Two Pints Of Lager and A Packet Of Crisps

Album: Splodgenessabounds (1980)
Charted: 7
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Splodgenessabounds is a British punk rock band fronted by Max Splodge. Said Splodge: "One night I rushed into the Crown in Chislehurst waving a pound note, trying to buy two pints of lager and a packet of crisps. The bell rang and the bloke wouldn't serve me. The next day I put down a drum track and bass line and just shouted, 'Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps please.' Mike Reid played it on Radio 1 and it started selling 17,000 copies a day." (courtesy: One Hit Wonders, by Chris Welch and Duncan Soar.)
  • This song was originally the B-side of "Simon Templar," a rocked-up version of the theme tune of the television program starring Roger Moore, The Saint.
  • This is the song that inspired the name of the BBC2 comedy also called Two Pints Of Lager and A Packet Of Crisps.
  • In 1852, a part-Native Indian chef George Crum invented potato crisps by accident, thanks to a fussy customer. Industrialist Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt came to the Moon Lake House Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York, where Crum was a chef and ordered "thinner than normal French fried potatoes." Vanderbilt kept sending them back to Crum, protesting that they were too thick. Finally, out of spite the chef sliced the potatoes paper-thin, so that he wouldn't be able to eat them with a fork, then fried them to a crisp in oil, and splashed salt on them. The fussy industrialist loved them. These "potato crunches" as Crum called them became a regular feature of the hotel's menu. (From the book Food for Thought: Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the World by Ed Pearce)

Comments: 3

  • Keithb from SussexAs I recall ‘Two Pints’ was also the name of the dog.
  • Brian from UkCrisp's were invented in the UK... William Kitchiner's book The Cook's Oracle, it's in there published in 1817.
  • Kirsty from Dorset, Englandvery catchy song it is my ringtone and i love the tv program.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Gary Louris of The Jayhawks

Gary Louris of The JayhawksSongwriter Interviews

The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.

Vince Clarke

Vince ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.