The British band Fancy were doomed by their deeply lascivious version of the Troggs' "Wild Thing," which was released in 1974 and became a surprise hit. The group changed their sound right away from sleazy disco to chugging rock & roll -- scoring success with 1974's "Touch Me" single -- but never quite escaped the shadow of "Wild Thing." Their two mid-'70s albums (Wild Thing and Fancy Turns You On) skillfully stand at the crossroads of glam, funk, disco and pop, however, and show that the band were more talented than one might assume.

Fancy was the brainchild of producer Mike Hurst, whose original dream was simply to cut a new version of "Wild Thing," retooled for the liberated early '70s. His first recruit was guitarist Ray Fenwick, a former member of the Spencer Davis Group; Fenwick, in turn, introduced bassist Mo Foster (ex-Linda Hoyle's Affinity); the group was completed with the addition of Henry Spinetti (drums), Alan Hawkshaw (keyboards), and former Penthouse Pet Helen Court.

The ensuing version of "Wild Thing" exceeded everybody's expectations. Not only was it, in Hurst's own words, "a dirty, low-down track, with all the heavy breathing and suggestive orgasmic guitar and bass work," it was also sufficiently risqué that he could not find a single British label willing to release the record. He turned, then, to the U.S., where Big Tree snatched it up, and in June 1974, "Wild Thing" began its ascent of the American chart. It ultimately came to rest at number 14, earning a gold disc in the process. (A belated U.K. release, on the other hand, barely even got played on the radio.)

"Wild Thing" had only ever been intended as a one-off release, with just Fenwick and Foster interested in taking the Fancy concept any further. With thoughts now turning toward a follow-up, a new band needed to be assembled: drummer Les Binks, ex-Headstone, was lured away from Alvin Stardust's band, Court was replaced by British-born but Australia-based Annie Kavanagh, a former star of the Antipodean cast of Hair who also appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar. Thus reconstituted, Fancy returned to action in the fall of 1974, with new single "Touch Me" and a debut U.S. tour that opened at a theological college in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 8. The single reached the Top 20 and live reviews were unanimously positive. However, the band's debut album, Wild Thing, was almost completely overlooked and, following tours of the Far East and Europe, Fancy broke with Big Tree and joined RCA (Arista in the U.K.).

Relaunching themselves with the pulsating 45 "She's Riding the Rock Machine," Fancy released their sophomore album, Fancy Turns You On (Something to Remember in the U.K.), in March 1975. Unfortunately, neither a three-week British tour with 10cc nor the release of two further singles from the album -- Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Him" and Fenwick/Hurst's "Music Maker" -- persuaded U.K. audiences that Fancy were at all fanciable, while America was proving seriously resistant to the band's post-Penthouse sound as well. Their second album, 1975's Turns You On, disappeared without trace and, by late summer, Fancy had followed it into oblivion.

Kavanagh remained in Britain for a short time, sessioning with Neil Innes and Ray Russell before returning to Australia. Fenwick and Foster, too, moved back into session work, and Binks later resurfaced in Judas Priest. The group's albums and singles, plus a live set recorded at Ronnie Scott's in June 1975, were collected decades later by Lemon Recordings under the title The Complete Recordings in 2021. ~ Dave Thompson, Rovi