Fun Boy Three (album)

The Fun Boy Three
Studio album by
The Fun Boy Three
ReleasedMarch 1982
StudioThe Bridge, London
Genre
Length32:53
LabelChrysalis
Producer
  • Dave Jordan
  • The Fun Boy Three
The Fun Boy Three chronology
The Fun Boy Three
(1982) 		Waiting
(1983)
Singles from The Fun Boy Three
  1. "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)"
    Released: 1981
  2. "'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"
    Released: 1982

The Fun Boy Three is the debut album by English new wave pop band the Fun Boy Three, a band consisting of three ex-members of the UK ska band the Specials: Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. It was released in 1982 by Chrysalis Records and was re-released in 1999 by EMI as Fame. Several songs on the album feature backing vocals by the female pop trio Bananarama. Three singles were released from the album: "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)", "It Aint What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", and a remix (with overdubbed horns) of "The Telephone Always Rings".

"The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" reached No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1981 and spent 12 weeks in the Top 100.[1] "It Aint What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" reached No. 4 and spent 7 weeks in the Top 40.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Daily Telegraph[4]
Pitchfork8.4/10[5]
Record Collector[6]
Record Mirror[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Sounds[9]
The Village VoiceB[10]

Record Mirror critic Mike Nicholls praised The Fun Boy Three as "a fabulous example of inspired amateurism at its best" and said that the band, "working in the same way as similarly unschooled Jamaican reggae stylists", had made an album that functions as "quality, unusual background music as well as a collection of original, often dryly humorous, stirring songs."[7] "Taken in its role as a competitor against the present pop vanguard of Haircut, League and company," wrote Robbi Millar in Sounds, "The Fun Boy Three makes all the right moves in all the right places". Complimenting the album's "understatement", Millar concluded, "From Dave Jordan's production right through to the sturdy subject matter involved, it's a simple record. Simple and straight to the point. But, then again, it ain't what you do ..."[9]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Jo-Ann Greene highlighted the minimalist sound of The Fun Boy Three, writing, "Many of the songs were stripped down to bare vocals and percussion, while even those tracks which did sport other instruments mostly utilized them as mere embellishments around the showcased rhythms. Long before modern rap and techno placed all its focus on the beats, the Boys were diligently working around this same concept ... It says much about the state of the British music scene of the time that such innovative music was not only accepted, but reveled in."[3] Shaad D'Souza of Pitchfork described the album as having a "mysterious electro-pop sound haunted by the racist violence entrenched in British history" and commented that it "still sounds as mischievous and enigmatic as it likely did upon release. Its status as a relatively forgotten cultural artifact only adds to its mystique: This album of Gregorian-style chants and absurdist one-liners made for an entirely unexpected entrant to the UK Top 10."[5]

Track listing

All songs by Lynval Golding, Terry Hall and Neville Staples, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Sanctuary" (with Bananarama) – 1:21
  2. "Way on Down" – 2:54
  3. "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" – 3:14
  4. "Life in General (Lewe in Algemeen)" – 3:19
  5. "Faith, Hope and Charity" – 2:48
  6. "Funrama 2" (with Bananarama) – 3:08

Side two

  2. "Best of Luck Mate" – 3:19
  3. "T'aint What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" (with Bananarama; written by Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young) – 2:53
  4. "The Telephone Always Rings" – 3:39
  5. "I Don't Believe It" – 3:26
  6. "Alone" (with Bananarama) – 3:00

2009 extended version CD bonus tracks

  2. "Just Do It" (with Bananarama) – 2:59
  3. "The Funrama Theme" (extended version) – 6:03
  4. "Summertime" (extended version) – 6:26
  5. "Summer of '82" – 4:01
  6. "The Telephone Always Rings" (extended version) – 5:34
  7. "The Alibi (The Station's Full of Pipes)" – 2:49

Personnel

Credits adapted from 2009 "extended version" liner notes.[11]

Charts

Chart performance for Fun Boy Three
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 84
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[13] 10
New Zealand (RIANZ)[14] 17
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[15][16] 7

Certifications

Certifications for Fun Boy Three
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The Lunatics (Have Taken over the Asylum)". Official Charts.
  2. ^ "IT AINT WHAT YOU DO IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT". Official Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann. "The Fun Boy Three – Fun Boy Three". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. ^ Green, Thomas H. (16 September 2009). "The Fun Boy Three, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (26 November 2023). "Fun Boy Three: Fun Boy Three Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Jake (December 2009). "The Fun Boy Three: Extended Version | The Fun Boy Three". Record Collector. No. 369. p. 95. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  7. ^ a b Nicholls, Mike (13 March 1982). "Fun Boys take over...". Record Mirror. p. 17.
  8. ^ Shewey, Don (8 July 1982). "The Fun Boy Three". Rolling Stone. No. 373. p. 50. Archived from the original on 29 May 2001. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  9. ^ a b Millar, Robbi (13 March 1982). "Three wise men". Sounds. p. 50.
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert (1 June 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. ^ The Fun Boy Three (2009). The Fun Boy Three (Extended Version) (CD liner notes). London: Cherry Pop. CRPOP27.
  12. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 119. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. ^ "charts.org.nz - Discografie Fun Boy Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  14. ^ "charts.nz - Discography Fun Boy Three". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Fun Boy Three - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  16. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 216. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  17. ^ "British album certifications – Fun Boy Three – Fun Boy Three". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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