American rock band Fun Lovin' Criminals set to headline Venue 23's beer and gin festival in Wakefield

It’s been announced that the trio will perform at the Wakefield city centre venue on Friday July 21, 2023.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals’’ (FLC) infectious blend of cinematic hip-hop, rock ‘n’ roll, blues-jazz, latin-soul burst onto the New York music scene in 1996 with the release of the worldwide multi-platinum debut album Come Find Yourself on EMI Records.

Their debut single Scooby Snacks, famed for sampling Tarantino movies such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, spent 17 weeks on the Billboard chart, quickly achieving gold status in the United States.

Karl Johnson, a Freddie Mercury tribute act, music teacher and former councillor for Wakefield South ward, is the owner of Venue 23 and the powerhouse behind getting FLC to play in the city.

He said: “For the past few years Wakefield has been really struggling getting original live bands to play after the pandemic.

“It is not cheap to get original bands into Wakefield, you have to compete to with other venues both regionally and nationally, but I’ve listened to my customers and the first band we’re going to put on is the FLC.

"To make it even more appetising, we are going to run a music, beer, and gin festival. We will be looking for local bands to support the FLC, who are playing on the Friday night.

"They normally play 2,000 seat venues, so to see them play an intimate venue for £20 with a beer and gin festival also going on is a real bargain,” he added.

"As a former councillor I promised to bring more live music to Wakefield and the FLC is just the start.”

The band became an international hit, settling down in this country, where their multi-platinum debut album Come Find Yourself spent an incredible two years in the UK album chart.

And FLC performed an infamously raucous set on the famous Pyramid main stage at Glastonbury in 1999.

The band will appear without former frontman Huey Morgan, who left the band in 2021, but the line up includes original member Brian ‘Fast’ Leister, who has taken on lead vocal duties, as well as drummer Frank Benbini and guitarist Naim Cortazzi.

The last album of original music from FLC was Classic Fantastic, released in 2010, and ‘the band’s new summer tour, The Roosevelt Sessions, gives fans a taste of the new Criminals sound ahead of more new music slated for release later this year.

Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser said: “FLC are entering a new chapter with a steely focus on creating new music that our fans will love.

“Our new EP is a return to our gritty early days in NYC, particularly with the way the music has been composed.

“Our fans in England have loved our recent live shows and we will be touring Europe and the USA in October and November; performing in some cities we haven’t visited since the nineties.”

Tickets for Fun Lovin’ Criminals at Venue 23 are on sale now from: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/RdiEJKhzXNnT