Released in March of 1982, the eponymous debut LP by Fun Boy Three is celebrating 40 years on the shelves this month.
After
splitting from The Specials, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval
Golding decided to step out of the ska framework and move into a more
Afro-centric vibe with a heavy emphasis on percussion on their debut as
Fun Boy Three. With the trio working predominantly on their own with
only guest background vocalists on some songs and Dick Cuthell doing
some horn work, the album took on a singularly esoteric sound that
combined electronic drum machines with acoustic percussion, guitars,
piano and ambitious vocal arrangements. Production on the album was
somewhat rushed, however, which drove the group to work spontaneously,
writing songs and working out arrangements in a manner that created a
distinctive looseness. It’s a situation which Terry Hall bemoaned in
later years, dismissing the album as being underdeveloped, but this
free-form, by-the-seat-of-their-pants methodology resulted in an album
that feels fresh and innovative. In fact, I find it’s held up
incredibly well over the years and, in some respects, remains a peerless
pop record. There was nothing that sounded quite like it back then and
nothing has sounded like it since.
Aside from the vibrancy of
the atmosphere created by the album, it manages to hit hard in terms of
social consciousness, particularly with its lead single, The Lunatics
Have Taken Over The Asylum. Its a song which has continually increased
in relevance as we’ve seen the world spiral down a rabbit hole of social
insanity and political corruption. It really should be considered THE
anthem of the 21st century. On a lighter note, the album also
introduced the world Bananarama, the all girl vocal trio who’d go on to
massive success on their own following their appearance on the joint FB3
follow up single from the LP, T'Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That
You Do It).
The album enjoyed considerable commercial success and
the group would go on to expand their lineup for their second album,
allowing them to become a full live performing act rather than only a
studio creation. Their second album and a few other singles continued
the group’s popularity, though with a more conventional pop song
structure, but they’d disband after that and Hall would move on to other
projects like The Colour Field before moving on to a full solo career.
For me, their debut remains one of my all-time favorite records from
its era and still finds itself getting into my music rotation on a
regular basis. I’d neglected it for a while in the 1990s and early
2000s, but since rediscovering it, I never leave it for too long without
a listen.
