THE DANGERS OF SKINNY JEANS, SEGREGATION AND SNEAKING INTO THE QUEEN VIC - FUN LOVIN' CRIMINALS' HUEY MORGAN'S A CHATTY ONE

LOOK out for skinny jeans, it stifles the creativity and blocks the blood flow to the genitals, which are pretty much what rock and roll’s about.” This is Huey Morgan’s vital advice to Camden’s up and coming young scenesters.
The Fun Lovin’ Criminal’s supposed to be discussing the band’s first album in five years, Classic Fantastic, and their upcoming show at Camden’s Koko, (March 16) but he’s a little preoccupied.


“Rock ’n’ roll’s a term used back in the 40s, a secret code word – it meant you’re going to have sex,” says Huey. “I look out for bands that are playing music that aren’t really trendy, that don’t do the whole ‘I’ve just got out of bed, look at my nice little scarf and little tight jeans’ because at the end of the day they’re not really doing what they’re supposed to, which is rock out. It’s a fashion thing but it does really prevent the blood flow to that area where all this music comes from.”

Huey’s sitting in his kitchen and, after a brief interruption from an exterminator, there to deal with a minor mouse problem, he’s on to nationalism: “When I was growing up there were all different people in my building, different walks of life, religions, cultures, creeds, and we were all Americans and we kind of understood that. I think the segregation in different neighbourhoods in England gets to a point where it could be anywhere, they don’t necessarily have to be in England.

“I believe in freedom of speech and pursuit of happiness and all that stuff, but if someone moves to a country and doesn’t have any kind of allegiance to that country ... I just think it will cause more problems than it will solve.”

And Huey, along with the rest of the band, has made England his home.

He says: “I’ve an affinity for Britain I don’t think people really understand. They think I’m a New Yorker that’s been plopped down in London – fish-out-of-water syndrome. It’s my home now. I’ve really tried to assimilate. If I can assimilate – a quintessential New Yorker – to life in Britain, it’s interesting how some people refuse to.”

His interest in all things British extends to the most unlikely of viewing choices.

“I was into EastEnders when I lived in New York,” says Huey. “When I came to England to do Top of the Pops we were on the same film lot they do Eastenders in. I remember me and Finlay Quaye sneaking into The Vic one afternoon and having a smoke, which was kind of cool.”

He enjoys hanging out in Cuba Libre, in Upper Street, where the bartender’s “a really big fan of the band”, and “makes really good frozen margaritas”, adding: “You don’t really get Caribbean Spanish food in London too often and if you do it may not be that great. Cuba Libra’s got a laid-back atmosphere, it’s a cool place.”

New album Classic Fantastic came after a drawn-out legal battle with an ex-manager. It features Dennis Pennis actor Paul Kaye, a longstanding friend.

“We weren’t in the headspace to make the record we wanted while we were doing that legal wrangling so to get out from under that is a big weight lifted,” says Huey. “A lot of bands think they create this massive piece – saving lives and making rockets and curing cancer. We make records for people as a soundtrack to their lives.

“Instead of creating a dark horrible record about us in this legal battle we made a conscious effort to try to get out from under that and come up with some really good stuff.

“You can’t imagine how pleased we are about the fact that we can be musicians. It’s a beautiful thing and to take it for granted would be the silliest mistake anyone could make. There are so many musicians who never get the chance to make a record so for us to get the chance after all this, we’ve been very fortunate.”

Huey was a big fan of actor Paul Kaye when he was playing Pennis in America.

“As a kind of a nod to our legal issues, he’s got a character called Mike Strutter who’s a notorious New York attorney – it’s Paul Kaye’s take on American laws,” he says. “We thought it would be funny to have a series of simulated phone conversations with our attorney. So he was very gracious, came down the studio and did that.”

Huey promises a fantastic show at Koko, one of his favourite venues, adding: “We want to be more intimate with the crowd because it’s our first record in five years so we want to make a good connection again. For a lot of people it’ll be the first time they’ll have ever seen us.”

THE MACCABEES ON EASTENDERS, FULHAM FC AND CLEAN SOCKS

THE Queen Vic’s jukebox, long-harboured desires to be Fulham’s official chippie and the virtues of clean socks – this is what’s on Felix White’s mind as he speaks to me from his tour bus.
The Maccabees are in the midst of their NME Awards tour, which culminates in a much-awaited headline show in Brixton with Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums on Saturday.
But Felix is thinking about other things, like how he’s going to deal with his mischievous bandmates.
“Our only actual form of recreation is that Nick, our tour manager, has bought a bouncy ball so we need to find better things to do,” he says. “We’ve known each other for such a long time now that pleasantries go out the window a little bit. I think we still get on great.”

But he admits, they can wind him up: “(They) sometimes try to make as much noise as they possibly can – there’s the ambulance song. When they feel like it they get a piano and make it go ‘nee-naw, nee-naw’ for as long as they can. I still haven’t worked out how to get over that because if you ignore them they keep doing it louder, if you tell them off and say please stop it they keep doing it louder, if you leave they keep doing it louder so you can hear it from the other side of the bus. Sometimes I do sound a bit like a granddad.”
Right now, Felix is trying to read Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses.
“I’ve read the first page about 40 times so I’m going to try and actually read it this tour,” he says. “I don’t know what stopped me – probably short-term memory loss.”

We last saw The Maccabees at Islington’s Union Chapel, one of my top gigs of last year.
Felix says: “It was one of the most foreign experiences for us. When we’re doing it properly you can cover nerves or being timid with noise. It’s so stripped bare that it’s terrifying, but I really enjoyed it. For some reason we decided to do the acoustic thing so quiet, at the level of what mice would speak, so that just adds to the tension.”
The band have been played in the background in EastEnders, a sure sign they’ve arrived, but Felix isn’t happy yet.
“Eastenders – that’s the money shot,” he says. “That’s when you know you’ve made it, but we’ve only been in the caff, we need to be in the Queen Vic. If anyone who works for EastEnders reads (this) then please have us in the background in the Vic when Ronnie’s arguing with Peggy or something.”
Felix says they didn’t have to convince actor Mat Horne to appear in their video for No Kind Words.
“He’s been coming to shows and we sort of became friends through that,” says Felix. “He wanted to be in a video. We had a small budget to do No Kind Words and Mat was just happy to do it for nothing. That was that really – a favour both ways.”

If he hadn’t been a rock star, you might have spotted Felix outside Fulham’s infamous Craven Cottage stadium.
“I wanted to be a football manager, then I decided it would be better if I ran the official mobile fish and chip shop for Fulham Football Club,” he says. “I’d be outside the grounds and it would follow the team everywhere. Everyone would know if you’re a Fulham supporter you’d eat that fish and chips.”
So, any strange requests on their rider? “The most important thing we ask for is socks,” says Felix. “You can’t really put into words how panicked you can be if you’re halfway through a tour and you haven’t got any clean socks.”

* The Maccabees’ Wall of Arms re-issue with five bonus tracks including Empty Vessels with Roots Manuva and a cover of Roy Orbison’s I Drove All Night is out now.

THE MACCABEES IN EASTENDERS PLEA

The Maccabees' Felix White is not satisfied with Eastenders only playing their music in the caff - he wants the works.
He told me last week: “Eastenders - that's the money shot. That's when you know you've made it but we've only been in the caff, we need to be in the Queen Vic. If anyone who works for Eastenders reads (this) then please have us in the background in the Vic when Ronnie's arguing with Peggy or something.”

Read full interview on Thursday