Banditos (song)

This article is about the musical recording. For the musical group, see Banditos (band).

1995 single by The Refreshments

"Banditos"

Single by The Refreshments
from the album  Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
Released| 1995
Genre| Pop punk, cowpunk,[1] post-grunge[2][3]
Length| 4:17
Label| Mercury Records
Songwriter(s)| Roger Clyne and Paul "P.H." Naffah
The Refreshments singles chronology
|  | "Banditos"
(1995)  | "Down Together"
(1996)

|
|

"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.

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

[edit]

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.[4]

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.[5]

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1996)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[6] | 56
Canadian Alternative 30[7] | 13
Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] | 20
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[8] | 14

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Scalia, Nick Rocco (7 July 2017). "Here's to Life: The Story of The Refreshments". Filmthreat.
2. ^ "Banditos by The Refreshments - Track info". Allmusic.
3. ^ https://noseatbeltblog.com/2016/02/23/the-refreshments-banditos/
4. ^ Wiser, Carl (February 23, 2006). "Roger Clyne : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
5. ^ Masley, Ed (February 26, 2021). "Roger Clyne on the 'accidental audacity' of the Refreshments' 'Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
6. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
7. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2011-03-29.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-refreshments/chart-history/