Richard Peter John Fairbrass (born 22 September 1953) is an English singer, bassist and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop group

Right Said Fred Right Said Fred are an English pop band formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. They are best known for the hit 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". Their achievements include number 1 hits in 70 countries including one US number 1, o ...

, which achieved two hits in the early 1990s with the singles "

I'm Too Sexy "I'm Too Sexy" is a 1991 song by British group Right Said Fred, released as their debut single from their first album, '' Up'' (1992). It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "I'm Too Sexy" topped the chart ...

" and " Deeply Dippy". He and his band have won two

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. Worth over 50 million dollars in record sales.

Career

Before forming his own band, Richard was a bassist who had played with several prominent artists, including

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

.What's on – Right Said Fred
www.egnet.co.uk In 1984, he appeared in ''

Jazzin' for Blue Jean ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' is a 21-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple. It was created to promote Bowie's single " Blue Jean" in 1984 and released as a video single. The film won the 1985 Grammy Award for " Best ...

'', a video by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, as the bass player. Towards the end of the 1980s, Richard joined with his brother Fred to form

. The Fairbrass brothers performed as a duo for a brief period, touring in New York City. Guitarist Rob Manzoli joined them in 1990. During the band's heyday, Madonna publicly expressed (in front of sixty million viewers of America's Arsenio Hall Show) her desire to go to bed with Richard. In 1994, he was joint winner of

Rear of the Year Rear of the Year was a British award for celebrities who were considered to have an attractive posterior. It was created by publicity consultant Anthony Edwards in 1976. Initially, it was awarded only to women, but in 1986 the first award was ...

with

Mandy Smith Amanda Louise Smith (born 17 July 1970) is an English former pop singer and model. She became known in the mid-1980s for her romantic relationship with, and subsequent marriage to, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who is 33 years her senior. ...

. Following this, Fairbrass co hosted on BBC Two, (with

Rhona Cameron Rhona Cameron (born 27 September 1965) is a Scottish comedian, writer and TV presenter. She rose to prominence via the stand-up comedy circuit, and was a regular on British television in the 1990s. Television career In 1992, she won ''So You ...

), a television series called '' Gaytime TV'' (1995–1999) which was aimed at an LGBT audience. In December 1998, Fairbrass presented

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''Naked Eurovision'', a behind the scenes documentary about the

Eurovision Song Contest 1998 The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcas ...

in Birmingham. From June to August 2001, he co presented with

Gabrielle Richens Gabrielle Richens (born 14 September 1974) is a British model and television presenter. She was born in Kent of British, Indian and Chinese descent, although her parents are from South Africa. Richens has worked as a model since she was fifte ...

a game show, ''

The Desert Forges ''The Desert Forges'' is a game show set in the Wadi Rum desert region in Jordan. It was first aired on Channel 5 from 23 June to 25 August 2001. It is based on a French format called ''Les Forges du Désert'', created by Pierre Sportolaro in 1 ...

'', on Channel 5. In April 2007, Fairbrass was reported to be planning to run for

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

in the 2008 Election. Shortly after, during a gay rights

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

, Moscow, on 27 May 2007, commemorating the 14th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Russia, Richard and Fred Fairbrass were assaulted by members of a counter demonstration staged by ultra-nationalists. During this incident, Fairbrass sustained a cut under his eye. Speaking about the incident upon his return to the United Kingdom, he commented: "When it was over I actually felt more sorry for the guy that whacked me than I did for me ... How threatened can he be, how insecure is he to be threatened by a bisexual pop singer who's most famous for singing '

'?". In an episode of ''Celebrity Fantasy Homes'', hosted by

Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the '' Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC ...

, Richard and his brother Fred were looking to spend £2,000,000 on a property in Sussex, with three separate living accommodations for them and their mother. In June 2013,

re-recorded ''I'm Too Sexy'' as "I'm Too Smurfy" for ''World Smurfs Day''. Richard appears on the promo, which features fresh clips from the 3D film. Global Smurfs Day benefits the charity MediCinema, which builds cinemas in hospitals.

Personal life

Fairbrass was born on 22 September 1953 in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, Surrey, England, and was brought up in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He has a younger brother, "Fred" (born Christopher Abbott Bernard Fairbrass on 2 November 1956). Richard had come out as bisexual in 1991 to '' The Sun''. Richard's long-term partner, from 1982 until 2010, was Stuart Pantry, a BBC make up artist, who died in September 2010 of cancer. In April 2007, Richard said to the ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

'': "My last relationship was with a girl, so I am on the cusp. I have never described myself as completely gay". Fairbrass has also said he appreciates "pretty guys who look like girls and girls who look like pretty guys."

Views on COVID

Fairbrass was hospitalised with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in 2021; he has spoken out against COVID-19 measures and has been sceptical of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Views on War in Ukraine

Fairbrass has routinely commented on the 2022

War in Ukraine The following is a list of major conflicts fought by Ukraine, by Ukrainian people or by regular armies during periods when independent states existed on the modern territory of Ukraine, from the Kyivan Rus' times to the present day. It also i ...

, often speaking in support of Russia's invasion and

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

's justifications for the conflict. In December 2022, he published a tweet on his personal

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

profile, calling on Putin to resist "western domination". He has also described

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

and the Ukrainian government as a despotic regime.

References

External links

Official website of Right Said FredRight Said Fred at MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbrass, Richard 1953 births Living people English male singers English television presenters English LGBT singers Bisexual men Bisexual singers People from Kingston upon Thames People from East Grinstead