Richard Peter John Fairbrass is an English singer, bassist and television presenter, best known as lead singer of the pop groupRight Said Fred, which spawned a huge hit in the 1990s with the single "I'm Too Sexy". He and his band have won two Ivor Novello Awards.
Career
Before forming his own band, Richard was a bassist who had played with several prominent artists, including Boy George. In 1984, he appeared in Jazzin' for Blue Jean, a video by David Bowie, as the bass player. Towards the end of the 1980s, Richard 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. During the band's heyday, Madonna publicly expressed her desire to go to bed with Richard. In 1994, he was joint winner of Rear of the Year with Mandy Smith. Following this, Fairbrass co hosted on BBC Two,, a television series called Gaytime TV 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. From June to August 2001, he co presented with Gabrielle Richensa 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. Shortly after, during a gay rightsrally in Red Square, 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. Richard Fairbrass sustained a cut under his eye. Speaking about the incident upon his return to the United Kingdom, Richard Fairbrass 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 'I'm Too Sexy'?". In November 2007, Fairbrass announced that he and his brother would be taking part in the next series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!; however, they did not make it onto the show. In an episode of Celebrity Fantasy Homes, hosted by Gaby Roslin, 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, Right Said Fred 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, Surrey, England, and was brought up in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He has a younger brother, "Fred". 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: "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."
