February 8, 1992: "I'm Too Sexy" For This Chart

Left to right: Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli

February 8, 1992: British band Right Said Fred hit Number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart with "I'm Too Sexy." I guess the song was too sexy for the chart, too sexy for the chart, you can take that to heart.

They named their band after the novelty song "Right Said Fred," which was a hit single for singer and actor Bernard Cribbins in 1962. The group was Richard Fairbrass, lead singer and bass guitarist; his brother, Fred Fairbrass, lead guitar; and Richard Manzoli, guitar. They have used several drummers, including, at the time of "I'm Too Sexy," Chuck Sabo, an American.

Both Fairbrass brothers, from Kingston upon Thames in Southwest London, shaved their heads, confusing some people (including myself) into thinking they were twins. In fact, Richard is 10 years older.

Like the Beastie Boys with "Fight For Your Right to Party," they were actually making fun of the people they were portraying, in their case the vapid models of the 1980s and early 1990s, muscular men and "heroin-thin" women alike. Unfortunately, also like the Beasties, RSF were taken seriously on the song that made them famous. If people had realized these songs were lampoons, they might not have been big hits.

RSF are a "pure one-hit wonder": Their 1st U.S. hit to reach the Hot 100 reached Number 1, but they've never hit the Top 100 again. However, Taylor Swift graciously gave the Fairbrass brothers writing credit because she borrowed the song's rhythm for "Look What You Made Me Do," which hit Number 1 in 2017. In their native Britain, they've had a few other hits, but, oddly, "I'm Too Sexy" didn't reach Number 1 there, getting stuck behind Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," which dominated the charts in both countries for much of 1991.

The Fairbrasses have never explained what it means for a man to be "too sexy for my cat."

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February 8, 1992 was a Saturday. That day, the Winter Olympics began in Albertville, in the French Alps. The big American stars of these games were figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and speed skater Bonnie Blair.

Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA was in its All-Star Break. The All-Star Game was played the next day, at the Orlando Arena, and the West beat the East, 153-113.

There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins, 6-4 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-0 at the Colisée de Québec.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to the East Midlands, and beat Notts County, 1-0 at Meadow Lane in Nottingham. Notts County were relegated after that season, and have not been back to the top flight of English "football" since.