Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English new wave pop band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials. The band enjoyed six UK Top 20 hits, including "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" and "Tunnel of Love" and created two albums of which the eponymous Fun Boy Three was the most successful. The follow-up album Waiting, produced by David Byrne, was well-received critically but did not sell as well. The trio's last UK hit was "Our Lips Are Sealed", co-written by Terry Hall and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's, who had a U.S. hit with the song a year earlier. They then toured the United States and split afterwards. They were also credited with helping launch the career in 1982 of Bananarama, whom Hall first saw in The Face magazine. The three women provided credited chorus vocals on the hit "It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"; the Fun Boy Three later sang on the Bananarama song "Really Saying Something".
Band member Terry Hall passed away in December 2022 at the age of 63.
Links To Peel[]
Peel took interest in the group after they split from The Specials and played some of their songs on his radio shows between 1981 and 1982. A cover version of their 1983 hit Our Lips Are Sealed was recorded by Soup Dragons for their second Peel session.
Shows Played[]
Fun Boy Three. It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It).
- 1981
- 22 October 1981 (BFBS): The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) (7") Chrysalis CHS 2563
- 26 October 1981: The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) (7") Chrysalis CHS 2563
- 03 November 1981: The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) (7") Chrysalis CHS 2563
- 1982
- 31 January 1982 (BFBS) (with Bananarama): It Ain't What You Do... (12" - It Ain't What You Do..../Just Do It) Chrysalis
- 22 February 1982 (with Bananarama): 'It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It (12 inch)' (Chrysalis)
- 01 March 1982: The Telephone Always Rings (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 01 March 1982: I Don't Believe It (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 01 March 1982: Alone (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 02 March 1982: Way On Down (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 07 March 1982 (BFBS): The Telephone Always Rings (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 07 March 1982 (BFBS): Life In General (Lewe In Algemeen) (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 11 March 1982: Life In General (Lewe In Algemeen) (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 14 March 1982 (BFBS): Best Of Luck Mate (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 18 March 1982: The Telephone Always Rings (album - The FB3) Chrysalis CHR 1383
- 19 April 1982: The Alibi (b/w 7" - The Telephone Always Rings) Chrysalis
- Karl's Tape - April 1982 a: The Telephone Always Rings (7") Chrysalis
- Karl's Tape 04 - April 1982: The Telephone Always Rings (extended version) (12") Chrysalis
- 03 May 1982: The Telephone Always Rings (single)
- Karl's Tape 05 - May 1982: Way To London (album - FB3) Chrysalis
- 06 December 1982: The More I See (The Less I Believe) (12") Chrysalis
- 08 December 1982: The More I See (The Less I Believe) (7") Chrysalis CHS 2664
- 1983
- 25 January 1983: The Lunacy Legacy (7" - The Tunnel Of Love) Chrysalis CHS 2678
- 02 February 1983 (BBC World Service): The Lunacy Legacy (7" - The Tunnel Of Love) Chrysalis CHS 2678
- 14 February 1983: The Farm Yard Connection (album - Waiting) Chrysalis CHR 1417
- 23 February 1983: We're Having All The Fun (album - Waiting) Chrysalis CHR 1417
Top Of The Pops[]
- 27 May 1982 (TOTP): The Telephone Always Rings #28
- 12 August 1982 (TOTP): Summertime #26
- 03 February 1983 (TOTP): Tunnel Of Love #68
- 05 May 1983 (TOTP): Our Lips Are Sealed #16
Cover Versions[]
(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)
Performing Artist | Song | First Known Play
- Avrocar: Our Lips Are Sealed 07 September 2004
- Soup Dragons: Our Lips Are Sealed (session) 06 January 1987