Frank Benbini On Uncle Frank, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Singing About ‘Food & Women’

Uncle Frank started off as a fun side project for Frank Benbini, best known for being in Fun Lovin’ Criminals, but turned into a whole lot more for the singer, who plans on releasing a new record as Uncle Frank later this year.

Frank Benbini On Uncle Frank

“It started about ten years ago, I’d say. But it started as fun. It was just a handful of songs,” Benbini told uInterview exclusively of Uncle Frank’s start. “It was like, let’s do this alter ego character called Frank that only really sings about two things and that’s food and women, which is kind of the same thing to me so that’s how we started doing Uncle Frank.” Uncle Frank is not just a cute moniker that Benbini adopted for the side project-turned-legitimate venture. Benbini sees Uncle Frank as a kind of alter ego with an origin story that’s not too dissimilar from his own background growing up in Leicester, UK. “We’re from a working class, like brought up on the counselor estate. I think you guys call it ‘the projects.’ That’s where I’m from. When I talk about Uncle Frank, it’s kind of like two people, but we’re very similar – similar age, grew up in the same town. Broken families you know?” Benbini explained. “Everything’s about respect for us, you got to have a lot of respect. And all these things come threw in Uncle Frank. That’s who Uncle Frank is, that’s where we come from, very real people.”

Uncle Frank, who had his first studio release album in Smiles for Miles, sounds like a cross between Jack Black and soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, according to Benbini. “It’s like sweet and sour, hot and cold,” said Benbini. “It’s so beautiful and so real and dark at the same time and then it can be really funny.”

“We love love songs. We love melody music. We love Disney and Pixar soundtracks and we get all of that,” Benbini added. “And then I have this love of Hip Hop music that I grew up with from an early age, and then being in an international touring band, working with some iconic hip-hop people, funk people, and jazz people; BB King, and all of the things I’ve done, it all gets wrapped up in this sweet and savory thing that is Uncle Frank.”

Already, Benbini and his collaborator Naim Cortazzi have finished a couple of tracks for their new Uncle Frank album, including “Hot Secret Lover,” which Benbini counts as his favorite. After dropping the new Uncle Frank record, Benbini will be heading off on a world tour for Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ 20th anniversary.