"Banquet" is a song from British band

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

's debut album ''

Silent Alarm ''Silent Alarm'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with Paul Epworth as producer, it was released on 2 February 2005, by Wichita Recordings. The album peaked at number three ...

''. Originally released on a double A-side single along with " Staying Fat" in May 2004 by

Moshi Moshi Records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot ...

, it was re-released as a regular single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Wichita Recordings Wichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees include Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Ye ...

on 25 April 2005. It was their first single to chart on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

where it came in at number 34, and is often credited as their breakthrough single in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It was also featured in the song "Bloc Party" on the ''Fort Minor Mixtape: We Major''. It was ranked 31 in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'''s top 100 tracks of the decade, and was number 54 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time. It peaked at No. 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 2011, ''NME'' placed it at number 20 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was featured in the 2018/19 video game ''

Life Is Strange 2 ''Life Is Strange 2'' is an episodic graphic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It’s five episodes were released between September 2018 and December 2019 for PlayStation ...

''.

Background and music

The song was originally written by Okereke on tour in 2003. Okereke was inspired by

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

' record '' Doolittle'' at the time, specifically the song called "I Bleed", which was later used for the phrasing of "Banquet". Apart from Pixies, Okereke was also inspired by the song "

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, incl ...

" by

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

. The song is in the key of A♯ minor and in 4/4 time signature. One of the most notable parts of the song is the guitar interplay between Okereke and Lissack, which continues through much of the song.

Meaning

The song is about teenage life and contains lines and phrases related to sex. The song also contains contradiction such as "turning away from the light" and "turning into the light". These and other phrases, such as, I'm on fire, reflect the author's feelings of the process of "becoming adult".

Music videos

There were two

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

for "Banquet". A non-released version contains a recurring theme of

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

with the hands pushing around band members

Russell Lissack Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle ( ...

and Gordon Moakes while other hands cover up

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Matt Tong Matt may refer to: * Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) * Matt, Switzerland, a ...

's head and cast a shadow over

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Kele Okereke Rowland Kelechukwu Okereke (born 13 October 1981), also known mononymously as Kele, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party. Early life Okere ...

. The hands eventually try to stab all of Bloc Party, set fire to the set and destroy the

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

and amps. Meanwhile, the released version shows the group performing in front of many different people. It is shown in full color and in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. The music video has gained around 32 million views on YouTube.

Remixes

The song has been remixed 10 times. Its remix by Phones (Paul Epworth) was released as a promotional single for their remix album ''

Silent Alarm Remixed ''Silent Alarm Remixed'' is the remix album to ''Silent Alarm'', the debut album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 29 August 2005 in the British Isles on Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, and on 13 September ...

'' and their EP '' Bloc Party EP''. The songs remix by

The Streets The Streets are an English music project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner. The project has released six studio albums: ''Original Pirate Material'' (2002), ''A Grand Don't Come for Free'' (2004), ''The Hardest Way to M ...

had a music video made and was released as one of the b-sides for their single " Two More Years". Its two remixes by

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he estab ...

were released as a 10" single. This is a list of all remixes of the song: *" Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" *"Banquet (

Mix)" *"Banquet (Another Version By The Glimmers)" *"Banquet (Boys Noize Vox Mix)" *"Banquet (Boys Noize Dub)" *"Bloc Party" (Remix of Banquet by

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocali ...

, Apathy & Tak of S.O.B.) *"Banquet (Cornelius Remix)" *"Banquet (Black Moustache Remix)" *"Banquet (Fake ID's Feast Mix)" *"Banquet (Junior Sanchez JR Mix)"

Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)

"Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" was a promotional single by

from their first EP " Bloc Party EP", and their remix album "

". It was originally released as a one sided white label vinyl to promote the " Bloc Party EP", which was limited to 250 copies, but was re-released to promote "

" with the original version of "Banquet" on side B. This version is still available on the Wichita Recordings website. The remix appeared in the video game Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix.

Track listings

Original 12-inch vinyl # "Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" - 5:25 Re-release 12-inch vinyl # "Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" - 5:25 # "Banquet" - 3:21 Digital download # "Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" - 5:25

Track listings

CD: Wichita / WEBB078SCD (UK) # "Banquet" # "Compliments" ( Peel Session) roduced by Miti Adhikari# "Banquet" (Another Version by The Glimmers) CD: Wichita / VVR5032983 (European release) # "Banquet" # "Banquet" (Another Version by The Glimmers) # "Banquet" ( EP Version) # "Banquet" (

Phones A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into ele ...

Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

Edit) # "Banquet" ( Cornelius Remix) # "Banquet" (video) DVD: Wichita / WEBB078DVD (UK) # "Banquet" # "So Here We Are" (Peel Session) # "Banquet" (Video) # "Little Thoughts" (Video) 7-inch: Wichita / WEBB078S (UK) # "Banquet" # "Tulips" (Peel Session)

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banquet (Song) 2005 singles 2005 songs Bloc Party songs Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Songs written by Kele Okereke Wichita Recordings singles Songs written by Russell Lissack Songs written by Gordon Moakes Songs written by Matt Tong