History
Formation and first albums: 1993–1999
The band was formed in 1993 by Huey Morgan, Brian "Fast" Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked.[14] They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI and they were offered a record deal.
Come Find Yourself, the band's first album, was released in the summer of 1996 by Chrysalis Records and followed their single "The Grave And The Constant" (UK No. 72), which was released a month earlier, into the UK charts. The album also featured the UK Top 40 hits, "Scooby Snacks" (UK No. 22), "The Fun Lovin' Criminal" (UK No. 26) and "King Of New York" (UK No. 28). The subject of latter touched on the imprisonment of Italian-American mafioso John Gotti, the wannabe gangsters emulating his style, and his fans and followers in his community that maintained his innocence. The biggest hit, "Scooby Snacks", features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino and a guitar sample from Tones On Tail song "Movement of Fear", interspersed with rap verses and a sung, anthemic, chorus. Come Find Yourself had a slow rise up the UK Albums Chart, finally peaking at No. 7 and spending well over a year in the chart, however it failed to make any impact in the US. The success of the album prompted the re-release of "Scooby Snacks" as a single, alongside a cover of the 10cc classic "I'm Not In Love", which this time reached UK No. 12.[14]
100% Colombian, released in August 1998 by Virgin Records,[14] had a far grittier sound to it tempered by three upbeat songs, and several downtempo tracks, including "Love Unlimited", a tribute to Barry White. "Korean Bodega", one of the aforementioned upbeat songs, was the biggest hit from the album, reaching No. 15, their second-highest placing single so far after the re-release of "Scooby Snacks".[14]
In June 1999 the band played at Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage. Their December 1999 album Mimosa, released by EMI was a compilation album consisting mostly of laid back lounge style covers and different versions of earlier released tracks. While making reasonable sales, the album was their weakest selling album yet and remained so for some years. It was around this time, in 1999, that Steve Borgovini left the band. He was replaced by Maxwell "Mackie" Jayson. A permanent replacement was found in 2003 in the form of Mark Reid (aka Frank Benbini) from Leicester, United Kingdom, who had previously worked with the band as Jayson's technician.
Mainstream success: 2000–2008
The band's third studio album, Loco, was released in early 2001. Back under EMI, the album had all new songs including the eponymous single which became their biggest hit yet, reaching No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the only single release from the album to reach the UK Top 40, and its success helped Loco to reach No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart.
Their final album under EMI was a "best of" compilation called Bag of Hits released in 2002. It was released in both one and two disc versions, with the second disc featuring remixes of Fun Lovin' Criminals songs by other artists. EMI released this album against the wishes of the band, who were not happy with the two disc version. However, despite their objections it reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart.
After parting company with EMI the band was picked up by Sanctuary Records in the UK, under which they released their fourth studio album Welcome to Poppy's (2003). While it received strong, but not fantastic, music reviews it failed to live up to the commercial success of any of the previous albums, peaking at No. 20 in the UK Albums Chart. The best-selling single from the album reached No. 61.
EMI continued to release the band's back catalog, as well as unreleased songs on two more albums. The Fun Lovin' Criminals made no further releases until 2005 album Livin' in the City, still under Sanctuary Records. This was very much a love letter to New York with many songs extolling the virtues of the city.
In June 2008 they made their second appearance at the Glastonbury Festival, this time on the Jazz World Stage.
2009–present
In April 2010 Classic Fantastic was released, kicking off a European tour which began in Manchester. Legal wranglings with their previous manager meant that this album was their first official output in five years, although they had played live during this period. Leiser and Benbini had produced much of the album in London, while Morgan recorded his parts in New York.
Classic Fantastic was the first album on Kilohertz, the band's own label, and signaled a new business model for the Fun Lovin' Criminals based on touring their live shows rather than relying on record sales alone. Singles from the album were the title track "Classic Fantastic" followed by "Mr Sun". The official video for "Mr Sun" was cancelled due to volcanic ash, and a montage of old home movies was used in its place.
The third single was the double A-side "We The Three" and "Keep On Yellin" featuring South London's Roots Manuva, released August 16, 2010. During July 2010 the band recorded a special series of songs with Roots Manuva. The project, dubbed "Criminal Manuvas", was recorded at Maida Vale studios for BBC Radio 6 Music; songs included a reggae version of "Scooby Snacks" and an alternative version of "Witness".
In September 2010 the band were touring, and they announced a live album: Fun, Live and Criminal via Pledge Music.
In March 2014 they released The Bong Remains The Same, a live concert video.
In February 2016, they released a deluxe, expanded edition of debut album "Come Find Yourself" to mark its 20th anniversary, and the band toured the album by performing it in full alongside some of their other tracks, throughout the UK and Europe, and at a number of festivals that Summer and into 2017. In January 2019, The band released the follow-up to their "Mimosa" compilation, titled "Another Mimosa", which features covers of some of their favourite songs. The band have also been working on their 7th studio album of new original material, expected in 2020.
Side projects
Huey Morgan is a radio personality on BBC.[11][15]Morgan has appeared on Jack Osbourne's Adrenaline Junkie, a boy racer show Slips, sat in for Jonathan Ross and Dermot O'Leary on BBC Radio 2, appeared in Soulboy (film) as a Dick Van Dyke accented London record shop owner, voiced a character in the Scarface: The World Is Yours video game, and most bizarrely appeared with Liza Tarbuck on Liza & Huey's Pet Nation on prime-time SKY TV.
All three band members have released side-projects. Benbini's band Uncle Frank has released an album, as has Leiser, albeit some of his previous 'unreleased' work. Both Leiser and Benbini have collaborated on myriad remixes as well as a full remix album in a reggae-dub style under the moniker Radio Riddler. Morgan has released an album Say it to my Face and toured with several acquaintances, including Benbini, as Huey and the New Yorkers, raising money for veterans as he did so.
All for Self
Fun Lovin' Criminals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stop all this drunken driving
You were the one who wanted to storm those gates
and kill those prophets that couldn't relate
But still you're the one who wanted to save your soul
With all your bullshit rock and roll
But now she hides her eyes
burns her house and hopes she dies
[Chorus]
Never gettin' my hands dirty
Uh-huh, uh-huh
It's not just for myself, not just all for self, no
I figured we'd move it on up, move it on up, yeah
Not just for myself, not just all for self, no
Now he put your hand in mine
Come daddy come show me a sign
Now what I do I do for youths
The white and the black and the browns and the blues
Now promise comes in two foot waves
The moving earth and diggin' the graves
Now he tried to justify it
But he'll feel better once he tries it
[Chorus]
"All for Self" by Fun Lovin' Criminals is a powerful commentary on the selfishness and hypocrisy that exists within our society. The song begins with the singer expressing his disappointment in someone who wanted to make a difference in the world, but instead succumbed to their own vices. The line "But still you're the one who wanted to save your soul, with all your bullshit rock and roll" suggests that the person in question was more interested in fame and glory than in making a real change.
The chorus of the song, "Never gettin' my hands dirty, It's not just for myself, not just all for self, no," further emphasizes the theme of self-centeredness. The singer recognizes that many people are only interested in helping themselves, and are unwilling to take any risks or make any sacrifices for the greater good. He believes that this mindset holds us back as a society and prevents us from reaching our full potential.
The second verse of the song introduces a new character who claims to be working for the benefit of young people of all races. However, the singer sees through this facade and recognizes that this person is only interested in personal gain. The line "Now promise comes in two foot waves, the moving earth and diggin' the graves" suggests that the promises of politicians and other leaders are often empty and meaningless, and that their actions often cause more harm than good.
In summary, "All for Self" is a song that critiques the selfishness and hypocrisy that exist in our society. Through its powerful lyrics and poignant imagery, it encourages us to look beyond ourselves and work towards a better world for everyone.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I thought we'd come alive and
I had hoped that we would awaken and take action
Stop all this drunken driving
Put an end to reckless behavior and take responsibility
You were the one who wanted to storm those gates
You spoke of taking bold actions to incite change
and kill those prophets that couldn't relate
You advocated for the removal of those who didn't share our beliefs
But still you're the one who wanted to save your soul
Despite this, you sought redemption for yourself
With all your bullshit rock and roll
Through your meaningless music
But now she hides her eyes
But now, she avoids seeing the truth
burns her house and hopes she dies
She destroys her life and wishes for an end to the pain
Chorus
Never gettin' my hands dirty
I refuse to personally involve myself in difficult situations
Uh-huh, uh-huh
It's not just for myself, not just all for self, no
My motivations go beyond just my own self-interest
I figured we'd move it on up, move it on up, yeah
I believed we could rise to a higher level and achieve more
Not just for myself, not just all for self, no
I don't only do things for myself, but for others as well
Verse 2
Now he put your hand in mine
Now, let's work together
Come daddy come show me a sign
Lead the way and guide me
Now what I do I do for youths
I do what I do for the benefit of younger generations
The white and the black and the browns and the blues
All races and cultures matter equally
Now promise comes in two foot waves
Hope can come in waves, but it's often fleeting
The moving earth and diggin' the graves
We're all headed to the same end, regardless of our actions
Now he tried to justify it
Now, he attempted to rationalize his decisions
But he'll feel better once he tries it
But he won't know how he truly feels until he acts on it
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Valliwulf
on The Fun loving criminal
This is wrong it was released in 96 are you sure it's not a music making program like studio 2000. Where no talent ppl make their fame?