5 minutes with... Huey Morgan

Huey Morgan

Huey Morgan

Huey Morgan made his name as lead singer and guitarist in Fun Lovin' Criminals in the 1990s, and now presents the motor show Slips on MTV's new Viva channel on Mondays.

The 41-year-old New Yorker also hosts a Sunday afternoon radio show on BBC 6Music.

Fun Lovin' Criminals, who formed in 1993, had their biggest hit in 1996 with Scooby Snacks.

TELL US ABOUT SLIPS?

It's a show that was developed by a friend of mine for MTV, and it features two racers who bring their cars to me. I then fix the cars up, put manifolds in, up the BHP, some great rims and make them race-worthy so they're good on the track, and we might paint them up too. We then show the drivers their cars for the first time on race day, and whoever wins the race wins the other racer's car!

HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANY RACING?

I used to do a lot of stuff like this when I lived in the States and, unlike on the show, it wasn't always above board, shall we say. I did a lot of things before I was a musician, and becoming a musician was a change for the better, I have to say. So, yeah, I get surprised once in a while about where I am.

YOUR RADIO SHOW ON BBC 6MUSIC HAS BEEN REALLY WELL RECEIVED. HAS THAT BEEN A SURPRISE?

I was asked to do it, and when they asked, they said, 'Play whatever you want to play, play what made you start a band', so I just went to my records and put all this eclectic mix together. It started taking off, to the point where I got a Sony Award this year for the show.

IS IT STRANGE BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE? ONCE YOU WERE THE BAND ON THE RADIO, NOW YOU'RE PLAYING AND TALKING TO OTHER BANDS.

It's actually easier for me, because when I interview bands they talk to me because I'm a musician as well. I always make sure the bands know that before they come on, and they're more at ease because of that. I know what I'm talking about, I've been in a band, sold millions of records, so I can talk to them on a personal level they understand. But I can also ramble on about music for hours, too. Doing the radio show made me fall back in love with music again.

WHY IS THAT?

Well, working in the record industry you can get jaded with it all, and you sometimes are not bothered with listening to new music. All the fabricated, Girls Aloud-type bands can drive you crazy as well. So with the show, I was allowed to listen to music that I wouldn't normally play or hear.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THEN?

I really like Emmy The Great, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear - they all have the touchstones of music that I love. It's a new generation of music, but I know all the stuff they were listening to as it's the same stuff I was listening to. I play what I want on the show, and working for the BBC has been nothing but a pleasure.

YOU USED TO WRITE A WINE COLUMN?

Yeah. It basically boiled down to me saying 'If you like it, it's good'. I don't care if it costs £2.99 a bottle - if you like it, that's fine. My favourite wine? I got lucky a few times and tried some stuff I wouldn't normally. I don't like white wine normally, but there's this stuff that I had in New York that just vanished, but it's best drunk ice-cold in Italy.

DO YOU GET BACK TO NEW YORK MUCH?

I'm trying to get back as much as I can. I'm doing a documentary about John Dillinger at the moment, the original fun-loving criminal, as we like to call him. So on the way back from Chicago I'm going to call in and see some of my boys for a few days.

IS IT DIFFERENT IN LONDON?

I do what I do wherever I am. I know a lot of people here, and my wife is British so she goes out with her friends a lot. It's great. And if I want to go home, I can be home in five or six hours.

WILL THERE BE ANY MORE FLC SONGS?

There's a new record coming out in February. We've decided on a unique way to release our music too, it's really innovative but I can't say too much. The record will be out in February and it's called Classic Fantastic. People will need it on their iPod!

HOW IS TOURING NOW YOU'RE MARRIED?

It's the same. The thing is, if I'm going to go around the world and party, then my wife is going to come with me. I didn't marry her because I want her at home worrying about me, I want us to party together. In my opinion, you can live your life in two ways: you can worry about all the travelling, or you can say, 'Wow, people still want to see us, let's throw down!", and my wife will always come and hang with us. The band and crew are all like my family too. FLC going on tour is like a family outing. Like any family outing, there's always a drunk uncle, but it's never salacious, and it's always a lot of fun.

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