“Vindaloo” by Fat Les

The history of Fat Les’ “Vindaloo” is that it was invented to parody football anthems, which are in fact very popular in England and other parts of Europe where soccer is by far the predominant sport. But as fate would have it, unintentionally one may say, the English masses went on to adopt it as an actual football anthem to be utilized at events such as the World Cup (with the song being conceptualized during the 1998 edition of said event) and Euro 2020. 

But that said, outside of touting England’s inevitable ability to “score” on opponents, the rest of the song really has nothing to do with football. In fact as a number of analysts puts it, “most of the lyrics are fairly nonsensical”. 

And they feature the likes of the vocalist proclaiming that he, his parents ‘and his grand’ are “off to Waterloo” which, in a roundabout way, is also meant to point to England being a victorious nation.

Vindaloo

In fact as the story goes, it was that “we’re off to waterloo” line that Keith Allen first came up with. So the reason that the song is entitled “Vindaloo” is because said title rhymes with “Waterloo”. 

And for the record vindaloo is not a word that Fat Les made up. What is it then? It is actually a type of food that is most popular in India. That may be why the vocalist gives a shoutout to “cheddar cheese” in the lyrics, although cheese itself is not an ingredient in said dish. And that may also be why some listeners have interpreted the song as being racist.

But that noted it is pretty obvious, taking into consideration the music video and all, that this project is primarily intended as an act of comedy. And in the UK, wherefrom Vindaloo originated, such songs can and sometimes do in fact blow up. 

So it appears that a piece which Fat Les never intended to really be taken seriously has been adopted in such a mainstream manner nonetheless.

Writing Credits for “Vindaloo”

There are three authors of this track. The music was written by Guy Pratt and Alex James. And the lyrics were scripted by Keith Allen. Keith is also from the UK but is known more as an actor/comedian/TV personality than a musician. However, he was still one of the three members of Fat Les during their existence, serving as the group’s main vocalist. 

Alex James, who is the only full-time musician from the crew, concurrently acted as a member of another band called Blur. Alex is still down with Blur as of the writing of this post. And the third member of Fat Les was Damien Hirst, who is primarily an artist by profession.

Fat Les

Fat Les was active from 1998 to 2002 and then again briefly again in 2012 (under the name Fit Les). And as implied above, they were primarily a comedic act, dropping tracks with titles such as Naughty Christmas (Goblin in the Office) (1998) and Who Invested Fish and Chips (2002). 

More Facts about “Vindaloo”

Vindaloo was officially released on 8 June 1998. And the label that put it out was an entity known as Telstar Records.

The music video to this song, which Keith Allen himself directed, meant to serve as a parody of that of The Verve’s 1997 hit “Bitter Sweet Symphony“. And said clip featured a plethora of known personalities, including Keith’s daughter Lily Allen, who went on to become a very-successful musician in her own right.

Fat Les did deal with some backlash due to the emergence and fame of this song, including accusations of it being racist.

“Vindaloo” was well-received in its homeland, where it has been certified platinum by the BPI and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.

There was in fact a “Vindaloo Two” that came out in 2021, which Keith Allen participated on.  Said track, which itself features a number of celebrities, was not only designed to support England during the Euro 2020 football competition but also serves as an act of charity.