Right Said Fred

Right Said Fred, a British dance-pop trio, reached the top of the American charts in early 1992 with “I’m Too Sexy,” arguably the decade’s most inescapable novelty track. Sussex natives and brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred Fairbrass started the group, the latter supplying lead vocals, before guitarist Rob Manzoli was recruited to round out the sound; their name came from Bernard Cribbins’ 1962 U.K. Top Ten single.

The Fairbrass brothers, who worked at a gym popular with male models, drew inspiration for the song, recorded a rough demo, and then borrowed £1,500 to finish a properly mixed master. After record labels passed, promoter Guy Holmes issued the single on his own Tug label, and BBC airplay turned it into an unstoppable hit.

Its tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Fred Fairbrass’ deadpan speak-sing delivery propelled “I’m Too Sexy” to global success, while the video—centered on the brothers’ shaved heads and bare chests—became nearly as ubiquitous as the catchphrase itself. The track held the U.S. summit for three weeks, making Right Said Fred the first British act since the Beatles to accomplish that feat with a debut single.

Follow-up singles “Don’t Talk Just Kiss” and “Deeply Dippy,” both drawn from the debut album Up, became major U.K. hits, the latter delivering the band’s first domestic number one; neither, however, gained much traction in the U.S. beyond dance clubs, as they lacked the expected level of camp. The 1993 non-album charity single “Stick It Out,” a benefit for Comic Relief, gave Right Said Fred a fourth U.K. Top Five entry, while their second album, Sex and Travel, appeared that same year but went unreleased in America once the group was dismissed stateside as a one-hit wonder.

Frustrated, Right Said Fred started their own label and returned in 1996 with the third album Smashing!, which featured the British hit “Big Time,” though limited distribution curtailed its commercial reach.

The band then turned to Germany amid cooler U.K. interest, signing with BMG’s local branch and landing consecutive Top Ten entries there with Fredhead in 2001 and Stand Up in 2002. At the same time they scored their first U.K. Top 20 hit in years with the single “You’re My Mate.”

Between 2004 and 2006 Right Said Fred toured Europe extensively, often sharing bills with German pop star Nena, before heading back to the U.K. in 2008 to record. The resulting album, I’m a Celebrity, spawned a modest international hit with its title track, which lampooned celebrity life. Stop the World followed in 2011. In 2017 the group issued the crowd-funded album Exactly!, led by the single “Sweet Treats.”