Bristol Rovers Community Trust CEO: ‘How I helped make Vindaloo in 1998’

The chief executive of Bristol Rovers Community Trust has a gold disc on the wall of his home that remembers a very different time in his life.

Adam Tutton’s current office has a view of the Memorial Stadium. For a short period in the late 90s, his office view in Bloomsbury Square was a multi-million pound artwork by Damien Hirst of a cow’s head in formaldehyde.

It was in the Turner Prize-winning artist’s studio that Tutton set up the record label that would go on to release Vindaloo by Fat Les in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup in France.

The song reached number two in the singles charts and would go on to sell more than half a million copies.

Tutton was also responsible for cajoling a crowd including Hirst, Keith Allen, Paul Kaye, Matt Lucas and David Walliams to shoot the famous video in Hoxton.

So how did Bristol-born Tutton come to play a pivotal role in the release of one of the best-known football anthems of all time?

After doing a business studies degree at university in London, Tutton stayed in the capital to work in the marketing department of Sony Records before becoming a barman at the Groucho Club, which in the 90s was notorious as a late-night haunt for celebrities.

“To be part of that as a fairly young man was an incredibly exciting period of time,” says Tutton in the latest episode of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast.

Through working at the club, Tutton had become friends with Allen, Blur bassist Alex James and Hirst, who back then was at the peak of his fame.

It was that trio who had the idea to release a football song in time for the 1998 World Cup, and due to his time spent working at Sony, they asked Tutton to help, which saw him then leave the Groucho Club to almost singlehandedly run Turtleneck, the record label on which Vindaloo was released.

Listen to Tutton talk about his connection to Vindaloo in the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:

“Keith’s mind at that period of time was quite crazy, he would go from one thought to another,” Tutton remembers.

He adds: “We started talking one night. Vindaloo came up. Vindaloo was the best curry. And as we were sat one night in the bar getting more and more drunk, the song came together.”

After the song was recorded, it was then Tutton’s job to “rope in the great and the good from the Groucho Club at the time” to feature in the video, which was inspired by The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony which in turn had been inspired by Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy.

Allen’s daughter and son, Lily Allen and Alfie Allen, also feature in the video, with young Alfie hidden behind an ice hockey mask.

“The key issue I had on that day because it was early in the morning was actually locating some vindaloo,” says Tutton.

Adam Tutton and everyone involved in the single release had number one printed on England shirts by Telstar in the expectation of topping the charts (Vindaloo actually reached number two, beaten by Three Lions 98) – photo: Adam Tutton

Just how good the original Vindaloo was can be seen in the re-release of the song this year, Vindaloo Two, featuring Will Mellor, Danny Dyer, Paddy McGuinness and Keith Lemon.

Its only saving grace is that all sales of the single – released in conjunction with England sponsors Deliveroo – are being donated to NHS Charities Together.

Main photo: Adam Tutton

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