The Fun Lovin' Criminals (often referred to by their acronym, FLC) are an American alternative hip hop / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is eclectic, covering such styles as hip hop, rock, funk, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in a city, often explicitly New York City, but just as often urban life in general. They cover such issues as organized crime, recreational drug use, violence, poverty and politics. Their songs are often gritty or existentialist in nature but are just as often humorous or satirical.
The band was formed in 1993 by Huey Morgan, Brian Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked. It was around this time, in 1999, that Steve Borgovini left the band. He was replaced by Maxwell Jayson aka Mackie, originally just temporarily in case Borgovini returned. The band's third studio album, Loco was released in early 2001 and by this time it was clear that Borgovini was not going to return so a permanent replacement was found in the form of Mark Reid from Leicester, UK, who had previously worked with the band as Mackie's technician.
The line up has been stable since. While their subsequent albums haven't reached the successes of their earlier work — their next studio album was their first to chart outside the UK top 20 and even their "best of" compilation only reached #11 - they are occasionally touring and they have recorded new material. In June 2008 they performed at the Glastonbury Festival playing on the Jazz World Stage, they last played the Festival in 1999, on the Pyramid Stage. They released their sixth studio album on 1st March 2010, titled Classic Fantastic. A European tour is due to begin on 6th March 2010.
What is it exactly that draws you to this band? Do you fing anything personal or it is just the music itself - loud, electrified, energizing? Do you really take the lyrics seriously? Can you drop a few lines from their songs to have a look at?
