Fun Lovin' Criminal looking forward to Halloween gigs

Fun Lovin’ Criminals legend Huey Morgan is bringing his unmistakable New York swagger to Northern Ireland this Halloween. He talks about the album that changed his life, the story behind Scooby Snacks and why, 30 years on, the music means more than ever.

Thirty years after Fun Lovin’ Criminals burst onto the music scene with their infectious blend of hip-hop, rock, funk and gangster movie cool, Huey Morgan is preparing to bring those unforgettable songs back to Belfast and Derry.

The charismatic New Yorker plays Belfast's Limelight 2 on Saturday, October 31, before heading to Derry's Guildhall on Sunday, November 1, as part of the city's 40th anniversary Halloween celebrations.

Armed with a brand-new band, Morgan is celebrating three decades of the group's groundbreaking debut album Come Find Yourself, which spawned classics including Scooby Snacks, King of New York and Fun Lovin' Criminal.

But the man behind those songs admits he barely recognises the young musician who recorded them.

"It's really trippy because you go back 30 years on anything and you're a different person," he says.

"When I made that record, those were all the stories that I had accumulated up to that point. I was 27.

"I'd been in the Marines, I'd been a bit of a troublemaker in New York City, and I was dealing with a lot of things in my life.

"It seemed to me that I was offloading a lot of that stuff into the lyrics."

Remarkably, Morgan never intended to become the band's singer.

"The funny thing is, I wasn't even supposed to be the singer. I just wanted to be the guitar player," he laughs.

Instead, he found inspiration in notebooks filled with poetry and short stories he had written over the years.

Those stories helped shape the band's distinctive sound, particularly King of New York, inspired by notorious mob boss John Gotti.

"It's essentially a folk story about John Gotti, but it's also quintessentially what we did," Morgan explains.

"I don't think anybody else would have talked about John Gotti at that time without fearing they would get killed!

"I was married into a mob family at that point, so I had to have a sit-down with these guys to get it right."

Despite the effortless confidence that defined Fun Lovin' Criminals, Morgan admits they were largely making things up as they went along.

"It was probably 70% true confidence and 30% just winging it and hoping for the best!" he says.

Much of Come Find Yourself was recorded in just five days, although the band were subsequently given another three weeks in the studio.

"We thought this would be the only record we ever recorded, so we wanted to put all those little things into it that we'd always wanted to hear on albums we loved."

Their biggest breakthrough came with Scooby Snacks, the irresistible 1996 hit featuring dialogue sampled from Quentin Tarantino movies.

Morgan reveals the song nearly sounded completely different.

"We actually had a version for the album that was faster and had a whole bunch of rock 'n' roll guitars in the chorus."

Thankfully, their record company boss persuaded them to return to the stripped-back groove of the original demo.

The Tarantino samples, meanwhile, reflected the band's love of cinema.

"We were always making music for films — soundtracks for films that didn't exist," Morgan recalls.

"The label initially didn't like the samples because they were going to be expensive. But I was sold."

While Britain was gripped by Britpop, Fun Lovin' Criminals offered something refreshingly different, and UK audiences quickly embraced their eclectic sound.

"We came over to the UK and people started rocking with it almost immediately," Morgan says.

"We were juxtaposed against all the Britpop people were hearing. It was fresh. There was humour in it, and elements of popular music that weren't necessarily rock."

Three decades later, performing those songs with new musicians has given Morgan a fresh perspective on the record that changed his life.

"I go back to that record because I play the songs with my new band, and it's great hearing them reinterpreted," he says.

"I don't really remember it being a particularly fun time. Looking back, I'm finding the different fun parts in it."

For Morgan, the anniversary tour is about more than nostalgia.

He recalls a conversation with Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks that transformed his understanding of what music means to an audience.

"She said that once you put a record out, it's yours to have, but you don't own the music anymore. Everybody attaches their lives to it."

That sentiment has stayed with him.

"When people come to see me play, I see them revisit parts of their lives that were good, or maybe difficult, but they got through them.

"You can see the whole spectrum of human experience in people's faces while you play songs that made a difference in their lives."

And while some musicians shy away from looking backwards, Morgan embraces the opportunity.

"I think nostalgia is a great thing. It reminds you that you had moments in your life that were amazing, fun and good. If you can revisit those, that's a blessing."

As he prepares for his Northern Ireland dates, Morgan admits the excitement of performing remains as strong as ever.

"I'm crazy looking forward to it. I'm also kind of nervous about it, but in a good way. It's excitement.

"I don't want to let down the people who are making my music part of their lives."

Thirty years on, the band may be new and the frontman a little wiser, but that unmistakable New York swagger remains.

And this Halloween, Belfast and Derry are about to get a little more criminal.

Huey Morgan – Fun Lovin' Criminal plays Limelight 2, Belfast, on Saturday, October 31, and the Guildhall, Derry, on Sunday, November 1. The Derry show is part of the city's 40th anniversary Halloween celebrations. Guildhall doors open at 6.45pm, with the show starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.ie.