“Fun Boy Three” is a self-titled debut album for Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, showing that they could make music on their own without the Specials but also make chart topping hits of music different from the 2 Tone music they have been identified with. But with numerous awesome tracks on the album and also one of the greatest collaboration pop songs ever made, “Fun Boy Three” is an album worth checking out!
Click here to purchase Fun Boy Three – Fun Boy Three album on Amazon
BAND: Fun Boy Three
ALBUM: Fun Boy Three
DURATION: 17 Songs (1 Hr., 1 Min.)
YEAR OF RELEASE: March 1982
1 Sanctuary
2 Way on Down
3 The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)
4 Life in General (Lewe in Algemeen)
5 Faith, Hope and Charity
6 Funrama 2
7 Best of Luck Mate
8 It Ain’t What You Do It’s the Way That You Do It
9 The Telephone Always Rings
10 I Don’t Believe It
11 Alone
BONUS TRACKS ON DIGITAL VERSION:
12 Just Do It
13 Funrama Theme
14 Summertime (Extended 12″ Mix)
15 Summer of ’82
16 The Telephone Always Rings (12″ Mix)
17 The Alibi (12″ Extended Mix)
In 1981, with tensions building within the 2 Tone (A genre that fused traditional Jamaican ska music, reggae, elements of punk rock and new wave and derived from the record label, 2 Tone Records) band, The Specials, while musically things were looking good unfortunately, tensions were building with the group.
Despite having the major hit song “Ghost Town” at the end of 1981, The Specials, members Terry Hall and Neville Staple and Lynval Golding quit the group and would go on to form the English new wave pop band, Fun Boy Three.
They band released their self-titled album in 1983, and while the album would become popular as it featured three well-known members of The Specials, their debut album would be known for launching the careers of the female trio, Bananarama.
While Bananarama was unknown and their song “Aie a Mwana” was sung in Swahili, the UK music magazine “The Face” would spotlight the group which caught the interest of Terry Hall. Hall would ask the trio to collaborate with Fun Boy Three and their single “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” would become a hit, charting at no. 4 on the UK Charts and gave Bananarama their first major mainstream success.
While Bananarama would pay the favor back, collaborating with Fun Boy Three for their single “Really Saying Something”, needless to say the male trio – Fun Boy Three and the female trio – Bananarama would generate excitement, because they had fun onscreen and look natural and not polished and since then, audiences still gravitate to this song because of how fun and catchy it is.
But while the collaboration with Bananarama made the album popular, for those who knew Fun Boy Three, many were excited to see what kind of music they would do together. As Hall, Staple and Golding were so identified with the ska sound (especially Hall’s vocals that many today would compare it similar to Robert Smith’s vocals of The Cure), “Fun Boy Three” was an album that shows that the group was not interested in duplicating the same style of music but creating their sound. And there are a good number of bangers on this album!
“The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)” was their first single that attracted their attention by the mesmerizing lyrics. You also have to love the baritone backing vocals for the song!
And their third single off the album “The Telephone Always Rings” which sounds like it could be a 50s style of doowop music sound until Hall starts singing his vocals, and you realize it’s anything but. A fun track overall!
But as all three songs cracked the Top UK Charts placing in the top 20, the fourth single from Fun Boy Three was “Summertime”.
The single was not included on any of the two albums released by Fun Boy Three, but recently with the re-issue of “Fun Boy Three”, especially with the digital version, you get six extra tracks which includes the Extended 12″ Mix of “Summertime”. which charted at no. 18 on the UK Charts.
The bonus tracks also include the B-sides for “It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It” titled “Just Do It” featuring certain vocal portions from the single and “Funrama Theme”. Also, included are “Summer of ’82” (which was the B-side of “Summertime”), the 12″ Extended Mix of “The Telephone Always Rings” and a 12″ Extended Mix of “The Alibi” (which was the B-side for “The Telephone Always Rings”).
Overall, “Fun Boy Three” is a self-titled debut album for Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, showing that they could make music on their own without the Specials but also make chart topping hits of music different from the 2 Tone music they have been identified with. But with numerous awesome tracks on the album and also one of the greatest collaboration pop songs ever made, “Fun Boy Three” is an album worth checking out!
Click here to purchase Fun Boy Three – Fun Boy Three album on Amazon
