Fine Young Cannibals and Roland Gift

Named after the 1960 Natalie Wood film All the Fine Young Cannibals, Birmingham pop rock outfit Fine Young Cannibals might not have been a going concern for all that long - an initial eight year run, and then a brief reunion in 1996 - but that isn’t to say that they didn’t leave a lasting impression in that time. After all, how many bands can you honestly say have made a mark on both sides of the Atlantic? Fine Young Cannibals’ second and final album, The Raw and The Cooked, went to number one in both the U.S. and UK, eventually going platinum in both countries, too. After splitting in low-profile fashion in 1992, the group ensured that their legacy would be preserved, with the only activity since being a greatest hits album in 1996. Frontman Roland Gift, however, briefly chose to apply the moniker to his solo tours, hitting the road as Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals and playing mainly the band’s material with the odd solo cut, but has since gone back to his own name, joining Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on the road in 2012 to perform Fine Young Cannibals’ biggest hitters as well as some jazz standards; for fans of the band, it was a treat to see him back in action, so well backed instrumentally in a host of intimate venues.