Fine Young Cannibals

This article is about the band. For their debut album, see Fine Young Cannibals (album). For the song by Wolf Parade, see At Mount Zoomer. For the 1960 film, see All the Fine Young Cannibals.

Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) were an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984 by former The Beat band bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox^[5] 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".^[6]

Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals, 1990
Background information
Also known as	Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet
Origin	Birmingham, England
Genres	Pop rock[1] sophisti-pop[2] ska[3] progressive soul[4]
Years active	1984–1992, 1996
Labels	London, I.R.S.
Spinoff of	The Beat Akrylykz
Past members	Andy Cox Roland Gift David Steele

In 1990, the band won two Brit Awards: Best British Group and Best British Album (for The Raw & the Cooked).^[7]

History

The group was formed in 1984 after the dissolution of The Beat, with whom Cox and Steele previously played.^[5] Their name came from the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[6] 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".^[10]

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^[11] 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 United States.^[12] "She Drives Me Crazy" also topped the Australian chart for three non-consecutive weeks and peaked at #5 in the UK, while "Good Thing" peaked at #7 in both countries.^[13] 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.^[6]

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, "The Flame", for the greatest hits compilation The Finest.^[6]

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

Year	Awards	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
1989	MTV Video Music Awards	"She Drives Me Crazy"	Video of the Year	Nominated	[14]
			Best Group Video	Nominated
			Breakthrough Video	Nominated
			Viewer's Choice	Nominated
1990	Brit Awards	Themselves	British Group	Won	[15]
		The Raw & the Cooked	British Album of the Year	Won
	Grammy Awards	"She Drives Me Crazy"	Record of the Year	Nominated	[16]
			Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
		The Raw & the Cooked	Album of the Year	Nominated
	Juno Awards		International Album of the Year	Nominated	[17]
		"She Drives Me Crazy"	International Single of the Year	Nominated
	Ivor Novello Awards		Best Contemporary Song	Nominated	[18]
			International Hit of the Year	Won
	Pollstar Concert Industry Awards	Tour	Best Debut Tour	Nominated	[19]
	D&AD Awards	"Don't Look Back"	Individual Video	Graphite Pencil	[20]
	ASCAP Pop Music Awards	"Good Thing"	Most Performed Songs	Won	[21]
		"She Drives Me Crazy"		Won
1991				Won	[22]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications (sales threshold)
		UK [23][13]	AUS [24]	AUT [25]	CAN [26]	GER [27]	NL [28]	NZ [29]	SWE [30]	SWI [31]	US [32]
1985	Fine Young Cannibals Release date: 10 December 1985 Label: I.R.S.	11	2	—	21	42	21	11	—	17	49	BPI: Gold[33] MC: Platinum[34]
1989	The Raw & the Cooked Release date: 13 January 1989 Label: I.R.S.	1	1	1	1	3	10	2	5	2	1	BPI: 3× Platinum[33] ARIA: 3× Platinum[35] MC: 6× Platinum[34] RIAA: 2× Platinum[36]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)
		UK [23]	AUS [24]	AUT [25]	BEL (Fl) [37]	GER [27]	NZ [29]
1996	The Finest Release date: 26 November 1996 Label: London	10	56	22	39	47	21	BPI: Platinum[33]
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	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		UK [23]	AUS [24]	GER [27]
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 [23]	AUS [24]	BEL (Fl) [37]	CAN [38]	GER [27]	IRE [39]	NL [28]	NZ [29]	US [40]	US Dance [41]
1985	"Johnny Come Home"	8	14	8	16	16	10	10	13	76	9		Fine Young Cannibals
	"Blue"	41	13	34	—	—	—	—	45	—
	"Suspicious Minds"	8	6	22	21	37	9	21	14	—	23
1986	"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[33]	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

1. "Fine Young Cannibals". Discogs.
2. Nimmervoll, Ed (n.d.). "Fine Young Cannibals: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
3. Mahon, Maureen (2004). Right to Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Cultural Politics of Race. Duke University Press. p. 212. ISBN 9780822333173.
4. Himes, Geoffrey (13 January 1988). "U.S. Soul, Reborn in Britain". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
5. Chris Heim (8 September 1989). "Fine Young Cannibals and Cherry are success stories". Chicago Tribune (NORTH SPORTS FINAL, CN ed.). p. 6.
6. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 343–344. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
7. "Brits.co.uk". Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
8. Jessica Berens (April 1986). "Fine Young Cannibals – They're England's latest sultans of soul. Soon they'll be bringing it on home to America, where at least a band can get a decent meal". Spin Magazine. p. 73. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
9. O'Callaghan, Mary Anne (6 March 1989). "Cannibals has single cooking". Kentucky New Era. p. 7B. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
10. Gerard, Chris (11 February 2014). "Classic album revisited: Fine Young Cannibals "The Raw and The Cooked"". Metro Weekly.
11. "Official Charts > Two Men, a Drum Machine & a Trumpet". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
12. "Fine Young Cannibals > Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
13. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 200. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
14. "Rock On The Net: 1989 MTV Video Music Awards". Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
15. "History". Brits.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
16. "Fine Young Cannibals". Grammy.com. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
17. "Past Nominees + Winners". Junoawards.ca. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
18. "Archive | The Ivors | The Ivors Academy | Champions of Music Creators". Ivorsacademy.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
19. "Pollstar Awards Archive – 1989". 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
20. "Fine Young Cannibals - Don't Look Back | London Records | D&AD Awards 1990 Pencil Winner | individual Video | D&AD".
21. "Cash Box" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 23 June 1990. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
22. "Billboard" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 25 May 1991. p. 113. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
23. "Official Charts > Fine Young Cannibals". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
24. Peak chart positions in Australia:

    • Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 111. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 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: "australian-charts.com > Fine Young Cannibals in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
    • Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 103.
    • "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" (ARIA) peak: Scott, Gavin. "This Week In 1990: February 4, 1990". Chart Beats: A Journey Through Pop. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
    • "I'm Not Satisfied" and "It's OK (It's Alright)" (ARIA) peaks: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
    • All ARIA-era chart peaks to 18 August 2018: "Response from ARIA re: Fine Young Cannibals ARIA chart history, received 18 August 2018". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2 February 2019. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart.
25. "austriancharts.at > Fine Young Cannibals in der Österreich Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
26. "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
27. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Suchen nach "Fine Young Cannibals"" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 28 November 2019. N.B. Select the Album tab to display albums chart peaks.
28. "dutchcharts.nl > Fine Young Cannibals in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
29. "charts.nz > Fine Young Cannibals in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
30. "swedishcharts.com > Fine Young Cannibals in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
31. "hitparade.ch > Suche nach: Fine Young Cannibals (Alben)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
32. "Fine Young Cannibals Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
33. "British certifications – Fine Young Cannibals". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 June 2023. Type Fine Young Cannibals in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
34. "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum". Cria.ca. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
35. "Response from ARIA re: Fine Young Cannibals ARIA chart history, received 18 August 2018". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
36. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
37. "Ultratop > Fine Young Cannibals in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
38. "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
39. "The Irish Singles Charts – All there is to know > Search results for Fine Young Cannibals (from irishcharts.ie)". Fireball Media, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
40. "Fine Young Cannibals Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
41. "Fine Young Cannibals Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2019.

External links

• Fine Young Cannibals discography at Discogs