The Foundations were a multi-cultural British group that managed to reach the top of the pop charts in America and in their native United Kingdom. The original lineup consisted of saxophonists Pat Burke and Mike Elliott, drummer Tim Harris, keyboardist Tony Gomez, bassist Peter Macbeth, guitarist Alan Warner, trombonist Eric Allandale, and lead singer Clem Curtis. They were respected in a multitude of genres, with Billboard hailing them as some of England’s “most authentic makers of soul music.”

Forming in a coffee shop basement in London’s Bayswater neighborhood, the group came together in January 1967 and released “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” as their debut summertime single. Initially, the single received little attention, but the newly established BBC Radio 1 picked up the record in September 1967 to avoid copying pirate radio stations. “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” became a sensation on their station and reached number one on the Canadian and UK charts. With all of the members coming from different backgrounds—West Indies, London, and Sri Lanka—The Foundations became the first multi-racial group to reach number one on the UK charts. This success led to the group’s debut album, From the Foundations, being released before the end of the year.

Clem Curtis left the group due to creative differences in 1968 but he helped find Colin Young to be his replacement as the group’s lead singer. Despite replacing their lead singer, the group was able to maintain their success with their second single “Build Me Up Buttercup” in 1968. The single reached number one on the Cash Box Top 100, number two in the UK, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The group went through several lineups over the next two years before they disbanded in 1970. In 1971, Clem Curtis came back to the UK and reformed the group after he spent some time performing in America. Colin Young also reformed the group in the mid-70s, leading to a legal dispute between the two groups. This resulted in Curtis being able to bill his group as The Foundations or Clem Curtis & The Foundations, while Young could bill his group as The New Foundations or Colin Young & The New Foundations. Both factions would transition through different lineups over time.

The Foundations experienced a resurgence in popularity when “Build Me Up Buttercup” was used in the 1998 film There’s Something About Mary.