Formed in San Francisco, California, USA in 1980, Faith No More, titled after a greyhound on which the members had placed a bet, were among the first outfits to experiment with the fusion of funk, thrash and hardcore styles that effectively became a new musical subgenre. 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 Mosley (vocals). Bottum had attended the same school as Gould, while Bordin was recruited from his course in tribal rhythm at Berkeley University. Gould had met Mosley 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 groundbreaking Introduce Yourself on Slash, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Records. It encompassed a variety of styles but exuded a rare warmth and energy, mainly through Mosley’s melodramatic vocals, and was well received by the critics (not least for the signature tune ‘We Care A Lot’). However, internal disputes led to the firing of Mosley on the eve of widespread press coverage and favourable live reviews, although it had been reported that the band underwent a period when every single member walked out at some point. Mosley went on to gig temporarily with Bad Brains, before putting together his own band, Cement. Against the odds, his replacement, Mike Patton (b. Michael Allan Patton, 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 that followed Patton’s recruitment, was a runaway success, with the single ‘Epic’ reaching number 9 on the Billboard chart in June 1990, and denting the UK Top 40. 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 offstage, there was still a great deal of acrimony between the band members. Live At The Brixton Academy was released as a stop-gap affair, while the band toured for nearly three years on the back of the worldwide success of their most recent studio album. After Patton temporarily defected back to his original, pre-Faith No More outfit, Mr. Bungle, the band finally returned with Angel Dust. A tougher, less accessible record, in keeping with the group’s origins (despite a cover version of the Commodores’ ‘I’m Easy’, which reached UK number 3 in January 1993), it made the US Top 10 and UK number 2 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 Mr. Bungle. Martin went on to form The Behemoth. Bottum formed Imperial Teen as a side project in 1996. Album Of The Year received a mixed reaction, including one or two scathing reviews. The same year they collaborated with Sparks on a bizarre reworking of the latter’s ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’. In April 1998, they announced that they were disbanding.
Bottum continued recording with Imperial Teen, while Patton embarked on a diverse series of projects including Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom (recording a self-titled album in 2006 that utilised the talents of Norah Jones, Kool Keith and Massive Attack), and recorded an album with Dan ‘The Automator’ Nakamura under the Nathaniel Merriweather moniker. Patton also runs his own Ipecac Recordings label.
