Faith No More

Formed in San Francisco in 1980, Faith No More, titled after a greyhound the members had bet on, were among the first outfits to experiment with the fusion of funk, thrash and hardcore styles which effectively became a new musical sub-genre. The band initially comprised Jim Martin (b. 21 July 1961, Oakland, California, USA; guitar; ex-Vicious Hatred), Roddy Bottum (b. 1 July 1963, Los Angeles, California, USA; keyboards), Bill Gould (b. 24 April 1963, Los Angeles, California, USA; bass), Mike Bordin (b. 27 November 1962, San Francisco, California, USA; drums) and Chuck Moseley (vocals). Bottum had attended the same school as Bould, while Bordin was recruited from his course at Berkeley University in tribal rhythm. Gould had met Moseley on the Los Angeles club circuit in 1980, while Martin had been recommended by Metallica's Cliff Burton. This line-up recorded a low-budget, self-titled debut on the independent Mordam label, followed by the ground breaking INTRODUCE YOURSELF on Slash, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. It encompassed a variety of styles but exuded a rare warmth and energy, mainly through Moseley's melodramatic vocals, and was well received by the critics (not least for signature tune, We Care A Lot). However, internal disputes led to the firing of Moseley on the eve of widespread press coverage and favourable live reviews, though it had been reported that the band underwent a period when every single member walked out at some point. Moseley would go on to gig, temporarily, with Bad Brains before putting his own band together, Cement. Against the odds his replacement, Mike Patton (b. 27 January 1968, Eureka, California, USA), was even more flamboyant and actually more accomplished as a singer (it was also rumoured that Courtney Love of Hole auditioned/rehearsed with the group). THE REAL THING, the album which followed Patton's recruitment, was a runaway success, with the single, Epic, denting the UK Top 20 singles chart. Their style was now both offbeat and unpredictable, yet retained enough melody to remain a commercial proposition. Despite the universal adulation, however, it transpired that the band still pretty much hated each other off stage. LIVE AT THE BRIXTON ACADEMY was released as a stop-gap affair, while the band toured on for nearly three years on the back of the worldwide success of their last studio album. After Patton temporarily defected back to his original, pre-Faith No More outfit, Mr. Bungle, the group finally returned with ANGEL DUST. A tougher, less accessible record in keeping with the group's origins (despite a cover of the Commodores’ I'm Easy), it made the US Top 10 as their commercial ascent continued. However, in 1994 following a good deal of press speculation, the ever volatile line-up of Faith No More switched again as Jim Martin was ousted in favour of Trey Spruance, who had formerly worked in Patton's earlier and sometimes concurrent band, Mr. Bungle.