Bloc Party’s “Banquet” Lyrics Meaning

by Amanda London· Published January 15, 2021· Updated January 15, 2021

Underneath it all, the lyrics of Bloc Party’s “Banquet” are about sex or the singer’s sexual relationship with a certain lady. But more to the point is the notion that he perceives his partner as having certain mental issues. Said shortcomings don’t necessarily come off as anything overly uncommon, more like she suffers from low self-esteem and is generally hard to satisfy. However she does apparently enjoy bedroom fun, and the singer himself is “on fire” and wants to give it to her. But again, he is concerned by her mindstate and perhaps more-pointedly expresses a desire to lighten up her disposition.

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })(); You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Bloc Party's Banquet at Lyrics.org.

Release Date and Success of “Banquet”

This is the second single off of Bloc Party’s debut album, the UK platinum-certified “Silent Alarm”. And the song itself contributed to the project’s success, as “Banquet” reached a peak position of 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Not only that! But the song also went on to enjoy a silver certification in Britain. Moreover it made an appearance on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart stateside.

The original release date of this song is 3 May 2004, which predates the issuance of “Silent Alarm” by about a year. In actuality it first came out as a double A-side, along with the track “Staying Fat”, as put forth by Moshi Moshi Records. And it was part of Bloc Party’s self-titled 2004 EP before being featured on “Silent Alarm”. And for the record, the label that put it out as part of the latter full-length was Wichita Recordings.

Remixes

This song has undergone quite a few remixes. The most notable amongst them has been identified as the Phones Disco Edit, which was also produced by Paul Epworth. Said remix featured on the 2006 videogame “Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix”. And the standard version of the song also made it onto the soundtrack of another videogame, 2018’s “Life Is Strange 2”.

Moreover just to note, Banquet has also been remixed by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park as well as the British rap project known as The Streets.

Who wrote “Banquet”?

“Banquet” was authored by all the Bloc Party members of that era. And their names are as follows:

Kele Okereke
Russell Lissack
Matt Tong
Gordon Moakes

And they are also collectively acknowledged as the producers of the song, alongside the aforementioned Paul Epworth.

It is actually Kele Okereke who conceptualized the tune. And he was inspired by a couple of other songs – “I Bleed” (1989) by Pixies and “Prince Charming” (1981) by Adam and the Ants.

A song synonymous with Bloc Party!

In the years that followed, “Banquet” has gone on to be recognized as Bloc Party’s signature song. And this is for a track which almost didn’t get released due to some parties behind the scenes not feeling it. However, band members Kele and Russell in particular pushed for it to receive the light of day.