Between 1985 and 1992, and across two hugely successful albums, Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) dominated charts worldwide, winning two Brit Awards, receiving three Grammy nominations, earning an Ivor Novello Award and achieving three number one singles in America. They split after seven years and, bar a greatest hits album, very little had been heard from them since.
But in July 2025, their charismatic lead singer, Roland Gift, announced a return to touring under the guise of ‘Roland Gift Presents 40 Years of Songs by Fine Young Cannibals’. Tonight was the third show of the tour.
Gift’s band took to the stage before the lights came up, as “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, the instrumental theme from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, played, heralding Gift’s entrance. Looking dapper in a white kurta, he acknowledged the crowd’s applause before launching into Suspicious Minds, a nod to the entrance music famously associated with Elvis Presley.
From the outset, it was clear that Gift’s unmistakeable voice had lost none of its power as he sang ‘Alone’, ‘Blue’ and ‘She’s Not Your Girlfriend’ before addressing the audience. Asking whether they wanted to dance, to which the answer was obviously yes, he launched into one of FYC’s signature songs, ‘Johnny Come Home’. As Gift danced along to the intro, the audience rose to their feet, bopping and singing along. ‘Top of the World’ followed before Gift asked whether the audience liked punk rock, leading into a brilliant reggae arrangement of the Buzzcocks classic ‘Ever Fallen in Love’, which kept the crowd dancing.
The band consisted of two keyboard players, a drummer, guitarist Dave Randall, and backing singers Debbie and Julie, who performed a song together while Gift briefly left the stage. Apologies to those whose names I didn’t catch.
Upon his return, he dialled things back with acoustic versions of ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ and ‘I’m Not the Man I’m Used to Be’. Raising the tempo once more for ‘Rudy’ and three further songs, Gift then entertained the crowd by describing the contents of two shopping bags being raffled as prizes. Congratulations to those in seats C3 and L37 who won them!
Two of FYC’s most popular songs, ‘Good Thing’ and ‘Don’t Look Back’, closed the set. After a well-deserved standing ovation, the band returned for an encore of ‘Free Man’ and a more familiar version of ‘She Drives Me Crazy’.
Tonight’s show was both nostalgic and uplifting, bridging the gap between the band’s late-80s success and Gift’s current mature, soulful delivery.
The tour continues and details can be found here, Roland Gift Presents 40 Years of Songs by Fine Young Cannibals Tour 2026, Official,Concert Tickets from MyTicket.co.uk
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 08.05.2026
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