Songoftheday 3/9/18 - 'Cause I'm a model you know what I mean, and I do my little turn on the catwalk...
from the album Up (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 17
Today's song of the day comes from the British pop group Right Said Fred, led by brothers Richard and Fred Fairbrass in the late 1980s. Despite their found fame, the siblings were already established musicians, even opening shows for the likes of Joy Division back in the day. Named after a British novelty hit from the 60s, the duo took on guitarist Rob Manzoli; the trio lasted most of their career. In the summer of 1991, using clandestine studio time, the trio recorded their first single which was initially released independently. "I'm Too Sexy", a sarcastic take on the supermodel scene that as part-time gym bunnies were exposed to, was at first a rock song, but on suggestion and with help from DJ Tom Danvers, reworked into a bouncy club banger with house music-style keyboards and kaleidoscope whistly sounds, the track featured the most sly lyrics about narcissism that subconsciously were right at home with a lot of the dance club patrons singing it. But the killer was at the end, when Richard sings "I'm too sexy for my love, love's going to leave me..."
"I'm Too Sexy" became Right Said Fred's first, biggest, and only top-40 pop hit, reaching the top of the chart in February of 1992. The single also crossed over to Billboard's Modern Rock radio chart for two weeks, peaking at #28. The remixes on the 12" vinyl and CD single helped it climb to #4 on their Dance Club Play tally as well. Internationally the record was also a huge success, topping the singles chart in Australia, Ireland, Austria, and New Zealand. It also reached the top ten in their native UK (#2) as well as Canada (#2), Norway (#2), Belgium (#3), and Sweden (#8). In Germany, it peaked at #14, and in the Netherlands, it went to #19.
From the massive response to the single, Right Said Fred released their debut full-length album Up in March of 1992. The follow-up to "I'm Too Sexy" would be the straight-ahead dance ode to frenching, "Don't Talk Just Kiss", featuring Jocelyn Brown on backup vocals. While it continued their momentum in their homeland, going to #3 in the UK, and shot up to #2 in Germany, the single stalled down at #76 in the U.S. (though it made it to #8 on the dance chart). Their third offering, "Deeply Dippy", was as quirky as "I'm Too Sexy" but in an entirely different direction. The more organic sing-along ditty scored the trio a #1 hit in the UK, and reached #9 on the American Club chart. They closed the album's promotion with a "double-sided" single, with the original "Those Simple Things" accompanied by a non-album cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's 60s hit "Daydream" making it to #27 in Britain.
In 1993, the trio released a charity single for Comic Relief, the longstanding benefit in the UK, and the result, "Stick It Out", returned Right Said Fred to the British top ten at #4. Later that year, the group's sophomore effort, Sex and Travel, arrived, and while it stiffed in America, the set managed to land them another British top-40 hit with the more nuanced acid-house of "Bumped" (#32 UK). Switching record labels, RSF's third release, Smashing, only produced a pair of minor hits in the UK, but their fortunes in continental Europe were rising, such as their #17 placing in Belgium for "Living On A Dream", a campy post-disco number that coincided with Richard's stint hosting Gaytime TV in the UK (the singer "came out" in 1991).
With Manzoli leaving the act amicably, the brothers put out Fredhead, which featured the moderately successful single "You're My Mate", which went to #18 in the UK (their final UK top-40 hit so far), top ten in Germany and Austria, and eventually became an unexpected footballer anthem. The Fredhead album went all the way to #2 in Germany, followed by Stand Up in 2001, buoyed by another sports-ready tune, "Stand Up (For The Champions)" (#14, Germany). Five years later, the pair scored their most recent original charting hit when "Where Do You Go My Lovely" got to the top40 in Germany (#36) and Austria (#40). The duo's most recent studio album, Exactly!, came out in 2017, which includes the single "Sweet Treats".
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Here's Right Said Fred appearing on Dutch TV to be interviewed then performed "I'm Too Sexy" to promote the single...
Next up, the "Betty's Remix" that helped the song to reach the dance chart's top five...
Being a novelty dance act in the early 90s could find you in very strange settings, like the Arizona State Fair in 1991 with screaming girls abound...
In 2007, a new mix of the song returned them to the British chart for another time, going to #56...
Fast forward to 2010 in an oldies show...
Here's an acoustic version done live in 2011...
Two years later, they reworked it for the Smurf 2 movie...
The pair received writing credit when Taylor Swift interpolated (cough!) the chorus for her #1 hit "Look What You Made Me Do". Here's a RSF mashup...
Lastly, comic news pundit Jon Oliver recruited the Fairbrasses for a story on Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad, who we found out bought "I'm Too Sexy" on iTunes...
Up tomorrow:
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