FAITH NO MORE

In 1981, Bay Area California musicians Mike "Puffy" Bordin, Billy Gould, Mike Morris, and Wade Worthington formed a band called Faith No Man. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike "The Man" Morris was ousted, the group began calling themselves Faith No More. After going through a series of singers which included Courtney Love, the band was joined by Chuck Mosely in 1983. The same year, Jim Martin was recruited to replace guitarist Mark Bowen. A four-song demo tape recorded in 1984 led to the band's first real album, "We Care A Lot," released on Mordam Records in 1985.

Within a year the band signed up with Slash Records, and in 1987 their second album, "Introduce Yourself," was released. The subsequent tour brought Faith No More a good deal of press in Europe, but when the tour was over the rest of the band chose to fire Mosely due to his constant drinking, limited vocal capabilities, and squabbles with bandmates.

Mike Patton, frontman of Eureka, California band Mr. Bungle, was a replacement suggested by Jim Martin, who had heard a demo tape that exhibited the long-gone death metal side of Mr. Bungle. Patton was hired in January of 1989. In two weeks he had written lyrics for the songs Faith No More was working on for their next album, and "The Real Thing" was released six months later.

The album was a critical success, and the band toured with Metallica shortly, playing in front of huge audiences. Even so, it wasn't until the song "Epic" was released as a single in January of 1990 that Faith No More's popularity took off in the U.S., thanks in large part to heavy rotation of the video (which even received some negative attention for a brief scene of a fish flopping around out of water) on MTV. Another successful video for "Falling To Pieces" followed. Members of mega-rockers Metallica and Guns N Roses named Faith No More among their favorite rock groups. The band received a Grammy nomination for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock performance. By the end of the year, "The Real Thing" had gone platinum in the U.S.

n 1991, following the impressive success of "The Real Thing," Faith No More released in Britain a recording of a live show they played there, along with two previously unreleased tracks, entitled "Live At Brixton." A video of the same performance called "You Fat B**tards" was released elsewhere. The San Francisco band was now playing large venues worldwide as the main act, their unique sound & Patton's manic stage antics a draw for fans of all kinds of music.

For 1995's "King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime," Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance was recruited. However, once the album was recorded, however, he left the band before touring began. The reasons given for his departure varied depending upon whom you asked; Faith No More maintained that Spruance was unwilling to commit to a long, worldwide tour. Trey claimed that he was ready to tour, but the others decided he wasn't right for the band, and never really made him a permanent member in the first place. Dean Menta, a former Faith No More roadie & guitarist for the band Duh, was Spruance's replacement.
" After 15 long and fruitful years, Faith No More have decided to put an end to speculation regarding their imminent break up... by breaking up. The decision among the members is mutual, and there will be no pointing of fingers, no naming of names, other than stating, for the record, that "Puffy started it". Furthermore, the split will now enable each member to pursue his individual project(s) unhindered. Lastly, and most importantly, the band would like to thank all of those fans and associates that have stuck with and supported the band throughout it's history. "

In February 2009 the band members convened for the first time in 11 years, and as a result of this reunion, mutually decided to reform the band. Shortly following their announcement, they confirmed a string of shows in Europe and have now officially embarked on a new path as a band, and a currently unwritten future.