"Vindaloo" was a single from 1998, recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup by Fat Les. The song was originally written as a parody of football chants, but was adopted as one in its own right. Much of the song consists of the word "vindaloo" repeated over and over by a mixed group, occasionally interspersed with lines "we all like vindaloo" and "we're gonna score one more than you", a reference to patriotism of football supporters. The song also has verses, sung in a much deeper, more rhythmical voice by Keith Allen. These are sung to a very different tune to the rest of the song.

The song reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in June 1998; it was beaten by "Three Lions '98" by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and Lightning Seeds, a re-release of football anthem "Three Lions" from 1996 with slightly altered lyrics.

The music video for the song is a parody of the video for Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, which was itself a mocking recreation of the music video for Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack¹. The video is recorded in the same street, and features comedian Paul Kaye as a Richard Ashcroft lookalike forcing his way down the street. However, while in the original video, Ashcroft is alone, in the video he slowly gathers a large crowd that starts mocking him (presumably Kaye's character supports France), including Fat Les, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, sumo wrestlers, French maids, a French mime, a Max Wall lookalike (as Professor Wallofski), a priest, school children and many more who dance around him carrying bags of Indian food. By the end, Kaye has joined in with the rest of the crowd.

The song is named for the vindaloo, a type of very spicy curry, often eaten in the United Kingdom by football supporters, accompanied with large quantities of lager, after matches.

Track listings

• CD1

1. "Vindaloo"

• CD2

1. "Vindaloo"

References