Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The band was originally
formed as Faith No Man, in 1981. Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum and Mike Bordin are the longest
remaining members of the band, having been involved with Faith No More since its inception.
The band underwent several lineup changes throughout their career. Faith No More officially
disbanded in April 1998. They have since reunited, along with all members from their latest release
Album of the Year, playing shows to support their The Second Coming Tour, between 2009–2012.
After a hiatus in 2013, Faith No More played their first show in two years on July 4, 2014
in Hyde Park, London. The latest version of Faith No More to perform consisted of Mike
Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould, Jon Hudson, and Mike Patton.
History We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself
Faith No More was originally formed as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, drummer
Mike Bordin, vocalist Mike "The Man" Morris, and keyboardist Wade Worthington. A year later,
Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum who, along with Gould and Bordin, formed
Faith No More without Morris. They chose the name to accentuate the fact that "The Man"
was "No More". They recorded "Quiet in Heaven/Song of Liberty",
released in 1982. The songs were recorded in Matt Wallace's parent's garage, where Wallace
had set up and been running a recording studio while the band was still recording under the
name Sharp Young Men, with Mike Morris, Billy Gould, Mike Bordin and Wade Worthington. Worthington
left shortly thereafter. They changed their name to Faith No Man for the release of the
single, which featured two of the three songs recorded in Wallace's garage, and hired Roddy
Bottum to replace Worthington. Bottum, Gould and Bordin quit the band shortly after and
formed Faith No More without any constant guitarists or vocalists until they eventually
settled on Chuck Mosley and Jim Martin. After the name change, the band initially
started recording We Care a Lot without backing from a record label and, after pooling their
money, recorded five songs. This gained the attention of Ruth Schwartz, who was then forming
the independent label Mordam Records, under which the band, after getting the necessary
financial support, finished and released the album. It was the first official release for
both the band and the label. After going through a series of different
singers, which included Courtney Love, Chuck Mosley joined the band in 1983. With this
lineup, the band released their first album, We Care a Lot, in 1985.
Introduce Yourself was released in 1987, and a revamped version of their debut album's
title track "We Care a Lot" saw minor success on MTV. Mosley was fired in 1988 due to his
erratic behavior during sessions and at shows, notably the release party for the album Introduce
Yourself during which he fell asleep on stage. Mike Patton joins and The Real Thing
Chuck Mosley was replaced with singer Mike Patton. Patton, who was singing with his high
school band, Mr. Bungle, was recruited at Martin's suggestion after he heard a demo
of Mr. Bungle. Patton joined Faith No More, and in two weeks had written all the lyrics
for the songs that would make up the Grammy award-nominated The Real Thing.
The music video for "Epic" received extensive airplay on MTV in 1990, despite anger from
animal rights activists for a slow motion shot of a fish flopping out of water. That
same year, Faith No More gave memorable performances at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and on
the 293rd episode of Saturday Night Live. "From Out of Nowhere" and "Falling to Pieces"
saw releases as singles, and a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" was also produced for
non-vinyl releases. In 1990, the band went on an extensive US tour, sending The Real
Thing to Platinum status in Canada, the US, and South America. The album also had big
sales numbers in Australia, UK, and the rest of Europe, pushing the total sales well above
4.0 million worldwide. "Epic" was released in 1989 and was a top 10 hit.
In February 1991, Faith No More released their only official live album, Live at the Brixton
Academy. The album also included two previously-unreleased studio tracks, "The Grade" and "The Cowboy
Song". In 1991, the band contributed a track for
the motion picture soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey with the song "The Perfect Crime".
Jim Martin also made a brief cameo in the film as "Sir James Martin" and head of the
"Faith No More Spiritual and Theological Center". Angel Dust
Faith No More displayed an even more experimental effort on their next album, Angel Dust. One
critic writes that the album is "one of the more complex and simply confounding records
ever released by a major label" and another writes that the single "'A Small Victory',
which seems to run Madame Butterfly through Metallica and Nile Rodgers reveals a developing
facility for combining unlikely elements into startlingly original concoctions."
Aside from "A Small Victory", the tracks "MidLife Crisis" and "Everything's Ruined" were also
released as singles. The album included a re-recording of the theme to the film Midnight
Cowboy, and later pressings included a cover of The Commodores classic "Easy", which in
some parts of the world became the band's biggest hit. Angel Dust, though not as successful
as The Real Thing in the US, sold 665,000 copies there, and managed to outsell The Real
Thing in many other countries. In Germany, the record was certified Gold for sales of
more than 250,000 copies. The album also matched the sales of The Real Thing in Canada, Australia,
and surpassed it in the Netherlands, France, Russia, and the UK. Worldwide sales are around
3,1 million copies. After touring to support Angel Dust in the
summer of 1993, long-time guitarist Jim Martin left the band due to internal conflicts. According
to Roddy Bottum, Martin was fired via fax: "Jim Martin had always been very conventional
in what he wanted to do with the band, very much a fan of guitar music only and metal
specifically. During the recording of Angel Dust, it became apparent to both him and us
that we were heading in very different directions." Martin himself states it was his decision
to leave. Both Godflesh guitarist Justin Broadrick and Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker
were reportedly offered to join FNM after Martin's departure, but declined to join.
The position was filled by Mike Patton's bandmate from Mr. Bungle, Trey Spruance, who left soon
after recording 1995's King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime and just before the band was
to begin their world tour. Spruance was replaced by Dean Menta, the band's keyboard tech.
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime, Album of the Year and break-up
1995's King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime varies greatly from song to song in style;
post-hardcore/punk, country, jazz, bossa nova, thrash metal, gospel music, along with other
signature FNM elements, are woven together seamlessly throughout the album, making it
a favorite among loyal fans. Singles included "Digging the Grave", "Evidence", and "Ricochet".
The album featured Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance on guitar. The record went Gold in the UK,
Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and Germany, which gave the album a respectable sales figure
of around 1.5 million copies; this was significantly lower than sales of their previous albums.
A 7 x 7-inch box set of singles was released, which included the B-sides and some interviews
between the songs. Album of the Year was released in 1997 and
featured yet another new guitarist, Jon Hudson, who was a former roommate of Billy Gould.
The album debuted much higher than expected in some countries. In Australia, Album of
the Year went to No. 1 and was certified Platinum. The album charted in many countries
in Europe. To date, Album of the Year has sold around 2 million copies worldwide. The
singles "Ashes to Ashes" and "Last Cup of Sorrow" had minimal success. "Stripsearch"
was released as a single in various countries. In early 1998 rumors of Faith No More's imminent
demise began. Starting with a rumor posted to the Faith No More newsgroup alt.music.faith-no-more
claiming Mike Patton had quit the band in favor of side projects, this rumor, although
denied at the time, proved to be at least partly true. Faith No More played their last
show in Lisbon, Portugal on April 7, 1998. The band canceled their planned support tour
for Aerosmith and on April 20, 1998 Billy Gould released a statement by email and fax,
saying "[T]he decision among the members is mutual" and "the split will now enable each
member to pursue his individual project(s) unhindered." The band "thank[ed] all of those
fans and associates that have stuck with and supported the band throughout its history."
After the dissolution of Faith No More, the members went on to numerous different projects.
Reformation Rumours that Faith No More would reunite for
shows in the U.K. in the summer of 2009 were circulating in late November 2008, but were
originally dismissed by bassist Billy Gould. He explained: "If anything like this were
to happen, it would have to come from the band, and I haven't spoken with any of them
in over a year. So as far as I know, there isn't anything to talk about, and I'm pretty
sure that if you were to contact Patton, he would tell you the same thing." However, on
February 24, 2009 after months of speculation and rumors, Faith No More announced they would
be reforming with a line-up identical to the Album of the Year era, embarking on a reunion
tour called The Second Coming Tour. To coincide with the band's reunion tour, Rhino released
the sixth Faith No More compilation, The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection,
a double album that includes their hit singles and b sides & rarities, in the UK on June
8, 2009. Faith No More headlined the Main Stage at
the Download Festival in Donington Park, U.K. in June. They were also confirmed for the
Hurricane and Southside festivals in Germany, Greenfield Festival in Switzerland, Hove Festival
in Norway and Roskilde Festival in Denmark, among other dates. In June, at their first
show after their reunion they released new merchandise stating they were playing the
festivals. The tour continued into 2010 with appearances at the Soundwave Festival in Australian
cities throughout February and March. After an eleven month hiatus, Faith No More played
four shows in South America in November 2011. On the first date, the band played a "mystery
song," which led to speculation of new material. They played Sonisphere France on July 7, 2012.
Up until 2014, Faith No More's status was disputed. In a January 2013 interview, Mike
Patton suggested that the band would not remain active beyond the reunion tour, stating that
"it's sort of petered out" and the band was "maybe a little too conscious for [their]
own good." Billy Gould has suggested the band may record new material in the future, saying
"We will do something again only when all members are with the focus on that, and ready
for the challenge. This is not the time... yet." On July 4, 2014, Faith No More played
their first show in two years at Hyde Park in London, supporting Black Sabbath. At that
show, Faith No More debuted two new songs "Motherfucker" and "Leader of Men".
On May 29, 2014, Faith No More posted a message on their Twitter account, saying that "the
reunion thing was fun, but now it's time to get a little creative." This has led to speculation
that the band is working on new material. Legacy
Nirvana's bassist, and co-founder, Krist Novoselic cited Faith No More as a band that "paved
the way for Nirvana" in the late 1980s. Bands rising at their prime, such as Metallica,
Alice in Chains, Anthrax and Guns N' Roses, have cited Faith No More as one of their favorite
bands. They were voted No. 52 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". In July 2009,
"Epic" came in at No. 46 in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time,
as voted by the Australian public. The band are credited for inventing the alternative
metal genre which began in the 1980s and that fuses metal with other genres, including alternative
rock. Tim Grierson of About.com said the band "helped put alternative metal on the map."
Corey Taylor, lead vocalist of Slipknot, stated that seeing FNM perform Epic at the 1990 MTV
Video Music Awards changed his life: "I was mesmerized by that. I never felt a moment
like that until that moment. It completely turned me around."
Bottum came out as gay in 1993. He is recognized as a pioneering gay rock musician and admired
as a role model for gay youth interested in a genre of music not traditionally associated
with the gay community. In a 2001 article in The Advocate, Bottum stated that "I would
never have thought as a gay teen I'd be in a band that would be considered heavy metal
or hard rock." Other heavy metal musicians have come out as gay subsequently including
Rob Halford of Judas Priest in 1998. Concert tours
1982–1984: Early Days 1985–1986: We Care a Lot Tour
1987–1988: Introduce Yourself Tour 1989–1991: The Real Thing Tour
1992–1993: Angel Dust Tour 1995: King for a Day Tour
1997–1998: Album of the Year Tour 2009–2014: The Second Coming Tour
Members
Last line-up Mike Bordin – drums, percussion, backing
vocals Billy Gould – bass, backing vocals
Roddy Bottum – keyboard, backing vocals Mike Patton – lead vocals
Jon Hudson – guitars, backing vocals Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards 1993 – Nominated for category Best Hard
Rock Performance for "Angel Dust" 1991 – Nominated for category Best Hard
Rock Performance for "Epic" 1990 – Nominated for category Best Metal
Performance for "The Real Thing" MTV Video Music Awards
1993 – Nominated for category Best Art Direction in a Video for "A Small Victory"
1991 – Winner of category Best Visual Effects in a Video for "Falling to Pieces"
1991 – Nominated for category Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video for "Falling to Pieces"
1991 – Nominated for category Best Art Direction in a Video for "Falling to Pieces"
1990 – Nominated for category Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video for "Epic"
Discography
Studio albums We Care a Lot
Introduce Yourself The Real Thing
Angel Dust King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime
Album of the Year See also
List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area List of alternative metal artists
References