Songfacts®:

• This song finds Joe Talbot painting a vivid picture of small-town pub violence as he reflects on his dark past.
  
  I said I got a penchant for smokes and kicking douches in the mouth
  Sadly for you my last cigarette's gone out
  
  Talbot explained to Kerrang that he wanted to explore part of his history that he now feels ashamed about. "I used to be a real piece of s--t and I used to be surrounded by that sort of behavior, violent behavior that was through boredom," he said. "I was surrounded by these really angry men and I wanted to reflect on how ludicrous it was. It was also to give people a bit of advice and never start a fight with a man with a perm. I'll tell you that for nothing (laughs)."
• Joe Talbot told Q magazine: "The reasoning behind that song is that anyone with a perm must be such a psychopath that his friends can't tell him how stupid he looks. It was based on a real person, he's probably dead by now."
• The song's animated video sees the band head into a retro video game. The clip was the brainchild of the creative team behind Fluffer Records, which explained its concept: "The idea for the 'Never Fight A Man With A Perm' video came directly from the lyrics of the song and how it tackles the subject of toxic masculinity. Using a British take on the classic arcade beat 'em up platform game seemed like a cool way to put this across visually."