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You don't have to be an expert on pop music from the 1980s to recognize the distinctive voice of Roland Gift, who was the lead singer of the British trio Fine Young Cannibals. She Drives Me Crazy and a handful of other hits from the band are radio staples, even though the band made two albums in 1985 and 1989. Gift moved on to try to make movies but didn't make many. He'll be back soon, however, bringing his bracing, deliciously raspy tenor to a self - titled solo disc in spring of 2002. A six - song sampler that just hit our desk sounds very fine, indeed.

GIFT PACK
The "voice" of The Young Cannibals is back with a debut solo album.

With a unique sound that blends old skool Southern soul flavors with accessible, contemporary pop/rock sensibilities, Birmingham-born Roland Gift
is without doubt one of the UK's most distinctive singer - writers. As was indeed proven during his tenure as frontman with world-conquering British trio Fine Young Cannibals, who, from 1985 to 1989, sold close on five million albums worldwide. Now, to mark his debut as a solo artist with his self-titled new LP. Roland reacquaints himself with B&S.
Let's discuss the making of your new debut solo album "Roland Gift" and how you feel it differs from your previous work as a member of Fine Young Cannibals.
"I never set out with something in mind before I write a song. I'll pick up on something - which might be a chord pattern or an idea for a lyric - and then just see where that takes me. And the main difference between making this record and being with The Cannibals was really in the way of working. It was very clearly defined in The Cannibals that I'd do the melodies and lyrics while Andy and Dave would do the rest of it. Whereas for this solo album, while some songs have been collaborations, others have been written solely by me. Though, having said that, I don't think the end result is as different as it could have been. To me it's almost like a record The Cannibals could have made."
Fine Young Cannibals initially came together through their love of Stax, with you frequently naming Otis Redding as your vocal mentor. How did Otis become such a strong influence upon you?
"While growing up in Birmingham around a lot of West Indian people, reggae and calypso were big influences early on but Otis Redding was the one person who made me wanna sing myself. I can remember as a kid my big sister "Mr. Pitiful" around the house and also one of my mum's friends saying how Otis made her cry. Which somehow really connected with me
- I always remember her saying that because I felt it must be quite a powerful thing. Then, when one day my next-door-neighbour gave me three Otis Redding albums, they became like a template for me. Because, though I'd obviously heard and liked other singers before. Otis was the first one I felt a kind of kinship to that I could draw from."
Alongside your music career you're also a successful actor (film credits include "Scandal"; "Tin Men"; plus the forthcoming "The Island Of The Mapmaker's Wife"). How do you juggle and prioritize the two careers? "I think overall I've probably prioritized the music. Because, when I got dropped by London in 1996, I didn't just go off and act - simply because I felt I needed to prove to myself I could do a solo record. Because we'd tried to do a third Cannibals album and not succeeded, it didn't feel right. It was like there was some unfinished business. So I didn't wanna go away and do something else, always wondering whether I could have maybe done another record. But, having said that, when I was half-way through making this album, I did stop recording and go to Amsterdam for two months to shoot the film "The Mapmaker's Wife". Which I guess is one of the great things about being a solo artist." The album "Roland Gift" is out through MCA