Banditos (song)
"Banditos" is a song by American band The Refreshments from their album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. The song is the band's best-known hit.
"Banditos" | ||||
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Single by The Refreshments | ||||
from the album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 4:17 | |||
Label | Mercury Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Clyne and Paul "P.H." Naffah | |||
The Refreshments singles chronology | ||||
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A music video was produced to accompany the single, in which the members of the band robbed a bank in Mexico and fled in lead singer Roger Clyne's Toyota Land Cruiser. They eventually give the police the slip through the use of a ridiculous disguise. The video was directed by David Dobkin.
Background
Singer Roger Clyne said he came up with the idea for the song as a broke college student. He imagined making a run to Mexico and getting some money on the way by robbing a store like a Circle K. He wrote the song one morning over coffee with his friends laughing at him, and threw in a reference to Jean-Luc Picard because they were all Star Trek fans. "That was it. Just kind of the compassionate bandito. The guy who really wouldn't hurt a fly. You go to Mexico, you know, that's me," said Clyne.[1]
Clyne also said the choice of whether to release "Banditos" or "Blue Collar Suicide" as the lead single from Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy came down to a coin flip upstairs in the studio.[2]
Charts
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[3] | 56 |
Canadian Alternative 30[4] | 13 |
Canadian RPM Top Singles[4] | 20 |
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[5] | 14 |
References
- Wiser, Carl (February 23, 2006). "Roger Clyne : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- Masley, Ed (February 26, 2021). "Roger Clyne on the 'accidental audacity' of the Refreshments' 'Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-refreshments/chart-history/