June 12, 2025 • 47 mins
Remember how good Luke looked in his wedding suit in A Year in the Life: Fall?? We’re with Jess here… where’s Right Said Fred when you need ‘em?!
Right Said Fred are right here! We’re talking to the iconic brothers behind “I’m Too Sexy” to hear the wild story of how they made the hit song, they share some advice for young artists, and we find out why they have a songwriting credit on a Taylor Swift song!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I guess you.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen, an iHeartRadio podcast.
That's right, everybody take a whiff of that. It's the
I Smell Pop Culture Podcast. My name is Easton Allen.
Thank you Scott for letting me host this. I'm having
so much fun. We are going into the pop culture
references that are peppered throughout Gilmore Girls, and we are
putting them under a microscope and exploring the people that
(00:40):
make them pop culture pieces, the people that put them
into the globe, into the universe. Here and this week
we're talking to someone. It's two guys, it's a duo,
and they're behind one of the most memorable songs I
think of all time, a song you all know, a
(01:02):
song we have all sang, and a song that exists
in Gilmore Girls. But before I tell you who they are,
I'm going to tell you why we're talking about him. Okay,
here's where I want you to go mentally. I want
you to close your eyes. We're gonna go back to
a year in the life fall. This is the Netflix
revival of Gilmore Girls, and it's the day before Luke
in Loralai's wedding. Luke is trying on his suit. This
(01:25):
is a very tender moment. He comes downstairs, he looks,
he looks great, and Jess looks at him and his
reaction is where's right?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Said Fred? When you need him? And right said Fred?
In case you don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Are the masterminds the geniuses behind I'm Too Sexy. I'm
Too Sexy was a song that released in nineteen ninety
one and it went number one in multiple countries all
over the world.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
It was this massive hit.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I don't know if you guys know this about
the song, Like, like you know the song.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You know I'm Too Sexy fore my shirt?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
You know that, Okay, But what you don't know is
that this song has a crazy story of how it
came together the right, said Fred. It's Fred and Richard
Fair Brass. They've got roots in punk rock, in indie rock.
These guys are really exceptional and interesting musicians. These aren't
(02:19):
just guys that came out of a dance studio and
just kind of made a pop song.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
No, no, no.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
They have such a crazy background and they have such
an interesting approach to the music industry. And I'm so
excited to talk to them today, and I'm not going
to keep them waiting any longer. Fred and Richard Fairbrass
are in the waiting room. They are right, said Fred,
this is I small pop culture. Let's get into it.
We're so excited to talk to you guys. You guys
are such legends. I'm Too Sexy? Is this such a
(02:47):
song that stands the test of time. It is the
sexy song, if you ask me. Many have tried to
take its place, but none have achieved it. I'm Too
Sexy is the song. And and you guys are still
making music to this day. I want to go back
to the beginning. Though I read this about you, Richard,
I thought this was really interesting. You were like a
(03:09):
session bassist for some like really big artists like Boy
George David Bowie.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Is that right? Well? I was. I was.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
I wouldn't want to lie. I was a video I
hired me because I was incredibly handsome. I didn't do
any work in the studio. It was it was all
video work, all visual.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Oh excellent, okay, I mean, hey, that makes sense. You're
you're a very attractive man. Were what were those what
was that experience? Like, like, so you're you're playing in
it's a visual yeah, all right, but you're you're playing bass, right, yes.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Yes, So what it was was I learnt the parts
because I didn't know how picky people like Bowie or
people him and boy George it was that was It
wasn't basing, Okay, it was Mick jack Yeah, Mick Jager
was so I wasn't sure how picky they would be
in terms of playing the part. So although I knew
(04:03):
it was just visual, I learned the part anyway. But
what was into me about it was how how how
in a way how ordinary they are. They're just They're
just blokes.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
It's like I said, you know, even the President of
the United States has to stand aked sometimes.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yes, and it's a bit like that. I think.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I think they are just blokes, very talented in one
way or another, but just blokes.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And they were very enough that David bow was quite
shy as I remember.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And quite mc dagg was quite boyous. Mick Dagger was
very boisleous. Yeah he was. Yeah, we both did that session.
He was quite bouncing and and quite lively, yeah, yeah,
and shorter than I imagined. Both both small people. Yeah,
quite sure.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That fascinates me so much.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I'm always curious, like how tall they actually seem, and
also what they smell like. I don't know if you
remember their odors at all. I am fascinated about that
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, I never it was not on the.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I mean, David Bow did say smiff this once, but
I decided I decided not.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
To wise trust your instincts there.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
So, so you guys had a band called The Actors before, right,
said Fred?
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Well, because right, said Fred.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Something I love about the group is that like its independent, right,
like you guys have done everything independent. I thought that
was just so cool when I realized that, it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
The Actors was a different experience. How was that different
from when you guys broke out as a duo?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Oh? Completely different? Yeah, well that was a very I mean,
looking back, occasionally I listened to it. I would never
play them to anybody, but occasionally I listened to our demo.
We were out there considerably at that time. It was
punk and two minute pops on back Bang, you know,
and also that in the terms of the market we
(05:53):
were in the UK, that whole pub rock things. And
then we went on the road with a New York
a New York a duo called Suicide who were very electronic,
very progressive band, and who were live. I thought they
were great, really nice guys, lovely guys, and we realized
that we were probably in the wrong decade.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
But also we had a guitarist who was a big
a Stevie Steedee Dan fan and was very very very
good guitarist, big Steve Gerard.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So yes, Mike Jerrard.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
So it was very hard to keep Steedee Dan out
of what we were doing. We had all sorts of
extremely complicated lines and bits and pieces and stuff, you know,
So we.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Had moments of books. Then what would should have been
a two minute pop song would have been a four
and a half minute sort of banity project. Yeah, banality project. Yeah.
But Brazarrely we did get picked up, we got we
got signed on what Back then, there was a thing
called a development deal. Oh, very popular back in the seventies, eighties, nineties,
and what it was basically there wasn't really much of
(06:58):
a commitment. There was the record that or would give
you money you would commit to a certain project if
they if they pressed go, then the money that money
would go on to finish the project. If they pressed
stop that money would you wouldn't owe anything, but they
would keep your masters. You wouldn't bet you weren't able
to use them. And they were pretty healthy deals at
the time. So we did one with Electric Records, which
(07:21):
was based out of London. But then what happened actually
sat in this bit of a spinal chat moment. The guy,
the guy, the head of the am R and I
can remember his name. I think his name was Jeremy Thomas.
I think, oh, yes, it was, I think it was.
It was. He became very ill, bless him, and so
he got replaced and the guy who replaced him didn't
want to work with us, didn't like us. So it's
(07:42):
one of those things. We sort of bounced in and
out of deals and then we the actors we knocked
on the head in about nineteen eighty one, I would
think were the eighty. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
The good thing about it was we sort of learned
our trade, if you like, I mean we were It
was a and plugged in.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We've got in the van, drove.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
All over the country years before GPS with a map
on the dashboard.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yes, timers guted under the air.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
That's what it was, you know, And it was, and
it was a really good learning cove.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, you had to. I mean back then, I don't
know about in the States, but that the punk rock
and the pub the pub rocks in the UK was
very It was organized chaos and could be very not violent,
it could be very could really test your nerves and
you couldn't. It wasn't for the faint hearted, you know.
(08:34):
And loads of bands came up through that and it
was it was a very good grounding, you know. You
couldn't you couldn't.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Be a you couldn't be a shrinking violet. You had
to be a shrinking value.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You had to go out, which is why you had
a lot of those bands at the time were really
in your face, you know, and we're very visual or
quite intimidating if you like bands, bands like the Strangers,
I mean hw Cornwell, really good front go and and
I think you had to be like that to survive
those evenings.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I don't know what it's like on the West Coast now,
but in London back in the day there were gigs everywhere,
I mean every pub, every corner, thousands of gigs. You
couldn't trust one to hit a gig. So from that
point of view. In the late in the seven mid
to late seventies and early eighties and stuff, it was
actually pretty good. There are loads of places to play.
The sad thing is that that's all gone. Now every
(09:26):
pub is either full of guardians, or it's a chop house,
or it's a cafe, or it's a block of flats.
You know, So that roots, that kind of sort of
grassroots growing thing, that organic thing that enabled bands to
try their luck and do things has gone, which is
why we end up with Adele.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, it's so sad because, like, especially here in America,
we saw so much of the punk stuff from you guys.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
By the way, I apologize on behalf of.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
America, but it's such an important community for especially young
people that are f figuring out where they are, where
they fit in. And it's so sad that there's not
as many places to go see that kind of music
and put on that kind of show. I mean, that's
the music that I grew up listening to. It's like
a punk rock in. Seeing that you guys had your
musical roots there was so exciting too.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Yeah, it was it was a really it was a
really exciting time. I mean some also some of the bands,
because what we've talked about the other day, actually started
talking about it the other day. The way musicians are now.
When we started off every there were there were two
lots of musicians. Really, there were sort of session musicians
and then band musicians. In the back of papers like
The Enemy or The Sounds or whatever, you'd have adverts,
(10:39):
you know, vocalists needed, bass player need and all that.
You don't have that anymore. You have you have kind
of corporate function bands and then you have professional bands.
It doesn't really it is this that kind of community
of just pride and see a punk and that kind
of attitude is all gone.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Really. But there are some bands breaking in the UK.
There's Bank with the ratings who are beginning to get
some traction. Not my cup of tea at all, but
good luck to them and I wish them well and
then and they are very various sort of grassroots scene,
and I think that's great. And I like bands like
Glass Animals and Circle Away, good bands, I think, you know,
(11:16):
So there is this movement and my heart sort of
sinks when I see some of these bands signing to
a major label because I think that goods it depending
on how strong they are, could tune them up and
spit them out within eighteen months, you know, because we've
seen it done before, and it's partly the reason we
(11:37):
stayed independent. We did dip ato. You know, we're not
We're not holier than now. We don't plan. We did play.
We did play that mainstream media role for about eighteen months,
maybe two years. Yeah, we tried it. Yeah, we tried it.
And when they when when labels and managers said jump,
we did say how high? I mean, we did that,
We did all that stuff we now criticize. But after
(11:59):
about two years, I think we just looked at each
other and this is nonsense. So we didn't enjoy it.
It wasn't really our thing. And we don't care. I
don't care if I'm in a magazine or not. I
don't care. I don't need to be in front of
the cameras. I don't I like I like playing, I
like touring, I like writing songs. That is it. Yeah, yeah,
So because the way we looked and yeah, we know,
(12:20):
you know, looking back, you know, we sort of shirts
off and we we asked for trouble. We asked it
was it was completely on us, you know, and we
knew we were in good shape. We lived. And also
the video director James Lebond, you said it is no
longer with us. But James was a lovely man, and
he said, do you not get that other bands don't
(12:40):
look like this? And in your song it says you're
too sexy for your shirts and you take your shirt off,
take it? So we did, so we did.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
And also the other thing you don't realize when you're
when you're starting off, when you're a kid or younger,
is you don't realize the first impression you make is
the first impression that lasts forever.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You don't realize that.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
So I think you realized that back at the time,
we might have thought a bit harder about it. Maybe
maybe I don't know, I don't know, But we still
get people shouting get your shirt off at gigs and stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And all that nonsense, you know. So it's just the
way it is.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
It's like if I went to see the Rolling Stones
and they didn't do satisfaction, I would feel a bit
a bit fed up.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
That's just the way it is.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The voices you're hearing are right, said Fred. That is
Fred and Richard fair Brass. They are brothers. They're hanging
out with me. We have so much more to talk
about I'm too Sexy. You can't cover in just a
little bit. You got to get into this deeper, so
stick around. We'll be back in one second. It's the
(13:44):
I Spell Pop Culture Podcast. If your a thirty second
skip button finger was moving a little too fast, you
have made it back to the show. We're here with
Fred and Richard fair Brass. It's a right, said Fred.
I'm too sexy. I mean, just an indelible mark on
all of pop culture. So I read this about the song.
It was inspired you said, by people posing in front
of a mirror and a gym that you owned.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Did you guys owned a gym?
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That was That was just British press talking bollocks. What
what happened was we were in a basement studio actually
someone's house. They had a little old atari, you know,
and it was it was September. We had like what's
over here called the Indian Summer, which you get a
(14:28):
long summer, and we had this thing going around around
which is actually a song at the time called Evan,
but the baseline was going and Richard pretty jazzy stuff. Yes,
very you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's pretty complicated, pretty
complicated Windom file. No, they wouldn't understand, they wouldn't understand.
(14:52):
And so we So this thing's going around and then
Richard gets up and I don't know why, but starts
walking around this guy's apartment. And then the guy's got
a mirror in his bedroom and rich takes his shirt
off and actually seems I'm just sexy for much uh,
And and it came back and sung the idea to
(15:12):
me and Rob and Robert Richard got it, and me,
I was a bit slow because we were working on
this other track and it took me a while, like
for think fresh and I get it, okay, all right.
So then then we took that idea and we just
sawt Okay, if we're too sexy for a shirt, what
else could we be too sexy for? So we then
wrote this stupid list which included there's sorts of people there.
(15:36):
Then we decided to make it much more constant, like
things that never changed, like cities and animals and uh.
And then with the other partner sol I'm a model
that was a guitar riff by Rob. So I said, well,
just one of us said We've just sung the bassline,
the guitar line, and that was it. Yeah, And I
(15:58):
had I was going out a model at the time,
and she'd actually said to me, I crossed my heart.
She actually said to me, I'm a model. Do you
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (16:06):
She'd actually said it, and she did, I can't I
promise it, And I'm going to say her name its
Mike Martha Ratters and so so we did.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So im a model, you know what I mean? You know?
So then we just put the two together. It took us.
We had no money, so it took us ages to
pay for the studio. Time took us about six months
a week. And then we went round all the record companies.
We literally, back in those days you had jadgy cassette
and you just fired it out to thirty forty companies,
which there were back then. They all said no. And
(16:40):
in fact, I'll tell you it was ilan the records.
Island Records were hilarious because not only did they say no,
they then followed up with another letter or fax or
whatever it was back then. So not only is this
song so appalling, any album that features this song will
never sell. Wow, they really hate We were of the
(17:03):
opinion that they were wrong. We were right, and we
were also the opinion that we don't care about record deals.
Who cares? So we were fortunate enough to have a
very young manager who was very ballsy, a girl called
Tamsy and she said, I'll get it on the radio,
and bless her, she did well.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
She said, if I get it on the radio, can
I be your manager?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yeah? That's right, that's that was the deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so we said if you get us on the radio, yeah,
knock yourself out, you know so, And never thinking then
she says, I'm going into Radio one to see Simon Bates,
who had the show. It was the the Breakfast Show,
I think, the biggest in Europe at the time, I think,
(17:47):
And they went in with the Assetates. The old played
everyone it doesn't know look up Ascetate. It's a huge
disk like this and you can.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Only play it three or four times. It's it's like
a primary pressing.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It's yes, yeah yeah. So when it played that and good,
thank Simon Bates and his producer just thought, yeah, why not,
let's give it a go. So they did. They played
it live and and the phones apparently we weren't there
the phones went boom, you know, and and that was it.
We neither none, no one. If you spoke to the
(18:23):
people involved at time, they will to make out that
they had this plan. No one had, no one. We
didn't know what we were doing. They didn't know what
they were doing. And the record went a thousand miles
an hour. You couldn't keep up with it. It was
just a boog boom all over Europe. And then suddenly
we're getting at phone calls from South America and blah
blah blah, and then it broke in America on import,
(18:45):
broke in America on import, were top forty on import.
And then a djai and I really wish I knew
his name, but we don't. DJ was a music seminar
thing in England in very late and this is it
happen was in winter, so it must have been that
winter ninety one. Yeah, And he happened to have a
drivetime show back in I think it may be in Atlanta,
(19:07):
but don't quote me. And he took it Batman. He
took the CV Batman and started playing it and it
happened to be a taste maker station. Obviously know what
those are. Back in the so this so something sexy
starts picking up everywhere and we're just sitting there and
and we go, what's that, What the hell's going on?
It was, it was extreme.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
It was the first time when we were invited, I know,
in my bedsit at the time with my partner and
the phone rang at sort of two o'clock in the
morning and they were inviting us the on the Arsenio
Hall show. Wow, and it was the record company said
you've got to do this show because it's your demographic.
I put the phone down and I went straight to
(19:47):
a dictionary. I had no idea what demographics. I had
no idea. And the yeah, I mean it was it
was the thing about sexy also because I mean I
was I was not twelve. We've grown up, you know.
But even for me, when it became a hit abroad,
(20:07):
that's when it struck me. I suddenly thought, oh my god,
you can have a hit abroad. Oh my god, this
is so exciting. Yeah, I mean the hit in the
UK was the thing. But then sudden yeah, and somebody
else is paying for it. It was like wow. So that
it was a real learning curve. And but from my
point of view, I had no idea what I was singing.
I'll be abst to be honest, because I'd never sung
(20:27):
that low before. I'd always wanted to be Steve Tyler
or you know, one of these rockers. You know, that's
what I want. And I didn't really understand how low
my voice was, so that was sexy.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I literally.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Plodded my way through it bit by bit, not really
understanding what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Well, we didn't think about it because the song, going
back to how we wrote it, the song was an E.
So it's just bad. It's an email of scale.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
And so if I've been if one of us have
been detuned, you'd be singing deep, you know, or gating
or whatever. You know. It just happened to be in
standard tuning. So that's how it was. That was the
low note.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
And the weirdest thing was when we went to States
and did all these radio shows. They the first one
of the first thing they said was can you sing
the first line? And I remember thinking why the first
I don't get this, This is really weird, blah blah blah.
And the reason was because they thought we were played
around on the computer. Yes, so make it that low interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
But I talked a bit like that or.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
So, yes, but that only dawned on me. Yeah, yeah,
they thought we had cheated.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Cheated. Yeah, back then the technology to cheat that was
harder to get your hands on, really, and we certainly
didn't have the budget to sit there and play around
with that. No. So Rich is the bass baritone, which
is see, I mean, we've just knew, we didn't know.
I didn't know. We've actually just had I hit about
four years ago the UK with a song called Tied,
(22:00):
and he's opening is a tone below that that's actually
that's actually bottom D open D. So his voice has
got lower as we've got order. So when we're about
eighty five with the Whales.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, some Gregorian chants when you get to that age.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So you were saying like he struggled to pay for
the recording and I read that did you record it
at a studio that was like about to close?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Wow? I thought that was that's so punk rock. Honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
The guy they had a studio guy, a guy looking
after studio who I don't know what I kind of
I thought he wasn't an I don't know what he was. Anyway,
it was in the eating and he all he said was, look,
come and use this at night. Pay me cash. I
turn the blind eye, but you can't put the lights on.
No one was so initially you just go in and
(22:56):
turn all the equipment and sit in the dark and
then the eventually your eyes got used to it. And
that's how we did this. That's how we did Sex.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
And we also we also recorded an Italian version. Yes,
Spanish version, ye, French and French, but in Italy I
think yeah, initially my my Italian was so bad. They
played the English version. It was nobody could understand. Nobody
can understand.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
There's the vocal on the song on the on the mask,
on the single of Sex. It is the demo vocal. Yeah, wow,
we are. We will trying it a couple other times.
And there was something Richard did on that session that's
particularly quirky and couldn't copy it. So he's done better
versions now, but at the time we could. We said
(23:45):
let's use the demo vocal. So we imported the demo
vocal off tape and and that's how we did it.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, that is incredible. I love that kind of thing too,
like hearing like like that's such a magical take and
now that that's the wine, you know you can't.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
It's so serendipitous, this whole thing. Yeah really thinks you
know us us meaning rather the whole things all. And
also yeah, the minute the song broke we were labeled
as one hit Wonders, and even without being given a
chance to release a second record. So when we did
Don't Talk Just Kiss, that was a big record for us,
bigger the Bad abroad actually then bigger than sex in
(24:23):
certainly in Germany and Austria and even part of South America.
It was a bigger record. And so that we were
that in a way, we were happier with that because
it's stopped that one hit. We still although we still
get the one hit wonder because people just like to
be rude. And although I actually don't think one hit
Wonder is it's better than no hit wonder. Yes, And
(24:44):
also I think also I think there are some some
of the bands, when we see our name come up
one hit Wonder, I look at the other bands who
must be thinking what we're thinking. But we've had lots
of other hits. But for example, we've toured in Europe
with Nina, you know, Red Blues. She is such so famous,
you can't about that, and she's a really really good band,
(25:06):
and that we turn with them. They were lovely. But
we see her name pop up, we see all sorts
of people's names pop up. We going, what are you
talking about? These people have had also hits. But the industry,
like the industry is quite conservative. He likes labels. You're
a rock band, you're a punk band, you've had one hit,
you've had teen it. They don't. There's there's very little
nuance in the industry. Is incredibly narrow minded and petty.
(25:28):
That's why it's way more narrow minded than punters. Yeah,
audiences worldwide are much more receptive to weird ideas and
weird attitudes and all that. But the labels, labels and
managers think that they they think they think like this.
They just don't know, you know, which is why you
have bands like you know, I mean, Matt, who would
(25:48):
sign Madness? Now? Who would sign Madness? Can't dance that?
There's no girls, you know that.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
None of them, none of them are particularly pretty, you know,
do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
I love the fact that it's so when you let
punters decide what they like and what they don't like.
It's completely unpredictable. Yeah, that was a good thing about
Spinning Records. I definitely familiar with Spinning records. Uh they were.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
I think a Danish I think, and their thing was
they have a they have a list of songs on
the website and your audiences go in and choose. And
that's that's not a bad way of doing which is
why you had studio killers with uh ah, what's that song?
Great song student, but I can't remember it's one with
(26:32):
the cartoon Okay, right, but that's I quite like that.
I mean, now we've actually just been offered it. We
got offer a record deal. A major comes to us
about every three years on average, and do you want
to do a deal, And we always talk to them
because we're not anti major label at all, but they
always do the same thing. They say, we want you
(26:53):
to do this, but we don't do that. We do this.
Speaker 4 (26:58):
They never talk about the music. They never talk about it.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, talk about concepts, beta, data, followers, platforms, platforms, collaborations,
media partners. That's the conversation you have. Yeah, so where
that's why we tend to work on our not on
our own but we tend to work at a very
small and it's why I was so poor.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
It's Fred and Richard fair Brass, better known as Right.
Said Fred.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
We're having so much fun with them on Icepell Pop Culture,
but we got to play some commercials really quick. Stick around,
We'll be right back. It's the Icebell Pop Culture podcast.
I'm hanging out with, Right, said Fred. That's Fred and
Richard Fairbrass. They are just these guys are great. I'm
(27:49):
having so much fun with these guys. So here's the thing.
I'm Too Sexy came out in ninety one or when
it hit. It's still such a mass hit today. I mean,
and you have artists like Drake Beyonce, Taylor Swift like
sampling it, like what's your reaction when especially Taylor Swift,
I mean she use elements of it for look what
(28:10):
you made me do? What's your reaction to that?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Well, it's not a sample. It's what's called interpolating.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
An interpolation means someone comes to your song and says, well,
I like that bit of that song. I'm going to
take that bit of your song and I'm going to
use it in my song. And if they're really nice
like Taylor Swift and Drake and Beyonce. They will do
the right thing and they will go, we're nicking a
bit of your song. You can be on the writing credits,
which is what this should happen. Unfortunately, lots of artists
(28:41):
out there that don't do that. They just try and
live off. But they were very sweet, Taylor Swift. They
all treat us really well, particularly Drake and Taylor Swift,
very respectful and no sort of no sort of egos
find around. They just Drake in particularly, he said us
the demo, Wow, yeah, we got the Devil. What do
(29:01):
you think you're like a thirty second clip or something?
And or whoever sent up and met one of his people,
you know, and they said, we hope you like this.
You know, it's what's what we're planning to do.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
We thought about sending it back saying no made that.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
After so wait, those two tracks in particular, I really
like them. I think I think they've done a really
really good job. And what's nice about it it's sexy. Yeah,
we we we there's a when it's the summertime over there,
we set outside cafes or restaurants and we get these
young kids you know. I mean they're still much younger
(29:39):
than my daughter. You know, they're in their mid early
mid teens. You those guys that did that song with
tailors and we go, yeah, yeah, we cover that and
then we do photos. So we're doing photos. It's really
nice that that generational thing is happening. And I think
that's a real blessing to have that to be an
appeal to people who, yeah, they won't know our other song,
(30:00):
so they probably don't care. That's absolutely fine, but so
I like bridging that gap.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Also, there's another side to it, which is when Sexually
first wrote, a mother wrote to us and her son
had just died from leukemia. I think he was seven,
and he had requested that he wanted to be buried
with an I'm Too Sexy CD and T shirt. And
that's suddenly you think, actually, it's more to this. You
(30:25):
can take the mickey and you can run it, you know,
run it down as much as you like. But every
artist that's been touched in that way, or a song
that's been involved that way, it just you suddenly have
to take what you do not you don't take it seriously,
but you don't ridicule it as you might be tempted
to do it, shouldn't and you shouldn't know I should
forget that.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
What a special thing to have a connection to have
with your fans, Like, what a special moment there. And
then also I was thinking about this, like I'm too sexy,
as you know, you're having fun with it.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
It's a very fun song.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
But at the same time, I think about all the
people that play that song and looked at themselves in the.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Mirror and said like, yeah, I am sexy.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I am too, say, like the confidence that you guys
have inspired in people for decades now is just it's tremendous.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
It's incredible.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Yeah. We had a letter actually not long ago from
a trauma surgeon and she she does a lot of
car crashes and in them she's she's on the wrong
side of it when they come to hospital and amestic
violence related stuff and that's her thing, trauma surgery. And
she said, and she was realcienting she said, I play
(31:32):
your stuff on the way to work because I have
to go in there feeling happy, she said, because I
know I'm going to come out feeling sad. And she said,
that's how I deal with this. And she just wrote
a little letters saying thank you so much for upbeat music,
all this sort of stuff, and that's to us. That's
really precious because I know it's pretty. You know, I
don't know where good we're happy and fun music's gone.
(31:53):
I don't know where it's gone. But there's a lot
of people moaning about their their ex partners and their
not having any money, which is great, but it gets
very boring, and so I I kind of I think
it's nice to be to do that to people. When
we do a gig by want people to come out
fling better than when they walked in. That's our goal
(32:15):
and if we can do that, then it's a success.
If we can't, then we've failed.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
Also, if you cast your mind back to some of
that seventies disco, oh you know it was pure had
a good time really, I was actually the Good Times
by Yeah, Bernard.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Edwards, the Bah. It's like God's gone down, You're going
to be great and he's playing it. I was some
of that.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Stuff was really Earthing the Fire and Sister Sledge all that.
I mean, just great stuff, really really fantastic.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
And in your contribution to making the world feel good,
it's just it's astounding, and I appreciate it so much.
I'm so curious, like when when Angie Sexy was like
just in the stratosphere.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
It's just like at it's height.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Was there a moment where you guys were like walking
around and like you heard it on TV or something
like that. We heard it kind of like in an
unexpected place and went like, oh my god, this is
like do you have a memory like that?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Interesting? When we were in Miami and we had hired
a convertible thunderbird I think it was a thunderbird, Yeah,
and we thought let's go for a drive. So we're
driving around Coconut Grove and all that saver Aia and
we're just we're serving all the radio, which what you
(33:34):
used to do about then, and literally we came in
and said this this week's this week number one, This
America's number one. This week is right, so fred Unti
section and we were like, that was here on the
radio was extraordinary, Yeah, And it was just really fortuitous
that we were at that moment.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
It was quite scary actually, I mean America, or at
least for me, was quite scary because it was so
huge and we've never been there. Before, not what we had,
but not in that way. And there was there seemed
to me to be an awful lot of pressure on us,
and I didn't quite know why, and I wasn't sure
what we were doing and what sort of song is this?
(34:14):
And you know, the whole thing was very confusing to
start with.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
But what America does the entertainment industry is they take
fame incredibly seriously. Yes, so, because they see it as
an asset. I guess, you know in the UK and
Europe they don't. They famous just some byproduct that comes
from having a get record. America, it's this sort of
machine which we weren't prepared for at all, and it's
(34:39):
a very different mindset. And it doesn't matter what if
you ever speak to any band in the world outside
of America, if they say America bigg in the American billboard,
it's not the Holy Grail. They're like, every single band
wants to be on the billboard, every single band. It
is because it's a it is the seal of a
not of approval. But it's like, yes, that because that
(35:01):
the charts in America filter out much greater than any
other countries.
Speaker 4 (35:07):
America, because you guys, evangelize your music. Yeah, that's what
I like, you really do. I mean, there's some great
bands in Spain, and there's great bands in Germany and Itiba,
but they're not evangelized, they're not sold to the world.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
And I like what I like about the American thing.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
I like the fact that you evangelize everything you do,
whether it's Andy Warhol or music or doesn't matter what
it is.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Everybody knows about it, you know. But we did it.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
We have never I had never heard of Wayne's world
at all. It wasn't something that we'd never heard of.
But we were doing we were having a break during
a promotion round at a diner and we came out
of this diner walking down some steps to the car
park and these two motorbike guys, I mean, all dressed
in leather with the whole thing getting off the off
(35:52):
their heart is and they collapsed onto their knees and
did this whole we're not working.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
And I had no idea what they were talking about. It.
We had an American tour manager and he explained it
to us. Yeah, yeah, we didn't know, no, so we
weren't familiar. Then once we did spring Break, which we
did with spinal tap. Fantastic And once we did that,
we tapped into that sort of new culture, if what
(36:20):
they want to call it. Yes, so way's well we
understood and butt head and beavers and all this other
stuff that came along at the time, you know, but
before that we were a little bit out the loop.
We were you know, like I said, the record happened
so fast. We literally went from nobody knowing who we
were to a lot of a lot of people that
it wasn't overnight success, but it had this effect as
(36:43):
opposed to it wasn't gradual, it wasn't a word of mouth.
It just went bang like that. It was also you
totally you do think you're ready for it. You just do,
and actually you're not. You're not.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
And so when people when people are famous at the
age of twenty, I just think you pulled both. Yeah,
just jumping beaver, for Heaven's sake, God bless him. But
you know, to be that famous and to look as
pretty as he did, he was too pretty to live really, yeah,
and to be surrounded by people who just apparent, as
far as I can see, didn't really care. That's pretty
(37:17):
typical business. Actually, you've got to have some good friends
that have a good family and people who care about
you to withstand all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
So the artists I really my heart you know when
I when I see them appearing, you know I knew
a new name or whatever, I just think, oh God,
I hope they've got someone around who gives us because
I look look at a Vichy. Yeah, it's horrible what
the industry can do if you let it, if you
let it absolutely.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
And I also wanted to ask you guys, is what
advice do you have for an artist that's starting out now, Like,
because you just had every possible experience you can have
in the music industry. And I know it's different for everybody,
but like, if someone's out there and they have a
hit song, they got labels coming at them, they don't
know what to do.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
What advice do you have for an artist like that?
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Billy Joel said the only two things you need are
a good lawyer and a gun. That's what he said.
I think, Well, one of the things we agree on
is always own your product as much as you can
own your product, and try and find people that you try.
I know it sounds a bit a bit a big ask,
(38:26):
but try and find people that you trust. Only work
with people you like. And we've been roped in a
couple of times by people who just span us the deal.
You played us like violins absolutely looking back and when
it when when somebody is being too friendly too quickly, Yeah,
step back.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
And have a think. So we have to realize is
you tend to think the guy you're talking to knows
more than you do or the girl. And you have
to remember you'r the asset. You have, that song, you have,
you have that content, and that might be your pension.
It might be if you're very, very So don't piss away,
don't don't don't sell it short. Don't sell it short.
(39:05):
Do not go into a meeting unless you've got some leverage. No, no,
you know you're worth don't go in there, you know.
Can you please help me? That's yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
That's the thing is the bat bands, artists, whatever. In
the early stages, they think the guy on the other
side of the desk knows all the stuff, and he doesn't.
For the most part, they don't know. And what you
forget as an artist is that you had the thing
they want, that all the power is yours. But artists
don't artists don't remember that. It's really really important to
(39:34):
remember that the power is yours. It's like you've got
a fistful of diamonds and they want it. Well, you've
got that. That's the leverage right there. Yeah, you don't
have to bow down and say thank you. You just
you know, be bi, put your shoulders back and stand tall.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Yeah, and have the balls to walk away if it
doesn't feel right. Yeah, it won't suddenly feel right. It
will continue. So you don't think right when this happens
to be right with that, No, notework. If it's wrong now,
it will always be wrong, So that would be I'll
just you know, try and be brave. I'm not. It's
difficult because you want to deal, you want to be
on TV, you want to you want you want to
(40:10):
play music for a living. But if you if you
start wrong, it will end wrong. There's no doubt about that.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
That that's great advice, guys, thank you.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
And uh.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
That's something that I think the industry has really like pushed,
especially in America, is like making music is fun. Aren't
you lucky to get to do that? I'm going to
now you get to do it for me and I'm
the key to that. And it's like, hey, anyone can
like draft up a contract. Only a special few people
can write a song. I mean, that's that is the value.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
It is the value. You have to remember that minute.
You hear all the time. But here's the contract. Oh,
by the way, it's non negotiable. Everything's it's just blak
or somebody who signed.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Seriously, we actually know somebody who signed a black piece
of paper and then managed to put it later.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, no, yes, honest, So you're right, anyone can drop
a contract. But writing and writing a hit song, even
if even if you hate that song, it doesn't matter
that person wrote it, and and and and and it's delibered.
You know, there's lots of people out there, very successful
who I don't get it. I don't understand why are
(41:19):
they successful, but nearly they are in good luck to
the it's my think.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Yeah, I think, particularly these days, if you can make
a living out of the music industry, well done, really,
because it's even more so now it's it's so constrained.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Yeah, so much money has left it.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
And as Fed said, when we started off, there were
labels everywhere, gigs everywhere, and now.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
It's about four or four labels whatever. I know.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
So, yeah it is if you're making money, good luck
to you.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Yeah, we're not really into that slagging off artist thing.
I saw a quote from Nor Gallagher the other day
slagging off Phil Collins. I mean, seriously, mate, Phil Collins.
Collins has got more talent in this little toe No,
and and to slag off someone, you know, I don't
get it, just to let people be don't get on
(42:06):
with it.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, particularly with film Collins sing gpe songwriter.
You know, just is it is what it is.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So tell me about the music you guys you're making now,
Like wait, wait, if people want to come and hear
a new rape, said Fred Staff.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Right, well, we are in the middle of a very
bizarre project.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
We have booked up with a couple of remixes called
Ward and there's also this weird character that we're involved
with called Bunny Tangent Stitch. Yeah, and it's out there man,
and it's a new song called It's not the new Rights,
said Fred Single. But it's the record we're involved in,
and it's called Wunderbars, and that is doing the rounds
(42:48):
on social media. Moment that gets released in about ten
days and we might be coming to La to do
a launch because there's some people have heard it over
there and they think we should definitely be over there,
So we might over there in August, right, that would
be That'll be all our platforms. So it's it's a
very bizarre little track. And then we're then we've got
(43:08):
a writer friend single which will be out end of
August September. That's called Raise your Hands. That's more typical
of what we do kind of for on the floor,
euphoric stuff, you know. Yeah, and that'll be outs really good. Yeah,
and we've got it's got We've got a bit on
that track. It's quite a bit tougher. Guitars are heavier,
beats heavier, so that's an interesting sounding record.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
Also, when we play live at my age, I need
to wake up on state, so you know, otherwise that does.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
We think we're not now?
Speaker 3 (43:46):
Oh God, you guys are the couset dudes who have
ever lived. I am loving this so much. I have
one more question before I let you guys go. So this,
this podcast is about Gilmour Girls, This show that we love.
It's it's a comfort show for a lot of people
like they watch it every far. I'm Too Sexy was
mentioned in the show, which is the basis of our
(44:08):
conversation here.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
And I want to know, do you guys have like.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
A comfort TV show that you like to look like
you you just put it on to fall asleep or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (44:18):
Brazier Yeah, Brasier Wow. I thought that was that whole
the whole season, all seasons, apart from maybe the last
one or two. It was genius right.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
The way through.
Speaker 4 (44:29):
And there's a couple of episodes of Seinfeld You're Big five.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Yeah, there's Bizarro, Yes, Jerry, And there's the one where
the opposite George has to do the opposite. Everything he's
ever done is stupid, So it's you know, and he
goes to make a decision, he goes, bo I'm gonna
do And so there's about I'm not a huge fan
(44:53):
of all the sidfle stuff, but those there's two three
episodes I think are really really really great. And Brasier
right across the board.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
What was really good about phrasing was that was the
colors colors when they started going outside, you know, they
did a thing in this in a fish market or something.
I think it's and once the colours changed, it changed
the mood.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
It was all that.
Speaker 4 (45:14):
It was all those earth colors on the set that
worked really, really well. So every every week when you
churched back in the day, whenever you tuned in, it
was the same color as the same coat. He put
the keys down in the same place, Marty was in
the same chair. That was incredibly company and it was
very well written, brilliantly written.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Two, there's a couple of European there's a French detective
series which is quite old now actually called Spiral, and
we watched that sometimes. We watched it. We know exactly
what's going to happen. It's fantastic. And the way the
French police in this are depicted and the way they
treat they knock everybody around. It's like the shield, the
shield just whacking everybody. Funny. There's a few, yeah, like
(46:00):
that lot of songs or whatever people have that little
go to that's good. Yeah. Yeah, for me, it would
definitely be Frasier.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Yeah, I love it. You guys are just so cool.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Friend Richard fair Prass again right, said Fred, This has
been so much fun. I thank you guys for the
music you've made and the inspiration continue to be for
artists all over the world.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
Just the absolutely greatest you guys, thank you.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
We'll send you a clip of this other thing.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
Yes, and everyone go listen to everything right said Fred
is making. Just listen to it all by the albums,
buy it all.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Thank you so much
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Everybody, and don't forget Follow us on Instagram at I
Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at
iHeartRadio dot com.
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I guess you.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen, an iHeartRadio podcast.
That's right, everybody take a whiff of that. It's the
I Smell Pop Culture Podcast. My name is Easton Allen.
Thank you Scott for letting me host this. I'm having
so much fun. We are going into the pop culture
references that are peppered throughout Gilmore Girls, and we are
putting them under a microscope and exploring the people that
(00:40):
make them pop culture pieces, the people that put them
into the globe, into the universe. Here and this week
we're talking to someone. It's two guys, it's a duo,
and they're behind one of the most memorable songs I
think of all time, a song you all know, a
(01:02):
song we have all sang, and a song that exists
in Gilmore Girls. But before I tell you who they are,
I'm going to tell you why we're talking about him. Okay,
here's where I want you to go mentally. I want
you to close your eyes. We're gonna go back to
a year in the life fall. This is the Netflix
revival of Gilmore Girls, and it's the day before Luke
in Loralai's wedding. Luke is trying on his suit. This
(01:25):
is a very tender moment. He comes downstairs, he looks,
he looks great, and Jess looks at him and his
reaction is where's right?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Said Fred? When you need him? And right said Fred?
In case you don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Are the masterminds the geniuses behind I'm Too Sexy. I'm
Too Sexy was a song that released in nineteen ninety
one and it went number one in multiple countries all
over the world.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
It was this massive hit.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I don't know if you guys know this about
the song, Like, like you know the song.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You know I'm Too Sexy fore my shirt?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
You know that, Okay, But what you don't know is
that this song has a crazy story of how it
came together the right, said Fred. It's Fred and Richard
Fair Brass. They've got roots in punk rock, in indie rock.
These guys are really exceptional and interesting musicians. These aren't
(02:19):
just guys that came out of a dance studio and
just kind of made a pop song.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
No, no, no.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
They have such a crazy background and they have such
an interesting approach to the music industry. And I'm so
excited to talk to them today, and I'm not going
to keep them waiting any longer. Fred and Richard Fairbrass
are in the waiting room. They are right, said Fred,
this is I small pop culture. Let's get into it.
We're so excited to talk to you guys. You guys
are such legends. I'm Too Sexy? Is this such a
(02:47):
song that stands the test of time. It is the
sexy song, if you ask me. Many have tried to
take its place, but none have achieved it. I'm Too
Sexy is the song. And and you guys are still
making music to this day. I want to go back
to the beginning. Though I read this about you, Richard,
I thought this was really interesting. You were like a
(03:09):
session bassist for some like really big artists like Boy
George David Bowie.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Is that right? Well? I was. I was.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
I wouldn't want to lie. I was a video I
hired me because I was incredibly handsome. I didn't do
any work in the studio. It was it was all
video work, all visual.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Oh excellent, okay, I mean, hey, that makes sense. You're
you're a very attractive man. Were what were those what
was that experience? Like, like, so you're you're playing in
it's a visual yeah, all right, but you're you're playing bass, right, yes.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Yes, So what it was was I learnt the parts
because I didn't know how picky people like Bowie or
people him and boy George it was that was It
wasn't basing, Okay, it was Mick jack Yeah, Mick Jager
was so I wasn't sure how picky they would be
in terms of playing the part. So although I knew
(04:03):
it was just visual, I learned the part anyway. But
what was into me about it was how how how
in a way how ordinary they are. They're just They're
just blokes.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
It's like I said, you know, even the President of
the United States has to stand aked sometimes.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yes, and it's a bit like that. I think.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I think they are just blokes, very talented in one
way or another, but just blokes.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And they were very enough that David bow was quite
shy as I remember.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And quite mc dagg was quite boyous. Mick Dagger was
very boisleous. Yeah he was. Yeah, we both did that session.
He was quite bouncing and and quite lively, yeah, yeah,
and shorter than I imagined. Both both small people. Yeah,
quite sure.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That fascinates me so much.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I'm always curious, like how tall they actually seem, and
also what they smell like. I don't know if you
remember their odors at all. I am fascinated about that
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, I never it was not on the.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I mean, David Bow did say smiff this once, but
I decided I decided not.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
To wise trust your instincts there.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
So, so you guys had a band called The Actors before, right,
said Fred?
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Well, because right, said Fred.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Something I love about the group is that like its independent, right,
like you guys have done everything independent. I thought that
was just so cool when I realized that, it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
The Actors was a different experience. How was that different
from when you guys broke out as a duo?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Oh? Completely different? Yeah, well that was a very I mean,
looking back, occasionally I listened to it. I would never
play them to anybody, but occasionally I listened to our demo.
We were out there considerably at that time. It was
punk and two minute pops on back Bang, you know,
and also that in the terms of the market we
(05:53):
were in the UK, that whole pub rock things. And
then we went on the road with a New York
a New York a duo called Suicide who were very electronic,
very progressive band, and who were live. I thought they
were great, really nice guys, lovely guys, and we realized
that we were probably in the wrong decade.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
But also we had a guitarist who was a big
a Stevie Steedee Dan fan and was very very very
good guitarist, big Steve Gerard.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So yes, Mike Jerrard.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
So it was very hard to keep Steedee Dan out
of what we were doing. We had all sorts of
extremely complicated lines and bits and pieces and stuff, you know,
So we.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Had moments of books. Then what would should have been
a two minute pop song would have been a four
and a half minute sort of banity project. Yeah, banality project. Yeah.
But Brazarrely we did get picked up, we got we
got signed on what Back then, there was a thing
called a development deal. Oh, very popular back in the seventies, eighties, nineties,
and what it was basically there wasn't really much of
(06:58):
a commitment. There was the record that or would give
you money you would commit to a certain project if
they if they pressed go, then the money that money
would go on to finish the project. If they pressed
stop that money would you wouldn't owe anything, but they
would keep your masters. You wouldn't bet you weren't able
to use them. And they were pretty healthy deals at
the time. So we did one with Electric Records, which
(07:21):
was based out of London. But then what happened actually
sat in this bit of a spinal chat moment. The guy,
the guy, the head of the am R and I
can remember his name. I think his name was Jeremy Thomas.
I think, oh, yes, it was, I think it was.
It was. He became very ill, bless him, and so
he got replaced and the guy who replaced him didn't
want to work with us, didn't like us. So it's
(07:42):
one of those things. We sort of bounced in and
out of deals and then we the actors we knocked
on the head in about nineteen eighty one, I would
think were the eighty. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
The good thing about it was we sort of learned
our trade, if you like, I mean we were It
was a and plugged in.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We've got in the van, drove.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
All over the country years before GPS with a map
on the dashboard.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yes, timers guted under the air.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
That's what it was, you know, And it was, and
it was a really good learning cove.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, you had to. I mean back then, I don't
know about in the States, but that the punk rock
and the pub the pub rocks in the UK was
very It was organized chaos and could be very not violent,
it could be very could really test your nerves and
you couldn't. It wasn't for the faint hearted, you know.
(08:34):
And loads of bands came up through that and it
was it was a very good grounding, you know. You
couldn't you couldn't.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Be a you couldn't be a shrinking violet. You had
to be a shrinking value.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You had to go out, which is why you had
a lot of those bands at the time were really
in your face, you know, and we're very visual or
quite intimidating if you like bands, bands like the Strangers,
I mean hw Cornwell, really good front go and and
I think you had to be like that to survive
those evenings.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I don't know what it's like on the West Coast now,
but in London back in the day there were gigs everywhere,
I mean every pub, every corner, thousands of gigs. You
couldn't trust one to hit a gig. So from that
point of view. In the late in the seven mid
to late seventies and early eighties and stuff, it was
actually pretty good. There are loads of places to play.
The sad thing is that that's all gone. Now every
(09:26):
pub is either full of guardians, or it's a chop house,
or it's a cafe, or it's a block of flats.
You know, So that roots, that kind of sort of
grassroots growing thing, that organic thing that enabled bands to
try their luck and do things has gone, which is
why we end up with Adele.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, it's so sad because, like, especially here in America,
we saw so much of the punk stuff from you guys.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
By the way, I apologize on behalf of.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
America, but it's such an important community for especially young
people that are f figuring out where they are, where
they fit in. And it's so sad that there's not
as many places to go see that kind of music
and put on that kind of show. I mean, that's
the music that I grew up listening to. It's like
a punk rock in. Seeing that you guys had your
musical roots there was so exciting too.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Yeah, it was it was a really it was a
really exciting time. I mean some also some of the bands,
because what we've talked about the other day, actually started
talking about it the other day. The way musicians are now.
When we started off every there were there were two
lots of musicians. Really, there were sort of session musicians
and then band musicians. In the back of papers like
The Enemy or The Sounds or whatever, you'd have adverts,
(10:39):
you know, vocalists needed, bass player need and all that.
You don't have that anymore. You have you have kind
of corporate function bands and then you have professional bands.
It doesn't really it is this that kind of community
of just pride and see a punk and that kind
of attitude is all gone.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Really. But there are some bands breaking in the UK.
There's Bank with the ratings who are beginning to get
some traction. Not my cup of tea at all, but
good luck to them and I wish them well and
then and they are very various sort of grassroots scene,
and I think that's great. And I like bands like
Glass Animals and Circle Away, good bands, I think, you know,
(11:16):
So there is this movement and my heart sort of
sinks when I see some of these bands signing to
a major label because I think that goods it depending
on how strong they are, could tune them up and
spit them out within eighteen months, you know, because we've
seen it done before, and it's partly the reason we
(11:37):
stayed independent. We did dip ato. You know, we're not
We're not holier than now. We don't plan. We did play.
We did play that mainstream media role for about eighteen months,
maybe two years. Yeah, we tried it. Yeah, we tried it.
And when they when when labels and managers said jump,
we did say how high? I mean, we did that,
We did all that stuff we now criticize. But after
(11:59):
about two years, I think we just looked at each
other and this is nonsense. So we didn't enjoy it.
It wasn't really our thing. And we don't care. I
don't care if I'm in a magazine or not. I
don't care. I don't need to be in front of
the cameras. I don't I like I like playing, I
like touring, I like writing songs. That is it. Yeah, yeah,
So because the way we looked and yeah, we know,
(12:20):
you know, looking back, you know, we sort of shirts
off and we we asked for trouble. We asked it
was it was completely on us, you know, and we
knew we were in good shape. We lived. And also
the video director James Lebond, you said it is no
longer with us. But James was a lovely man, and
he said, do you not get that other bands don't
(12:40):
look like this? And in your song it says you're
too sexy for your shirts and you take your shirt off,
take it? So we did, so we did.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
And also the other thing you don't realize when you're
when you're starting off, when you're a kid or younger,
is you don't realize the first impression you make is
the first impression that lasts forever.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You don't realize that.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
So I think you realized that back at the time,
we might have thought a bit harder about it. Maybe
maybe I don't know, I don't know, But we still
get people shouting get your shirt off at gigs and stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And all that nonsense, you know. So it's just the
way it is.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
It's like if I went to see the Rolling Stones
and they didn't do satisfaction, I would feel a bit
a bit fed up.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
That's just the way it is.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The voices you're hearing are right, said Fred. That is
Fred and Richard fair Brass. They are brothers. They're hanging
out with me. We have so much more to talk
about I'm too Sexy. You can't cover in just a
little bit. You got to get into this deeper, so
stick around. We'll be back in one second. It's the
(13:44):
I Spell Pop Culture Podcast. If your a thirty second
skip button finger was moving a little too fast, you
have made it back to the show. We're here with
Fred and Richard fair Brass. It's a right, said Fred.
I'm too sexy. I mean, just an indelible mark on
all of pop culture. So I read this about the song.
It was inspired you said, by people posing in front
of a mirror and a gym that you owned.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Did you guys owned a gym?
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That was That was just British press talking bollocks. What
what happened was we were in a basement studio actually
someone's house. They had a little old atari, you know,
and it was it was September. We had like what's
over here called the Indian Summer, which you get a
(14:28):
long summer, and we had this thing going around around
which is actually a song at the time called Evan,
but the baseline was going and Richard pretty jazzy stuff. Yes,
very you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's pretty complicated, pretty
complicated Windom file. No, they wouldn't understand, they wouldn't understand.
(14:52):
And so we So this thing's going around and then
Richard gets up and I don't know why, but starts
walking around this guy's apartment. And then the guy's got
a mirror in his bedroom and rich takes his shirt
off and actually seems I'm just sexy for much uh,
And and it came back and sung the idea to
(15:12):
me and Rob and Robert Richard got it, and me,
I was a bit slow because we were working on
this other track and it took me a while, like
for think fresh and I get it, okay, all right.
So then then we took that idea and we just
sawt Okay, if we're too sexy for a shirt, what
else could we be too sexy for? So we then
wrote this stupid list which included there's sorts of people there.
(15:36):
Then we decided to make it much more constant, like
things that never changed, like cities and animals and uh.
And then with the other partner sol I'm a model
that was a guitar riff by Rob. So I said, well,
just one of us said We've just sung the bassline,
the guitar line, and that was it. Yeah, And I
(15:58):
had I was going out a model at the time,
and she'd actually said to me, I crossed my heart.
She actually said to me, I'm a model. Do you
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (16:06):
She'd actually said it, and she did, I can't I
promise it, And I'm going to say her name its
Mike Martha Ratters and so so we did.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So im a model, you know what I mean? You know?
So then we just put the two together. It took us.
We had no money, so it took us ages to
pay for the studio. Time took us about six months
a week. And then we went round all the record companies.
We literally, back in those days you had jadgy cassette
and you just fired it out to thirty forty companies,
which there were back then. They all said no. And
(16:40):
in fact, I'll tell you it was ilan the records.
Island Records were hilarious because not only did they say no,
they then followed up with another letter or fax or
whatever it was back then. So not only is this
song so appalling, any album that features this song will
never sell. Wow, they really hate We were of the
(17:03):
opinion that they were wrong. We were right, and we
were also the opinion that we don't care about record deals.
Who cares? So we were fortunate enough to have a
very young manager who was very ballsy, a girl called
Tamsy and she said, I'll get it on the radio,
and bless her, she did well.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
She said, if I get it on the radio, can
I be your manager?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yeah? That's right, that's that was the deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so we said if you get us on the radio, yeah,
knock yourself out, you know so, And never thinking then
she says, I'm going into Radio one to see Simon Bates,
who had the show. It was the the Breakfast Show,
I think, the biggest in Europe at the time, I think,
(17:47):
And they went in with the Assetates. The old played
everyone it doesn't know look up Ascetate. It's a huge
disk like this and you can.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Only play it three or four times. It's it's like
a primary pressing.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It's yes, yeah yeah. So when it played that and good,
thank Simon Bates and his producer just thought, yeah, why not,
let's give it a go. So they did. They played
it live and and the phones apparently we weren't there
the phones went boom, you know, and and that was it.
We neither none, no one. If you spoke to the
(18:23):
people involved at time, they will to make out that
they had this plan. No one had, no one. We
didn't know what we were doing. They didn't know what
they were doing. And the record went a thousand miles
an hour. You couldn't keep up with it. It was
just a boog boom all over Europe. And then suddenly
we're getting at phone calls from South America and blah
blah blah, and then it broke in America on import,
(18:45):
broke in America on import, were top forty on import.
And then a djai and I really wish I knew
his name, but we don't. DJ was a music seminar
thing in England in very late and this is it
happen was in winter, so it must have been that
winter ninety one. Yeah, And he happened to have a
drivetime show back in I think it may be in Atlanta,
(19:07):
but don't quote me. And he took it Batman. He
took the CV Batman and started playing it and it
happened to be a taste maker station. Obviously know what
those are. Back in the so this so something sexy
starts picking up everywhere and we're just sitting there and
and we go, what's that, What the hell's going on?
It was, it was extreme.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
It was the first time when we were invited, I know,
in my bedsit at the time with my partner and
the phone rang at sort of two o'clock in the
morning and they were inviting us the on the Arsenio
Hall show. Wow, and it was the record company said
you've got to do this show because it's your demographic.
I put the phone down and I went straight to
(19:47):
a dictionary. I had no idea what demographics. I had
no idea. And the yeah, I mean it was it
was the thing about sexy also because I mean I
was I was not twelve. We've grown up, you know.
But even for me, when it became a hit abroad,
(20:07):
that's when it struck me. I suddenly thought, oh my god,
you can have a hit abroad. Oh my god, this
is so exciting. Yeah, I mean the hit in the
UK was the thing. But then sudden yeah, and somebody
else is paying for it. It was like wow. So that
it was a real learning curve. And but from my
point of view, I had no idea what I was singing.
I'll be abst to be honest, because I'd never sung
(20:27):
that low before. I'd always wanted to be Steve Tyler
or you know, one of these rockers. You know, that's
what I want. And I didn't really understand how low
my voice was, so that was sexy.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I literally.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Plodded my way through it bit by bit, not really
understanding what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Well, we didn't think about it because the song, going
back to how we wrote it, the song was an E.
So it's just bad. It's an email of scale.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
And so if I've been if one of us have
been detuned, you'd be singing deep, you know, or gating
or whatever. You know. It just happened to be in
standard tuning. So that's how it was. That was the
low note.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
And the weirdest thing was when we went to States
and did all these radio shows. They the first one
of the first thing they said was can you sing
the first line? And I remember thinking why the first
I don't get this, This is really weird, blah blah blah.
And the reason was because they thought we were played
around on the computer. Yes, so make it that low interesting.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
But I talked a bit like that or.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
So, yes, but that only dawned on me. Yeah, yeah,
they thought we had cheated.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Cheated. Yeah, back then the technology to cheat that was
harder to get your hands on, really, and we certainly
didn't have the budget to sit there and play around
with that. No. So Rich is the bass baritone, which
is see, I mean, we've just knew, we didn't know.
I didn't know. We've actually just had I hit about
four years ago the UK with a song called Tied,
(22:00):
and he's opening is a tone below that that's actually
that's actually bottom D open D. So his voice has
got lower as we've got order. So when we're about
eighty five with the Whales.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, some Gregorian chants when you get to that age.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So you were saying like he struggled to pay for
the recording and I read that did you record it
at a studio that was like about to close?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Wow? I thought that was that's so punk rock. Honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
The guy they had a studio guy, a guy looking
after studio who I don't know what I kind of
I thought he wasn't an I don't know what he was. Anyway,
it was in the eating and he all he said was, look,
come and use this at night. Pay me cash. I
turn the blind eye, but you can't put the lights on.
No one was so initially you just go in and
(22:56):
turn all the equipment and sit in the dark and
then the eventually your eyes got used to it. And
that's how we did this. That's how we did Sex.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
And we also we also recorded an Italian version. Yes,
Spanish version, ye, French and French, but in Italy I
think yeah, initially my my Italian was so bad. They
played the English version. It was nobody could understand. Nobody
can understand.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
There's the vocal on the song on the on the mask,
on the single of Sex. It is the demo vocal. Yeah, wow,
we are. We will trying it a couple other times.
And there was something Richard did on that session that's
particularly quirky and couldn't copy it. So he's done better
versions now, but at the time we could. We said
(23:45):
let's use the demo vocal. So we imported the demo
vocal off tape and and that's how we did it.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, that is incredible. I love that kind of thing too,
like hearing like like that's such a magical take and
now that that's the wine, you know you can't.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
It's so serendipitous, this whole thing. Yeah really thinks you
know us us meaning rather the whole things all. And
also yeah, the minute the song broke we were labeled
as one hit Wonders, and even without being given a
chance to release a second record. So when we did
Don't Talk Just Kiss, that was a big record for us,
bigger the Bad abroad actually then bigger than sex in
(24:23):
certainly in Germany and Austria and even part of South America.
It was a bigger record. And so that we were
that in a way, we were happier with that because
it's stopped that one hit. We still although we still
get the one hit wonder because people just like to
be rude. And although I actually don't think one hit
Wonder is it's better than no hit wonder. Yes, And
(24:44):
also I think also I think there are some some
of the bands, when we see our name come up
one hit Wonder, I look at the other bands who
must be thinking what we're thinking. But we've had lots
of other hits. But for example, we've toured in Europe
with Nina, you know, Red Blues. She is such so famous,
you can't about that, and she's a really really good band,
(25:06):
and that we turn with them. They were lovely. But
we see her name pop up, we see all sorts
of people's names pop up. We going, what are you
talking about? These people have had also hits. But the industry,
like the industry is quite conservative. He likes labels. You're
a rock band, you're a punk band, you've had one hit,
you've had teen it. They don't. There's there's very little
nuance in the industry. Is incredibly narrow minded and petty.
(25:28):
That's why it's way more narrow minded than punters. Yeah,
audiences worldwide are much more receptive to weird ideas and
weird attitudes and all that. But the labels, labels and
managers think that they they think they think like this.
They just don't know, you know, which is why you
have bands like you know, I mean, Matt, who would
(25:48):
sign Madness? Now? Who would sign Madness? Can't dance that?
There's no girls, you know that.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
None of them, none of them are particularly pretty, you know,
do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
I love the fact that it's so when you let
punters decide what they like and what they don't like.
It's completely unpredictable. Yeah, that was a good thing about
Spinning Records. I definitely familiar with Spinning records. Uh they were.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
I think a Danish I think, and their thing was
they have a they have a list of songs on
the website and your audiences go in and choose. And
that's that's not a bad way of doing which is
why you had studio killers with uh ah, what's that song?
Great song student, but I can't remember it's one with
(26:32):
the cartoon Okay, right, but that's I quite like that.
I mean, now we've actually just been offered it. We
got offer a record deal. A major comes to us
about every three years on average, and do you want
to do a deal, And we always talk to them
because we're not anti major label at all, but they
always do the same thing. They say, we want you
(26:53):
to do this, but we don't do that. We do this.
Speaker 4 (26:58):
They never talk about the music. They never talk about it.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, talk about concepts, beta, data, followers, platforms, platforms, collaborations,
media partners. That's the conversation you have. Yeah, so where
that's why we tend to work on our not on
our own but we tend to work at a very
small and it's why I was so poor.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
It's Fred and Richard fair Brass, better known as Right.
Said Fred.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
We're having so much fun with them on Icepell Pop Culture,
but we got to play some commercials really quick. Stick around,
We'll be right back. It's the Icebell Pop Culture podcast.
I'm hanging out with, Right, said Fred. That's Fred and
Richard Fairbrass. They are just these guys are great. I'm
(27:49):
having so much fun with these guys. So here's the thing.
I'm Too Sexy came out in ninety one or when
it hit. It's still such a mass hit today. I mean,
and you have artists like Drake Beyonce, Taylor Swift like
sampling it, like what's your reaction when especially Taylor Swift,
I mean she use elements of it for look what
(28:10):
you made me do? What's your reaction to that?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Well, it's not a sample. It's what's called interpolating.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
An interpolation means someone comes to your song and says, well,
I like that bit of that song. I'm going to
take that bit of your song and I'm going to
use it in my song. And if they're really nice
like Taylor Swift and Drake and Beyonce. They will do
the right thing and they will go, we're nicking a
bit of your song. You can be on the writing credits,
which is what this should happen. Unfortunately, lots of artists
(28:41):
out there that don't do that. They just try and
live off. But they were very sweet, Taylor Swift. They
all treat us really well, particularly Drake and Taylor Swift,
very respectful and no sort of no sort of egos
find around. They just Drake in particularly, he said us
the demo, Wow, yeah, we got the Devil. What do
(29:01):
you think you're like a thirty second clip or something?
And or whoever sent up and met one of his people,
you know, and they said, we hope you like this.
You know, it's what's what we're planning to do.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
We thought about sending it back saying no made that.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
After so wait, those two tracks in particular, I really
like them. I think I think they've done a really
really good job. And what's nice about it it's sexy. Yeah,
we we we there's a when it's the summertime over there,
we set outside cafes or restaurants and we get these
young kids you know. I mean they're still much younger
(29:39):
than my daughter. You know, they're in their mid early
mid teens. You those guys that did that song with
tailors and we go, yeah, yeah, we cover that and
then we do photos. So we're doing photos. It's really
nice that that generational thing is happening. And I think
that's a real blessing to have that to be an
appeal to people who, yeah, they won't know our other song,
(30:00):
so they probably don't care. That's absolutely fine, but so
I like bridging that gap.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Also, there's another side to it, which is when Sexually
first wrote, a mother wrote to us and her son
had just died from leukemia. I think he was seven,
and he had requested that he wanted to be buried
with an I'm Too Sexy CD and T shirt. And
that's suddenly you think, actually, it's more to this. You
(30:25):
can take the mickey and you can run it, you know,
run it down as much as you like. But every
artist that's been touched in that way, or a song
that's been involved that way, it just you suddenly have
to take what you do not you don't take it seriously,
but you don't ridicule it as you might be tempted
to do it, shouldn't and you shouldn't know I should
forget that.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
What a special thing to have a connection to have
with your fans, Like, what a special moment there. And
then also I was thinking about this, like I'm too sexy,
as you know, you're having fun with it.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
It's a very fun song.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
But at the same time, I think about all the
people that play that song and looked at themselves in the.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Mirror and said like, yeah, I am sexy.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I am too, say, like the confidence that you guys
have inspired in people for decades now is just it's tremendous.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
It's incredible.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Yeah. We had a letter actually not long ago from
a trauma surgeon and she she does a lot of
car crashes and in them she's she's on the wrong
side of it when they come to hospital and amestic
violence related stuff and that's her thing, trauma surgery. And
she said, and she was realcienting she said, I play
(31:32):
your stuff on the way to work because I have
to go in there feeling happy, she said, because I
know I'm going to come out feeling sad. And she said,
that's how I deal with this. And she just wrote
a little letters saying thank you so much for upbeat music,
all this sort of stuff, and that's to us. That's
really precious because I know it's pretty. You know, I
don't know where good we're happy and fun music's gone.
(31:53):
I don't know where it's gone. But there's a lot
of people moaning about their their ex partners and their
not having any money, which is great, but it gets
very boring, and so I I kind of I think
it's nice to be to do that to people. When
we do a gig by want people to come out
fling better than when they walked in. That's our goal
(32:15):
and if we can do that, then it's a success.
If we can't, then we've failed.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
Also, if you cast your mind back to some of
that seventies disco, oh you know it was pure had
a good time really, I was actually the Good Times
by Yeah, Bernard.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Edwards, the Bah. It's like God's gone down, You're going
to be great and he's playing it. I was some
of that.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Stuff was really Earthing the Fire and Sister Sledge all that.
I mean, just great stuff, really really fantastic.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
And in your contribution to making the world feel good,
it's just it's astounding, and I appreciate it so much.
I'm so curious, like when when Angie Sexy was like
just in the stratosphere.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
It's just like at it's height.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Was there a moment where you guys were like walking
around and like you heard it on TV or something
like that. We heard it kind of like in an
unexpected place and went like, oh my god, this is
like do you have a memory like that?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Interesting? When we were in Miami and we had hired
a convertible thunderbird I think it was a thunderbird, Yeah,
and we thought let's go for a drive. So we're
driving around Coconut Grove and all that saver Aia and
we're just we're serving all the radio, which what you
(33:34):
used to do about then, and literally we came in
and said this this week's this week number one, This
America's number one. This week is right, so fred Unti
section and we were like, that was here on the
radio was extraordinary, Yeah, And it was just really fortuitous
that we were at that moment.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
It was quite scary actually, I mean America, or at
least for me, was quite scary because it was so
huge and we've never been there. Before, not what we had,
but not in that way. And there was there seemed
to me to be an awful lot of pressure on us,
and I didn't quite know why, and I wasn't sure
what we were doing and what sort of song is this?
(34:14):
And you know, the whole thing was very confusing to
start with.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
But what America does the entertainment industry is they take
fame incredibly seriously. Yes, so, because they see it as
an asset. I guess, you know in the UK and
Europe they don't. They famous just some byproduct that comes
from having a get record. America, it's this sort of
machine which we weren't prepared for at all, and it's
(34:39):
a very different mindset. And it doesn't matter what if
you ever speak to any band in the world outside
of America, if they say America bigg in the American billboard,
it's not the Holy Grail. They're like, every single band
wants to be on the billboard, every single band. It
is because it's a it is the seal of a
not of approval. But it's like, yes, that because that
(35:01):
the charts in America filter out much greater than any
other countries.
Speaker 4 (35:07):
America, because you guys, evangelize your music. Yeah, that's what
I like, you really do. I mean, there's some great
bands in Spain, and there's great bands in Germany and Itiba,
but they're not evangelized, they're not sold to the world.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
And I like what I like about the American thing.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
I like the fact that you evangelize everything you do,
whether it's Andy Warhol or music or doesn't matter what
it is.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Everybody knows about it, you know. But we did it.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
We have never I had never heard of Wayne's world
at all. It wasn't something that we'd never heard of.
But we were doing we were having a break during
a promotion round at a diner and we came out
of this diner walking down some steps to the car
park and these two motorbike guys, I mean, all dressed
in leather with the whole thing getting off the off
(35:52):
their heart is and they collapsed onto their knees and
did this whole we're not working.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
And I had no idea what they were talking about. It.
We had an American tour manager and he explained it
to us. Yeah, yeah, we didn't know, no, so we
weren't familiar. Then once we did spring Break, which we
did with spinal tap. Fantastic And once we did that,
we tapped into that sort of new culture, if what
(36:20):
they want to call it. Yes, so way's well we
understood and butt head and beavers and all this other
stuff that came along at the time, you know, but
before that we were a little bit out the loop.
We were you know, like I said, the record happened
so fast. We literally went from nobody knowing who we
were to a lot of a lot of people that
it wasn't overnight success, but it had this effect as
(36:43):
opposed to it wasn't gradual, it wasn't a word of mouth.
It just went bang like that. It was also you
totally you do think you're ready for it. You just do,
and actually you're not. You're not.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
And so when people when people are famous at the
age of twenty, I just think you pulled both. Yeah,
just jumping beaver, for Heaven's sake, God bless him. But
you know, to be that famous and to look as
pretty as he did, he was too pretty to live really, yeah,
and to be surrounded by people who just apparent, as
far as I can see, didn't really care. That's pretty
(37:17):
typical business. Actually, you've got to have some good friends
that have a good family and people who care about
you to withstand all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
So the artists I really my heart you know when
I when I see them appearing, you know I knew
a new name or whatever, I just think, oh God,
I hope they've got someone around who gives us because
I look look at a Vichy. Yeah, it's horrible what
the industry can do if you let it, if you
let it absolutely.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
And I also wanted to ask you guys, is what
advice do you have for an artist that's starting out now, Like,
because you just had every possible experience you can have
in the music industry. And I know it's different for everybody,
but like, if someone's out there and they have a
hit song, they got labels coming at them, they don't
know what to do.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
What advice do you have for an artist like that?
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Billy Joel said the only two things you need are
a good lawyer and a gun. That's what he said.
I think, Well, one of the things we agree on
is always own your product as much as you can
own your product, and try and find people that you try.
I know it sounds a bit a bit a big ask,
(38:26):
but try and find people that you trust. Only work
with people you like. And we've been roped in a
couple of times by people who just span us the deal.
You played us like violins absolutely looking back and when
it when when somebody is being too friendly too quickly, Yeah,
step back.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
And have a think. So we have to realize is
you tend to think the guy you're talking to knows
more than you do or the girl. And you have
to remember you'r the asset. You have, that song, you have,
you have that content, and that might be your pension.
It might be if you're very, very So don't piss away,
don't don't don't sell it short. Don't sell it short.
(39:05):
Do not go into a meeting unless you've got some leverage. No, no,
you know you're worth don't go in there, you know.
Can you please help me? That's yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
That's the thing is the bat bands, artists, whatever. In
the early stages, they think the guy on the other
side of the desk knows all the stuff, and he doesn't.
For the most part, they don't know. And what you
forget as an artist is that you had the thing
they want, that all the power is yours. But artists
don't artists don't remember that. It's really really important to
(39:34):
remember that the power is yours. It's like you've got
a fistful of diamonds and they want it. Well, you've
got that. That's the leverage right there. Yeah, you don't
have to bow down and say thank you. You just
you know, be bi, put your shoulders back and stand tall.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Yeah, and have the balls to walk away if it
doesn't feel right. Yeah, it won't suddenly feel right. It
will continue. So you don't think right when this happens
to be right with that, No, notework. If it's wrong now,
it will always be wrong, So that would be I'll
just you know, try and be brave. I'm not. It's
difficult because you want to deal, you want to be
on TV, you want to you want you want to
(40:10):
play music for a living. But if you if you
start wrong, it will end wrong. There's no doubt about that.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
That that's great advice, guys, thank you.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
And uh.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
That's something that I think the industry has really like pushed,
especially in America, is like making music is fun. Aren't
you lucky to get to do that? I'm going to
now you get to do it for me and I'm
the key to that. And it's like, hey, anyone can
like draft up a contract. Only a special few people
can write a song. I mean, that's that is the value.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
It is the value. You have to remember that minute.
You hear all the time. But here's the contract. Oh,
by the way, it's non negotiable. Everything's it's just blak
or somebody who signed.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Seriously, we actually know somebody who signed a black piece
of paper and then managed to put it later.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, no, yes, honest, So you're right, anyone can drop
a contract. But writing and writing a hit song, even
if even if you hate that song, it doesn't matter
that person wrote it, and and and and and it's delibered.
You know, there's lots of people out there, very successful
who I don't get it. I don't understand why are
(41:19):
they successful, but nearly they are in good luck to
the it's my think.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Yeah, I think, particularly these days, if you can make
a living out of the music industry, well done, really,
because it's even more so now it's it's so constrained.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Yeah, so much money has left it.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
And as Fed said, when we started off, there were
labels everywhere, gigs everywhere, and now.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
It's about four or four labels whatever. I know.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
So, yeah it is if you're making money, good luck
to you.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Yeah, we're not really into that slagging off artist thing.
I saw a quote from Nor Gallagher the other day
slagging off Phil Collins. I mean, seriously, mate, Phil Collins.
Collins has got more talent in this little toe No,
and and to slag off someone, you know, I don't
get it, just to let people be don't get on
(42:06):
with it.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, particularly with film Collins sing gpe songwriter.
You know, just is it is what it is.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So tell me about the music you guys you're making now,
Like wait, wait, if people want to come and hear
a new rape, said Fred Staff.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Right, well, we are in the middle of a very
bizarre project.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
We have booked up with a couple of remixes called
Ward and there's also this weird character that we're involved
with called Bunny Tangent Stitch. Yeah, and it's out there man,
and it's a new song called It's not the new Rights,
said Fred Single. But it's the record we're involved in,
and it's called Wunderbars, and that is doing the rounds
(42:48):
on social media. Moment that gets released in about ten
days and we might be coming to La to do
a launch because there's some people have heard it over
there and they think we should definitely be over there,
So we might over there in August, right, that would
be That'll be all our platforms. So it's it's a
very bizarre little track. And then we're then we've got
(43:08):
a writer friend single which will be out end of
August September. That's called Raise your Hands. That's more typical
of what we do kind of for on the floor,
euphoric stuff, you know. Yeah, and that'll be outs really good. Yeah,
and we've got it's got We've got a bit on
that track. It's quite a bit tougher. Guitars are heavier,
beats heavier, so that's an interesting sounding record.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
Also, when we play live at my age, I need
to wake up on state, so you know, otherwise that does.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
We think we're not now?
Speaker 3 (43:46):
Oh God, you guys are the couset dudes who have
ever lived. I am loving this so much. I have
one more question before I let you guys go. So this,
this podcast is about Gilmour Girls, This show that we love.
It's it's a comfort show for a lot of people
like they watch it every far. I'm Too Sexy was
mentioned in the show, which is the basis of our
(44:08):
conversation here.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
And I want to know, do you guys have like.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
A comfort TV show that you like to look like
you you just put it on to fall asleep or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (44:18):
Brazier Yeah, Brasier Wow. I thought that was that whole
the whole season, all seasons, apart from maybe the last
one or two. It was genius right.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
The way through.
Speaker 4 (44:29):
And there's a couple of episodes of Seinfeld You're Big five.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Yeah, there's Bizarro, Yes, Jerry, And there's the one where
the opposite George has to do the opposite. Everything he's
ever done is stupid, So it's you know, and he
goes to make a decision, he goes, bo I'm gonna
do And so there's about I'm not a huge fan
(44:53):
of all the sidfle stuff, but those there's two three
episodes I think are really really really great. And Brasier
right across the board.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
What was really good about phrasing was that was the
colors colors when they started going outside, you know, they
did a thing in this in a fish market or something.
I think it's and once the colours changed, it changed
the mood.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
It was all that.
Speaker 4 (45:14):
It was all those earth colors on the set that
worked really, really well. So every every week when you
churched back in the day, whenever you tuned in, it
was the same color as the same coat. He put
the keys down in the same place, Marty was in
the same chair. That was incredibly company and it was
very well written, brilliantly written.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Two, there's a couple of European there's a French detective
series which is quite old now actually called Spiral, and
we watched that sometimes. We watched it. We know exactly
what's going to happen. It's fantastic. And the way the
French police in this are depicted and the way they
treat they knock everybody around. It's like the shield, the
shield just whacking everybody. Funny. There's a few, yeah, like
(46:00):
that lot of songs or whatever people have that little
go to that's good. Yeah. Yeah, for me, it would
definitely be Frasier.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Yeah, I love it. You guys are just so cool.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Friend Richard fair Prass again right, said Fred, This has
been so much fun. I thank you guys for the
music you've made and the inspiration continue to be for
artists all over the world.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
Just the absolutely greatest you guys, thank you.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
We'll send you a clip of this other thing.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
Yes, and everyone go listen to everything right said Fred
is making. Just listen to it all by the albums,
buy it all.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Thank you so much
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Everybody, and don't forget Follow us on Instagram at I
Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at
iHeartRadio dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Amy Sugarman
Danielle Romo
Scott Patterson
Tara Soudbaksh
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