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.
Friday Night
Fun Lovin' Criminals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My girl is all dressed up, gonna stay out
Late. Got my whip on blocks so I can be
Care free, I may love them cops but they
Don't love me. I rock the conga line with my
Bad left leg, you know I'm bonafide so you
Can all get bent. Fuck the war on drugs,
Fuck that Bin Laden, y'all can't mess with us
It's Friday night, in the city. Its Friday night,
Is you with me. Its Friday night, we gettin'
Busy. In the city.
We don't wait on the line, we don't pay for
The drinks, you know the owner is my man,
We got it locked like Brinks. That's Mateo
On the decks, play my favorite song, in the
Dj booth my man is hittin' on a bong. I
Tipped the waitress bank, I tipped the
Busboy too, I used to work that job but now
I work for you'se. We live till we die, ing'in'
While we try, I got my loved ones by my
Side, and keep my eyes on the prize.
Its Friday night, in the city. Its Friday night,
Is you with me. Its Friday night, we gettin'
Busy. In the city.
Lovely, don't you ever change...
Its Friday night, in the city. Its Friday night,
Is you with me. Its Friday night, we gettin'
Busy. In the city.
In Fun Lovin' Criminal's song "Friday Night," the singer is excited about going out on the town with his girlfriend. He's ready to have a fun-filled, carefree night while leaving his troubles behind. He talks about his love for the city and how they're going to hit the clubs and bars without waiting in line or having to pay for drinks since the owner is their friend. He is tipping generously because he used to work that job but now works for "you'se."
The singer is having a ball on Friday night; nothing can stop him, not even the war on drugs, and certainly not Bin Laden. The singer is in control of his situation and embraces the carefree attitude of the city. He's proud to live in a place that's always hoppin', and where even the cops can't control the party. He's with his friends, and he's ready to have a memorable night.
Overall, the song praises the lifestyle of those who have the freedom to party and live carefree. It addresses things such as the culture of tipping, the exclusivity of clubs, and the ongoing war on drugs. The song's message speaks to the importance of staying true to oneself while still having fun.
Line by Line Meaning
The night is callin' me and I just can't wait,
I am excited for tonight and I can't wait to start the night.
My girl is all dressed up, gonna stay out Late.
My girlfriend is also dressed up and we plan to stay out late tonight.
Got my whip on blocks so I can be Care free,
I have put my car away so that I do not have to worry about it tonight.
I may love them cops but they Don't love me.
I may enjoy the company of police officers, but they do not feel the same way about me.
I rock the conga line with my Bad left leg,
I dance in the conga line even though I have a bad left leg.
you know I'm bonafide so you Can all get bent.
I am genuine and real, so you can all leave me alone.
Fuck the war on drugs, Fuck that Bin Laden,
I do not care about the war on drugs or Bin Laden.
y'all can't mess with us 'cause where you never been I'm in.
You cannot interfere with us because I am in a place that you have never been to.
We don't wait on the line, we don't pay for The drinks,
We do not wait in line or pay for drinks because we know the owner of the establishment.
you know the owner is my man, We got it locked like Brinks.
The owner is my friend, and we have a tight hold on the situation like Brinks.
That's Mateo On the decks, play my favorite song,
That person on the decks is Mateo, and he's playing my favorite song.
in the Dj booth my man is hittin' on a bong.
In the DJ booth, my friend is smoking from a bong.
I Tipped the waitress bank, I tipped the Busboy too,
I gave a lot of money to the waitress and the busboy as tips.
I used to work that job but now I work for you'se.
I used to work the same job as the waitress and the busboy, but now I work for all of you.
We live till we die, ing'in' While we try,
We are living life to the fullest, enjoying ourselves while we try to succeed in life.
I got my loved ones by my Side, and keep my eyes on the prize.
I have my loved ones with me and I am focused on achieving my goals.
Its Friday night, in the city. Its Friday night, Is you with me. Its Friday night, we gettin' Busy. In the city.
It's a Friday night in the city and we are going to have a good time and keep busy.
Lovely, don't you ever change...
This night is great, and I hope it stays that way forever.
Lyrics © O/B/O 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?