"Looking like Sidney Poitier but sounding like Otis Redding," Gift spent his teenage years in "youth theatre, until the advent of punk made music his main passion. As punk gave way to two-tone ska which gave rise to groups like Madness and The Beat, Gift took up saxophone" and began singing in local bands, fronting The Akrylik's, The Bones, and ultimately the Fine Young Cannibals. (mtv.com)
