The idea for the song came about when the Fairbrass brothers were running a gym in London where, according to Richard, there was “lots of narcissism and posing”. One day, he took his shirt off and started singing “I’m too sexy for my shirt” in front of a mirror as a joke. The band originally recorded it as an indie rock song.
It was rejected by multiple record companies before they played it to radio plugger Guy Holmes. He was initially unimpressed after playing it on his car stereo, but his passengers latched onto the song’s “I’m a model, you know what I mean” hook and Holmes asked the band if they could rework it as a dance track.
DJ TommyD, an acquaintance of Richard Fairbrass, programmed electronics around the original vocal, whilst guitarist Rob Manzoli added a riff borrowed from the Jimi Hendrix song “Third Stone from the Sun”.[5]
… “I’m Too Sexy” was successful on the singles charts worldwide, becoming a hit on several continents.
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I wasn’t sure if I was stunned, entertained, or downright confused when Taylor Swift credited the Fairbrass Squad on Look What You Made Me Do.
It’s one of those riffs that was super familiar, but I’d never have pinned it on this.