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Richard Fairbrass

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Richard Fairbrass
Fairbrass performing in 2015
Fairbrass performing in 2015
Background information
Birth nameRichard Peter John Fairbrass
Born (1953-09-22) 22 September 1953 (age 71)[1]
Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England
GenresPop, dance
Occupation(s)Singer and television presenter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1976–present
Member ofRight Said Fred
Websitewww.rightsaidfred.com

Richard Peter John Fairbrass (born 22 September 1953)[1] is an English singer, bassist, and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop group Right Said Fred, who achieved hits in the early 1990s including the singles "I'm Too Sexy" and "Deeply Dippy". He and his band have won two Ivor Novello Awards.[2]

Career

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Before forming his own band, Fairbrass was a bassist who had played with several prominent artists, including Boy George.[3] In 1984, he appeared in Jazzin' for Blue Jean, a video by David Bowie, as the bass player.[4] Towards the end of the 1980s, Fairbass joined with his brother Fred to form Right Said Fred. The Fairbrass brothers performed as a duo for a brief period, touring in New York City. Guitarist Rob Manzoli joined them in 1990.[3] In 1994, he was joint winner of Rear of the Year with Mandy Smith.[5] Following this, Fairbrass co hosted on BBC Two, (with Rhona Cameron), a television series called Gaytime TV (1995–1999) which was aimed at an LGBT audience.

In December 1998, Fairbrass presented BBC One's Naked Eurovision, a behind the scenes documentary about the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham.[6] From June to August 2001, he co presented with Gabrielle Richens a game show, The Desert Forges, on Channel 5.

In April 2007, Fairbrass was reported to be planning to run for Mayor of London in the 2008 Election.[7]

During a gay rights rally in Red Square, Moscow, on 27 May 2007, commemorating the 14th anniversary of the de-criminalisation of homosexuality in Russia, Richard Fairbrass and Peter Tatchell were violently assaulted by members of a counter demonstration staged by ultra-nationalists. They were subsequently arrested and detained by Russian police. [8][9]

Personal life

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Fairbrass was born on 22 September 1953[1] in Kingston upon Thames, 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).[10]

Richard came 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.[11] Fairbrass has also said he appreciates "pretty guys who look like girls and girls who look like pretty guys."[12]

Views on COVID-19

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Fairbrass was hospitalised with COVID-19 in 2021, but has spoken out against COVID-19 measures and has been sceptical of the COVID-19 vaccine.[13]

Views on Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Fairbrass has routinely commented on the 2022 war in Ukraine, often speaking in support of Russia's invasion and Vladimir Putin's justifications for the conflict. In December 2022, he published a tweet on his personal Twitter profile, calling on Putin to resist "western domination".[14] He has also described Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government as a despotic regime.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c McGrath, Nick (3 April 2021). "Richard Fairbrass: 'We could have had pools and Rolls-Royces, but we wanted to make music'" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  2. ^ RSF awarded 2 Ivor Novello's for 'I'm too Sexy' and 'Deeply Dippy' Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, www.rightsaidfred.com
  3. ^ a b What's on – Right Said Fred, www.egnet.co.uk Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Official David Bowie video on YouTube showing Richard Fairbrass playing bass.
  5. ^ Rear of the Year 1994 Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Digital Spy
  6. ^ "Naked Eurovision – BBC One London – 31 December 1998 – BBC Genome". BBC. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  7. ^ Barney, Katharine (18 April 2007). "Right Said Fred : I'll Stand for London Mayor". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Moscow Anti-Gay Attack Condemned". BBC News. 28 May 2007.
  9. ^ Levy, Mike (27 May 2007). "Eggs and Punches at Russia Gay March". BBC News.
  10. ^ Right Said Fred Biography, www.oldies.com
  11. ^ "Right Said Fred's Richard Fairbrass: 'When I came out the media tried to sabotage my career and I wasn't allowed to date my boyfriend in public'". Divine Varod. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  12. ^ Richard Fairbrass – Weaknesses, www.rightsaidfred.com Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Moore, Sam (21 August 2021). "Right Said Fred star still against vaccine despite being admitted to hospital with Covid". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  14. ^ Fairbrass, Richard [@RealFairbrass] (22 December 2022). "Russia will never submit to Western domination https://t.co/rHqyvwHoyC" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Fairbrass, Richard [@RealFairbrass] (22 December 2022). "The US through its support for the criminal despotic regime in Ukraine is making the conflict ever more dangerous. Few if any talk peace, NATO is now no longer solely a defensive organisation and the West as ever is hiding under US petticoats https://t.co/HQMDVJsobE" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023 – via Twitter.
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