Bye Bye Badman - Demo Remastered

This song was written by John Squire and Ian Brown about the French student riots of 1968. Ian Brown explained the song: "Imagine a protester singing [it] in a policeman's face during the Paris riots. Then you'll get some idea what it's about."

John Squire quoted in Q magazine's 2001 "The 100 Best Covers Of All Time" issue: "lan had met this French man when he was hitching around Europe. This bloke had been in the riots, and he told Ian how lemons had been used as an antidote to tear gas. Then there was the documentary - a great shot at the start of a guy throwing stones at the police. I really liked his attitude." The documentary he refers to was shown in Spring 1988 on UK's Channel 4. It was part of a series of programs marking the 20th anniversary of the Paris student riots and subsequent strikes that all but paralyzed France in 1968. John Squire and Ian Brown were particularly inspired by one of the documentaries, entitled "Revolution Revisited" and were inspired to write Bye Bye Badman.

One interpretation of the title is that "Bye Bye Badman" describes the rioters' feeling towards President Charles de Gaulle.