the Year

| Pollstar Concert Industry Awards | Tour | Best Debut Tour

| D&AD Awards | "Don't Look Back" | Individual Video

| 1991

Discography Studio albums Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) UK AUSPeak chart positions in Australia: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Music Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) 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. AUT CAN GER N.B. Select the Album tab to display albums chart peaks. NL NZ SWE SWI US 1985 Fine Young Cannibals Release date: 9 December 1985 Label: London, I.R.S. 11 2 — 21 42 21 11 — 17 49 BPI: Gold MC: Platinum 1989 The Raw & the Cooked Release date: 6 February 1989 Label: London, I.R.S. 1 1 1 1 3 10 2 5 2 1 BPI: 3× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum MC: 6× Platinum RIAA: 2× Platinum "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) UK AUS AUT BEL(Fl) GER NZ 1996 The Finest Release date: 11 November 1996 Label: London 10 56 22 39 47 21 BPI: Platinum 2006 The Platinum Collection Release date: 21 March 2006 Label: Warner Deluxe — — — — — — 2009 She Drives Me Crazy Release date: 23 February 2009 Label: MC Deluxe — — — — — — 2012 The Collection — — — — — —2025FYC40 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions UK AUS GER 1990 The Raw & the Remix Release date: 11 December 1990 Label: I.R.S. 61 114 38

Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS BEL(Fl) CAN GER IRE NL NZ US USDance 1985 "Johnny Come Home" 8 14 8 16 16 10 10 13 76 9 Fine Young Cannibals "Blue" 41 13 34 — — — — 45 — 1986 "Suspicious Minds" 8 6 22 21 37 9 21 14 — 23 "Funny How Love Is" 58 97 — — — 27 — — — — 1987 "Ever Fallen in Love" 9 20 28 — 19 10 34 23 — 11 Something Wild (soundtrack) 1988 "She Drives Me Crazy" 5 1 2 1 2 2 5 1 1 1 BPI: Platinum The Raw & the Cooked 1989 "Good Thing" 7 7 13 1 8 4 36 4 1 20 "Don't Look Back" 34 38 38 10 29 10 — 23 11 — "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" 20 109 — 35 33 8 29 — 54 8 1990 "I'm Not Satisfied" 46 145 — 83 66 19 — — 90 — "It's OK (It's Alright)" — 169 — — 44 — — — — 1996 "The Flame" 17 85 65 — 65 — — 36 — — The Finest 1997 "She Drives Me Crazy 1997" 36 — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

See also List of Billboard number-one singles List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of Billboard number-one dance club songs List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart

References

External links

Fine Young Cannibals

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