[a fine debut] -- Fine Young Cannibals formed in 1984 and released their debut album a year later (forty years ago this week, on December 9, 1985). The main drivers of Fine Young Cannibals were guitarist Dave Cox and bassist David Steele of The English Beat (or just The Beat in the UK). In 1983, the Beat's vocalists, Ranking Roger and Dave Wakelin, broke away from the band to form General Public. But Cox and Steele didn't know about the split until they both received phone calls from their former band's accountant [per AllMusic]. The duo decided to form a new band as well, one that added jazz and soul stylings to The Beat's ska basis. It took Cox and Steele over a year to find their vocalist, Roland Gift.
Now, when most people recall Fine Young Cannibals, they think of either "She Drives Me Crazy" or "Ever Fallen in Love". However, those songs were on the band's 1989 album, The Raw and the Cooked, not their self-titled 1985 debut.
The singles on Fine Young Cannibals were "Johnny Come Home" and "Suspicious Minds", the latter being a cover of the Elvis Presley 1969 hit. "Johnny Come Home" peaked at #8 on the UK Singles chart and #76 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also charted in several other countries. "Suspicious Minds" also fared well for the band, reaching #8 on UK Singles, #49 on US 12-inch Singles Sales, and #23 on US Dance/Disco Club Play among other charts. The eponymous debut album itself received critical praise and and commercial success; it peaked at #11 in the UK and #49 in the US.
Personally, I could not stand their debut single, "Johnny Come Home", when it first came out. And I continued disliking it for several years after that. And while it's still not a song I seek out, I don't exactly jump to turn it off or skip to the next track in those rare moments I come across it. I do appreciate their cover of "Suspicious Minds," and I love that their largely monochrome music video is something of an homage to Elvis Presley. Other standout tracks for me are "Don't Ask Me To Choose" and "Move to Work."
And without this debut album, we would not have the outstanding pop gems from their later release.
Flashback: Fine Young Cannibals (December 9, 1985)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
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