Fun Lovin' Criminals

Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", named after Barry White's backing vocal group. Their songs often focus on life in New York City, as well as urban life in general. Their lyrics can be gritty or existentialist in nature, touching on topics such as organized crime and urban violence, but they are just as often humorous or satirical. The band gained a large following internationally, particularly in Northwest Europe, around the release of their first two albums in the late 1990s.

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. They began playing together and would provide entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they caught the attention of EMI, who offered them 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 had been 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 latter's subject matter touched on the imprisonment of Italian-American mafioso John Gotti, the wannabe gangsters emulating his style, and his fans and followers in his community who maintained his innocence. The biggest hit, "Scooby Snacks", features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino and a guitar sample from Tones on Tail's song "Movement of Fear", interspersed with rap verses and a sung, anthemic chorus. Come Find Yourself had a slow rise on the UK Albums Chart, eventually peaking at No. 7 and spending well over a year on the chart, but it failed to make an impact in the US, despite the band appearing as musical guests on MTV's The Jenny McCarthy Show. 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.

100% Colombian, released in August 1998 by Virgin Records, featured a far grittier sound, 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 charting single to date, after the re-release of "Scooby Snacks".

In June 1999, the band performed at the 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 it made reasonable sales, the album was their weakest-selling to date and remained so for several 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 (a.k.a. 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 featured all new songs, including the eponymous single, which became their biggest hit yet, reaching No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the only single from the album to reach the UK Top 40, and its success helped Loco reach No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart.

Their final album under EMI was a "best of" compilation called Bag of Hits, released in 2002. It was issued 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 on the UK Albums Chart.

After parting ways with EMI, the band signed with Sanctuary Records in the UK, under which they released their fourth studio album, Welcome to Poppy's (2003). While the album received strong, though not outstanding, music reviews, it failed to match the commercial success of any of their previous albums, peaking at No. 20 on 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 their 2005 album, Livin' in the City, still under Sanctuary Records. This album was considered 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.