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.
There Was A Time
Fun Lovin' Criminals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In your eyes anymore
Oh why can't I
Make them shine like before
I don't see you
Or your heart in your kiss
That you should say
You resist
There was a time
Life was fine
Love was ecstasy
But now I doubt
What the outcome will be
I pray you'll say
I'm the one you adore
Then I'll see me
In your eyes as before
(There was a time
There was a time
There was a time)
There was a time
Life was fine
Love was ecstasy
But now I doubt
What the outcome will be
I pray you'll say
I'm the one you adore
Then I'll see me
In your eyes as before
There was a time
Life was fine
Love was ecstasy
But now I doubt
What the outcome will be
The lyrics of the Fun Lovin' Criminals song "There Was A Time" convey a sense of longing and nostalgia for a lost love. The singer is lamenting the fact that they no longer feel the same connection with their partner as they used to, and they are trying to figure out why things have changed. They miss the way their partner used to look at them, and they are trying to recapture that feeling of being loved and adored.
The song is full of emotional conflict, as the singer struggles with the uncertainty of their relationship. They describe a time when life was good, and love was all-consuming, but they fear that those happy times are now behind them. Despite their doubts, they are still hopeful that their partner will come back to them and make them feel loved and cherished once more.
Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on the complexities of love and the feelings that come with a relationship that is changing over time. It captures the sense of loss and uncertainty that can come with the end of a romance, while also conveying a sense of hope and optimism that things can get better with time.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't see me
The singer doesn't see their own reflection or image reflected in their partner's eyes anymore.
In your eyes anymore
The singer no longer sees the love or affection they used to see in their partner's eyes.
Oh why can't I
The singer is questioning their inability to reignite the love and affection that used to be present in their relationship.
Make them shine like before
The artist wishes they could bring back the same light and shine in their partner's eyes that they had before.
I don't see you
The artist is unable to spot any signs of their partner's love or affection.
Or your heart in your kiss
The singer feels like there is no genuine emotion or love present in their partner's kisses anymore.
That you should say
The singer believes that their partner should express their feelings for them more openly.
That you're mine
The artist wants their partner to claim them and declare their commitment to the relationship.
You resist
The artist feels like their partner is avoiding this level of commitment and is hesitant to claim them as their own.
There was a time
The artist is reminiscing about a past time when their relationship was better.
Life was fine
During this past time, life was good for the singer and their partner.
Love was ecstasy
In the past, the love between the artist and their partner was passionate and intense.
But now I doubt
Now, the singer is unsure about the future of their relationship and lacks the confidence they had in the past.
What the outcome will be
The singer is uncertain about how their relationship will turn out in the end.
I pray you'll say
The singer is hoping that their partner will express their love and commitment to them.
I'm the one you adore
The artist wants their partner to acknowledge them as the person they love and cherish above all others.
Then I'll see me
If their partner expresses their love openly, the artist will feel better about themselves and their relationship.
In your eyes as before
The singer wants to see the same love and affection reflected in their partner's eyes as they did in the past.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BENNIE BENJAMIN, BRIAN LEISER, BRIAN ANDREW LEISER, GEORGE DAVID WEISS, HUGH MORGAN, MAXWELL JASON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Frusciante
I don't see me
In your eyes anymore
Oh why can't I
Make them shine like before
I don't see you
Or your heart in your kiss
That you should say
That you're mine
You resist
There was a time
Life was fine
Love was ecstasy
But now I doubt
What the outcome will be
I pray you'll say
I'm the one you adore
Then I'll see me
In your eyes as before
(There was a time
There was a time
There was a time)
There was a time
Life was fine
Love was ecstasy
But now I…
Le Trepidant
Should be official. Goes perfect with the song. Thank you for uploading it.
jean christophe Dumont
Masterpiece !
Kirr Lavroff
One of the best track of FLC. Thank you so much for this fun video!
Collr lop
Gran tema de una gran banda
john fistikis
αναμνησεις γλυκιες σαν φυλλα που σκορπανε σε γλυκο αερακι με ηχους χρωματα αρωματα σε κατι που θα ζει για παντα μεσα...fun lovin criminals
Roki
This song is just much more then amazing .. Greetings from Lithuania;)
Magali Almada
muy lindo tema
Gordon Omeara
this band did not get much air in the us but they have a big fan base in the uk.
Javier Rosales
Excelente !!!! 100% fun lovin!!!
MrKladovshik
Хит на Все Времена !!!