Fun Lovin' Criminals are a band from New York City. Their musical style is eclectic, covering styles such as hip hop, rock, blues, R&B, punk, and funk. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backing vocal group.
The band's 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, notably in north-west Europe, around the release of their first two albums in the late 1990s.
The band's third studio album, Loco, was released in early 2001. 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. It reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart.
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.
