Fine Young Cannibals was formed in 1984 in Birmingham, UK, from the ashes of The Beat, with whom Cox and Steele previously played. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1985, spawning two UK hit singles, "Johnny Come Home" and a cover of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" featuring additional vocals by Jimmy Somerville.

Fine Young Cannibals appeared as the house band in a nightclub in the 1987 comedy Tin Men, set in Baltimore, Maryland in 1963. Steele and Cox released an instrumental house single under the moniker Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet in 1988, called "Tired Of Getting Pushed Around", which reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart and was popular on the U.S. dance chart. During this time, Gift appeared in the movie Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.

Their highest charting hits were "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing", from the 1989 album The Raw and the Cooked. Both reached number one in the U.S. singles charts.

The Raw and The Cooked included three songs the band had recorded for Tin Men (including "Good Thing"), and their cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" recorded for the film Something Wild.

Fine Young Cannibals broke up in 1992, although they briefly returned to the studio in 1996 to record a new single, The Flame, which would complement their greatest hits compilation, The Finest released that year.

Gift reactivated the band name and toured in the 2000s as Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals, releasing his debut self-titled solo album in 2002.