Tracks Of My Years - Roland Gift

TRACKS OF MY YEARS - ROLAND GIFT (320kbs-m4a/131mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 23rd November 2025

Roland Gift, frontman of Fine Young Cannibals, joins Vernon Kay to select his Tracks Of My Years.

Born in Birmingham and raised in Hull, Roland joined Fine Young Cannibals after answering an advertisement for a vocalist by bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox – both former members of The Beat. They took their name from the 1960 film All The Fine Young Cannibals and released two albums; their self-titled debut in 1985 and The Raw & The Cooked in 1989. The latter featured singles like She Drives Me Crazy and Good Thing - both of which topped the chart in the US. The Raw & The Cooked was globally successful, topping the album charts in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. It sold over five million copies worldwide, topping charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and earned the band two BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello, four MTV Music Video nominations and three Grammy nominations. The band split in 1992, and Roland has also worked as an actor on stage and screen

To mark forty years since the band's self-titled debut album, this month they're releasing a new career-spanning compilation FYC40. Next year Roland is playing live, with a 40 Years Of Songs By Fine Young Cannibals UK tour.

Produced by BBC Audio for BBC Radio 2.

The Clash - Complete Control [Columbia]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [BR Music]
Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair [Telstar]
The Jam - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight [Global Television]
Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Israelites [Old Gold]
The Specials - Too Much Too Young [Connoisseur]
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'n' Roll [Blackheart]
The Who - Pinball Wizard [Polydor]
Dexys Midnight Runners - Dance Stance [Parlophone UK]
Billie Holiday - Willow, Weep For Me [Verve Reissues]