Huey Morgan – Live Review – Leeds Brudenell
By Victoria Holdsworth, October 2026
These days, 30 years is a long time in music, with most albums from the 90s just a distant memory. Come Find Yourself isn’t, and that’s the reason two nights at the Brudenell sold out within touching distance of each other.
It’s the second sold-out show tonight, and after a very calm support act by the name of Man in a Field, the unmistakable fedora-wearing figure of Mateo DiFontaine (former tour DJ from the original Fun Lovin’ Criminals line-up) takes to his decks and spins some classic warm-up tunes to get everybody in the mood, before his obligatory sing-along to the Frank Sinatra classic ‘New York, New York’.
The band walk out onto the stage to heartfelt cheers and rip-roaring applause, and Huey Morgan takes his position at the mic, exchanging a warm welcome with the crowd before ripping straight into ‘The Fun Lovin’ Criminal’. From the opening note, you can see the band are totally locked in. The grooves are snug, and the sound in the Brudenell is just perfect for this kind of music.
After the initial burst of energy, the crowd just won’t leave Huey alone as he tries to express his gratitude for the two sold-out gigs, but his witty, quick retorts have everyone in hysterics.
Tonight is all about the first album. However, there are a few other FLC tracks thrown in for good measure, and we’re treated to ‘Back on the Block’, from the 1998 album 100% Colombian. The guitar structures have definitely been changed up from the original, because the riffs feel heavier and dirtier, adding another dimension to the track through the playing of both Huey and King, his guitarist for the past few years.
Morgan’s voice has changed with age. It’s deeper and more weathered, but it still carries the same character and clarity.
‘Passive Aggressive’ is an early standout track tonight, with its smooth, soulful verses and explosive chorus having everyone wanting to throw themselves about. Again, the band are explosive and perform with such energy that you can feel how thick the air is.
“Hypnotic feel”
There’s plenty of insight between songs, with explanations of certain time frames, including how it took them just five days to put together the album. There’s also a guy in the crowd who, rather funnily, keeps reminding Huey how good he is, while moving around the room trying to put him off. But Huey, ever the comedian, throws his own unique comebacks at his friendly heckler, which people don’t seem to mind.
‘Bear Hug’ is given the schmoove treatment and shows why it is still one of the best tracks on the album, oozing a certain wise-guy swagger that only Huey knows how to deliver.
‘The Grave’ and ‘The Constant’ slow the tempo down a little and bring a darker, more cinematic mood to the audience, giving everyone a moment to breathe before sliding into ‘Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em’ and the high-octane ‘Bombing the L’, lifting the room once again with their bouncing guitar lines and punchy drums, losing none of their dangerous, atmospheric charm.
The band are astonishingly tight throughout, and there’s the addition of some mesmerising keyboard work from the amazingly talented Adrian Gautrey. The additional keyboard arrangements woven through these versions are truly ingenious and feel like they should always have been there.
Another FLC tune is injected into the setlist: ‘How It Be’, from the 2005 album Livin’ in the City, which features some searing guitars overlapping Huey’s smoky New York drawl, sounding beautifully poetic and perfectly atmospheric for a cold autumn night in Leeds. The hypnotic feel of it all lulls everyone into a false sense of security as Huey explains that the next track actually had a sort of sequel written to it, with the latter appearing on 100% Colombian.
‘King of New York’ is played at full pelt and sees the whole place explode, with Huey conducting his crowd as they yell ‘John Gotti!’ at the top of their lungs. Part two follows quickly, with ‘The View Belongs to Everyone’ telling the tale of what happened after John Gotti was finally sent to prison and the subsequent downfall of his ‘family’.
The title track, ‘Come Find Yourself’, arrives and almost feels like the emotional centrepiece of the whole night. It’s unhurried, direct and given proper space to breathe, both musically and lyrically.
“Deliciously dark”
Naturally, ‘Scooby Snacks’ is the one that everyone has been waiting for, and it lands exactly where it should. The whole room joins in without any encouragement, and Huey plays it with the half-smile of someone who knows exactly what that song still does to people. He never overworks it; he just lets it happen.
‘Love Unlimited’, the super-jazzy, bluesy, funked-up ‘I Can’t Get with That’ and ‘Big Night Out’ all hit the mark, and there are hundreds of very happy gig-goers here tonight, including the man in charge of all this mayhem, who hasn’t stopped smiling since he came out on stage.
‘Up on the Hill’ closes the set, but the crowd just keep wanting more, so the band kick off the encore with a personal favourite of mine, ‘Korean Bodega’, which fires another jolt of energy through the crowd, before they’re wrapped in a deliciously dark version of ‘Methadonia’ and a left-field curveball in the shape of ‘Shaniqua’.
Finally, ending the night with a cover of Louis Armstrong’s ‘We Have All the Time in the World’ is a smart and graceful way to finish. Something slower, filled with warm tones, leaves people in a more reflective rather than frantic mood.
Huey thanks his audience throughout the night for showing up and selling out two nights. However, after listening to all the tracks played this evening, what stands out the most is how little the material has dated. The mixture of hip-hop cadence, funk and jazz touches, textured rock riffs and perfect samples means what Huey created still sounds like its very own thing. These songs definitely still have a lot left to say.
As anniversary shows go, this one gets the balance right. Huey doesn’t pretend that the past thirty years never happened; he embraces and reinvents them for an audience that still cares.
Huey Morgan has always had the knack of making something personal feel communal. Tonight, he does it again. The songs still stand up. The voice still carries them, proving once more that some records refuse to become history. A first-class performance all round.
images: Victoria Holdsworth
Victoria is a former English teacher and lifelong musician who has successfully combined her two great passions: words and music. Over the past 20 years, she has written for a variety of publications, giving her the opportunity to witness outstanding talent and meet some truly inspiring individuals. With a deep love for rock, indie, metal, and all things weird and wonderful in between, Victoria also co-runs an independent record label.
