- "Right Said Fred" is also a 1962
UK hit single by Bernard Cribbins.
Right Said Fred is the name of a British pop band,
which was founded in 1989
by brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred
Fairbrass from East Grinstead. The group is named
after a novelty song which was a hit for Bernard
Cribbins in 1962.
In 1991 released their single, "I'm
Too Sexy", which was released by the Gut Reaction firm on an
especially-created record label called Tug. The song, a tongue
in cheek dance song sung from the point of view of a vain male fashion
model, became a huge hit in Britain,
spending six weeks at number two behind Bryan
Adams' blockbuster "(Everything I Do)
I Do It For You". The song also went to number one on the charts in the
United
States and went on to become a hit around the world. The song's
instrumental break is based on the chorus of the 1974
instrumental
hit "Dance With The Devil" by Cozy Powell which itself is
based on "Third Stone From The Sun"
by Jimi
Hendrix.
Their second single, "Don't Talk Just Kiss", which featured
soul diva Jocelyn Brown, was released for the
Christmas market and made number three in the UK charts. In 1992 they
released their third single, Deeply Dippy. Although it was their
lowest-selling single to date, it was also up against weaker opposition
and therefore became their only UK #1 single to date. The success of
the singles resulted in their debut album Up. In
1993 they released their second album, Sex and Travel,
as well as contributing the regular Comic Relief single, Stick It Out
in February of that year. Their third album was called Smashing.
After failing to attract substantial interest in the UK, Right
Said Fred went to Germany
in order to work with Alex Christensen's U96 and released a single called "You're My
Mate" and an album titled "Fredhead" in 2002, which
both became successful in Germany (at number five on the German
Top 100 and gold status), Switzerland and Austria. "You're
My Mate" was also used as the official anthem of the South
African national rugby union team in 2002, and remained in the German
Top 100 for 23 weeks, while the album Fredhead
reached number two. "You're My Mate" achieved gold status in South
Africa and reached the Top 20 in the UK. The second single, "Mojive,"
was less successful sales-wise, although it has become a cult record
among the 3 million or so members who attend the MOJIVE dance events
after which the song was titled. "Fredhead" was
co-written and produced by Clyde Ward who is a US-based successful
producer/songwriter and who was drafted in as a replacement for Rob
Manzoli. The band remains a duo though Clyde Ward is referred to as the
3rd Fred.
The next album, Stand UP, also reached
gold status and the single of the same name reached number one in
Japan. The song, written by Clyde Ward and the Fairbrass brothers, has
been adopted by sports teams around the world as their main theme.
|
Contents
- 1 Heavenly
Records
- 2 References
in popular culture
- 3 Albums
- 4 Singles
- 5 External
links
|
Heavenly Records
In 1992 Heavenly Records released an EP
that featured the label's acts covering Right Said Fred songs for
charity.
The artists and songs involved on The Fred EP
were as follows...
The Saint Etienne version of "I'm Too Sexy" had different
lyrics from the original, managing to reference both Right Said Fred
and Jeff Barrett, the founder of Heavenly Records, in the same sentence.
References in popular culture
The song "I'm Too Sexy" has been used in parody
in The Fairly Oddparents,
The
Simpsons, The Nanny,
The West Wing,
Married with Children
and Family Guy.
In 1994, the song "Wonderman" was used by Sega Europe in a
specific music video to promote the video game Sonic
the Hedgehog 3 in Europe.
In 2001, the band was parodied on a Saturday
Night Live episode, with host Conan
O'Brien as a member of the band, speaking before a Congressional
Committee on the subject of Napster.
In early 2007, Daz, a UK washing powder brand, featured the
band's members and music in a TV advertisement involving the play on
words: "'White' Said Fred". Following this, their first single was
remixed and reissued as 'I'm Too Sexy 07'.
A line in The Hold Steady song "Knuckles"
contains the line "I've been trying to get people to call me Freddy
Knuckles, but people keep calling me Right Said Fred".
"I'm Too Sexy" was put onto Vh1's Top 100 One Hit
Wonders.
Albums
- I'm Too Sexy (1992)
- Up (1992)
#46 USA
- Sex & Travel (1993)
- Smashing! (1996)
- Fredhead (2001)
- Stand Up (2002)
- For Sale (2006)
Singles
|
Year |
Title |
US
Chart Position |
UK
Chart Position |
| Jul |
1991 |
"I'm Too Sexy" |
#1 |
#2 |
| Dec |
1991 |
"Don't Talk Just Kiss" |
#76 |
#3 |
| Mar |
1992 |
"Deeply Dippy" |
– |
#1 |
| Jul |
1992 |
"Those Simple Things" / "Daydream" |
– |
#29 |
| Feb |
1993 |
"Stick It Out" |
– |
#4 |
| Oct |
1993 |
"Bumped" |
– |
#32 |
| Dec |
1993 |
"Hands Up" (4 Lovers)" |
– |
#60 |
| Mar |
1994 |
"Wonderman" |
– |
#55 |
| Oct |
2001 |
"You're My Mate" |
– |
#18 |
| Jan |
2002 |
"We Are The Champs" |
– |
- |
| May |
2007 |
"I'm Too Sexy 2007" |
– |
#56 |
External links
