Right Said Fred is an English band based in London and formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. With over 20 million CDs sold worldwide, the group has achieved multi-platinum status and has also won two Ivor Novello Awards – for “I’m Too Sexy” and “Deeply Dippy”.
In July 1991, the group released its debut single, “I’m Too Sexy”, on the independent London-based record label Tug Records. The track is a distinctive dance song which takes a gentle swipe at the fashion industry and features an instrumental break based on “Third Stone from the Sun” by Jimi Hendrix.
It was a huge hit in the United Kingdom, spending six weeks at number two in the charts and three months in the Top 10. The song also went to number one in 32 countries including the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Right Said Fred is the first UK band since The Beatles to reach the number one slot in the USA with a debut single. The single also went to number four on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
The second single, “Don’t Talk Just Kiss”, with background vocals by soul singer Jocelyn Brown, was released in October 1991. It made number three in the Christmas UK charts, entered the top five in many countries and reached number eight in the US dance chart.
In February 1992, the band released its third single, “Deeply Dippy”. This was number one in the UK for three weeks and peaked at number nine in the US dance chart.
The success of the singles resulted in the band’s Multi-Platinum debut album, Up, reaching number one in the UK album charts as well as charting worldwide. The album remained in the Top 40 for almost a year.
In 1992, Heavenly Records released an EP that featured the label’s acts covering Right Said Fred songs for charity. The Fred EP contains Saint Etienne (performing “I’m Too Sexy”), The Rockingbirds (“Deeply Dippy”) and Flowered Up (“Don’t Talk Just Kiss”.
Early in 1993 Fred, Richard and Rob wrote and recorded the Comic Relief single, Stick It Out, which was a top five hit in the UK and in many European countries. In September 1993, Right Said Fred released its second album, Sex and Travel, to critical acclaim. Sex and Travel included the hit singles “Bumped” and “Hands Up for Lovers”.
The band received its second Ivor Novello award for “Deeply Dippy”.
Raise Your Hands is Right Said Fred’s first 2013 single. It was released in the USA with remixes from DJ Kash, DJ Sphank and The Majikboys.
The duo made a return to prominence in 2014 when they appeared on the satirical news show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where they performed a rendition of their song I’m Too Sexy with changed lyrics aimed at insulting Bashar al-Assad.