Anatomy of a Song: "Vindaloo" Trivia Quiz

Answer: "We are from England"

I am happy to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Dictionary.com online translator for the non-English options, which indicate that the speakers are from Germany, Brazil and France.

NB - the actual words are "We're from England", but the quiz software apparently doesn't like apostrophes, and kept marking the correct answer as wrong!

Answer: The kettle

This is a reference to the traditional English preference for a cup of tea, as opposed to untrustworthy continental drinks such as coffee (or indeed any other form of hot beverage).

Answer: Bonjour Monsieur

"Bonjour Monsieur" means literally "Good day, Sir". "Defense de fumer" is "No smoking"; "Joyeux noel" is "Happy Christmas"; and "Fermer la porte" is "Shut the door".

In the video to the song, the nationality of the gentleman being addressed is signposted by his being dressed as a traditional French onion-seller, complete with bicycle, beret, striped shirt and string of onions round his neck.

Answer: A lump of cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese is another typically English foodstuff; by implication preferable to anything the French (or any other famous cheese-producing nation) can come up with.

Answer: One

This prediction of an England victory by a one-goal margin failed to come true on any occasion at the 1998 World Cup. In the group stages, England beat both Tunisia and Colombia 2-0, and lost to Romania 2-1. In the first round of the knockout stage, they drew 2-2 with Argentina, losing 4-3 on penalties.

Answer: Four

The song informs us that the party going to Waterloo Station consists of "Me and me mum and me dad and me gran", which makes four.

In 1998, when the song was written, the Eurostar train service to France and Belgium still left from London Waterloo (named after the famous battle in which the French Emperor Napoleon was soundly thrashed by an army led by the English Duke of Wellington). In 2007, the main Eurostar terminus was moved to St Pancras, thus spoiling the delightful irony.

Answer: A bucket of vindaloo

The singer and his family, clearly deeply worried about being forced to live on a diet of snails, frogs' legs and runny cheese, take with them an ample supply of that quintessentially English dish, an Indian takeaway.

Answer: All of them

The chorus includes the line "We all like Vindaloo". The undeniable popularity of Indian food in England can be traced to the days of the British rule in India, and the first Indian Restaurant in the UK is believed to have opened in London in 1810 - the Hindoostanee Coffee House.

In popular British "curry house" culture, a vindaloo is an especially hot form of curry, and the more macho elements of English manhood would never dream of eating anything else.

Answer: Nah nah nah

The chorus of "Vindaloo" has been taken up as a generic anthem by football fans throughout the UK, and can be heard being chanted from the terraces on a weekly basis during the season. It has the great merit of being fairly easy to remember, even after a few well-chosen pre-match refreshments in ones local hostelry.

Answer: England

The word "England" is not so much sung as shouted (which in fact goes for much of the rest of the song). "Vindaloo", despite its popularity, sadly failed to inspire the England football team to victory in the 1998 World Cup, which was won by the host nation, France.

For those not familiar with the group, Fat Les was founded by the musician Alex James (from the band Blur), actor Keith Allen and the "Britpop" artist Damien Hirst, specifically to record this song. Its success led to the release of three further singles: "Naughty Christmas", "Who invented Fish & Chips?" and "Jerusalem" (for the Euro 2000 football tournament).