10/03/2026

Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Powerstation: March 8, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS brought their unique musical fusion to The Powerstation, providing fans with a funky trip down memory lane. The 13th Floor’s Carin Newbould was there, along with Leonie Moreland taking pics.

FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS seem to have been going forever – I realised before they made their big entrance that I’d last seen them live 28 years ago, back in Leeds. Not much has changed except the line-up – still a three piece, only Brian Leiser remains from the original group… flamboyant singer Huey Morgan, along with former members Steve Borgovini and Maxwell Jayson, are long gone. Instead, we have long-serving Brit Frank Benbini on drums, wearing beard and bucket hat, and Naim Cortazzi on guitar, adding to the vocals in a suit and shades.

Morgan’s somewhat bitchily referred to the current line-up as essentially a tribute band. OG member Leiser definitely does much of the heavy lifting. The man’s a musical marvel, switching between keyboards, bass, synth, trumpet and harmonica, as well as singing, rapping and dialling in a fair few samples and enhanced backing tracks. His current cohort of bandmates aren’t too shabby though – Benbini is a drum whizz and Cortazzi an excellent guitarist. Surrounded by amps, the stage was full on rock gig and the crowd – mostly guys in their thirties and forties – were definitely having a good time. “I need you to make some fuckin’ noise” Leiser shouted, and the crowd did as asked. They were making noise, dancing, laughing and singing along… a fun lovin’ audience, fo’ sure.

We’re a long way from NYC (and even further from Benbini’s hometown of Leicester) but it doesn’t matter… The Powerstation and the lyrics give the vibe. FLC are a hard band to categorise – mixing funk, hip-hop, blues and alternative rock, they created their own distinctive cool, laid-back rap/melodic fusion genre. The band’s first album Come Find Yourself was released way back in 1996 and their most recent release, A Matter Of Time, came out last August. In between, there have been another five albums and two EPs, and tonight we were treated to tracks spanning their 33 year career – from King of New York and Scooby Snacks (Come Find Yourself) to 1972 (A Matter of Time).

But it’s 25 years since Loco was released and the album supplies some of the big hitters of the night – Loco, Run Daddy Run and the hilarious Bump – a “straight” love story starting out at Gay Night (“He found out she had a dick! It’s like The Crying Game!”). There’s a lot of humour in FLC lyrics, even if some of it’s horribly un-PC and near the knuckle. Is it OK to get the crowd to enthusiastically chant “I got a supermodel on my D”? Are the overt drug references as relevant to a middle-aged crowd of mums and dads? Did Barry White really save their lives… or get anybody back with their ex-wife?

It’s all in good humour and there were a lorra laughs and joking around through the night. The Crims are fun, funky and smooth, perky but polished. Lovers Rock, from the latest album, is mellow and reflective. There’s not much from much-loved second album 100% Colombian until we get to the encore, when it all kicks off: Love Unlimited is followed the universal chant of “You gotta have the love in this fucked up world”… not a bad message to take home after a Big Night Out. We had fun, we loved it and we’ll be back again on the trio’s next visit to NZ.

Carin Newbould

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Leonie Moreland of Red Raven