# 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 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 #1 in the United States. "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. 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, "The Flame", for the greatest hits compilation The Finest.

## 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 |
| 1989 | MTV Video Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Video of the Year | Nominated |
| 1989 | MTV Video Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Best Group Video | Nominated |
| 1989 | MTV Video Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Breakthrough Video | Nominated |
| 1989 | MTV Video Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Viewer's Choice | Nominated |
| 1990 | Brit Awards | Themselves | British Group | Won |
| 1990 | Brit Awards | The Raw & the Cooked | British Album of the Year | Won |
| 1990 | Grammy Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Record of the Year | Nominated |
| 1990 | Grammy Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals | Nominated |
| 1990 | Grammy Awards | The Raw & the Cooked | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1990 | Juno Awards | The Raw & the Cooked | International Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 1990 | Juno Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | International Single of the Year | Nominated |
| 1990 | Ivor Novello Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Best Contemporary Song | Nominated |
| 1990 | Ivor Novello Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | International Hit of the Year | Won |
| 1990 | Pollstar Concert Industry Awards | Tour | Best Debut Tour | Nominated |
| 1990 | D&AD Awards | "Don't Look Back" | Individual Video | Graphite Pencil |
| 1990 | ASCAP Pop Music Awards | "Good Thing" | Most Performed Songs | Won |
| 1990 | ASCAP Pop Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Most Performed Songs | Won |
| 1991 | ASCAP Pop Music Awards | "She Drives Me Crazy" | Most Performed Songs | Won |

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
| Year | Album details | UK | AUS | AUT | CAN | GER | NL | NZ | SWE | SWI | US | Certifications (sales threshold) |
| 1985 | 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 | 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 ARIA: 3× Platinum MC: 6× Platinum RIAA: 2× Platinum |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |||||||||||||

### Compilation albums

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
| Year | Album details | UK | AUS | AUT | BEL (Fl) | GER | NZ | Certifications (sales threshold) |
| 1996 | The Finest Release date: 26 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |||||||||

### Remix albums

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