The Bandulos

Our name is a pluralization of “bandulo,” a Jamaican slang word which as a noun means “bandit,” “thief,” or “rude boy,” and as an adjective, “counterfeit,” “fake,” or “stolen.”

We first heard the word as the title of the first track on the classic 1979 Studio One record by Jamaican singer Freddie McGregor, Bobby Bobylon. Give a listen to “Bandulo”:

Freddie McGregor - Bandulo

That’s what you been doin’ all the time:
Playing bandulo on everyone’s mind.
Keep the people in utter darkness,
Don’t want them to see no fullness,
Let them go, make them try,
I’m sure there’s a way they’ve got to survive.

Go down, bandulo man, go down,
Go down, you’ve got to reach the ground.

Bandulo also appears as “bandulu,” which is the name of a North London techno trio. The Bandulus are a reggae outfit from Austin, Texas that came together in the early summer of 2008.

Bandulo, Hungary

Coincidentally, there’s a small town in Hungary called Bándůlő. Billy and Mike Levay have Hungarian roots, and the surname Levay is a fairly popular one in Hungary.