1978 10cc: Dreadlock Holiday

The concept of smug white men playing reggae is not something that's going to whet too many appetites, but what about men playing ironic reggae? Now there's a niche genre. 10cc had never been a band to play anything with a straight bat, but by 1978 they had split in two after Godley and Creme quit to leave Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart as the core of the band augmented with whatever session musicians happened to be knocking about. 'Dreadlock Holiday' was to be the last hit from a band in decline.

Mention it to anyone and like as not the first thing they'll shout is the 'I don't like cricket, I LOVE it' refrain from the chorus. Amusing yes, but in the context of the song it has it's own purpose - 'Dreadlock Holiday' is the (supposedly true) tale of a hapless tourist getting out of his depth on the bad side of Jamaica and being robbed by four locals. The love of cricket cry is intended as a way to get on the good side of the muggers by identifying a common interest, the idea being that all West Indians are obsessed with cricket and they wouldn't do harm to a fellow fan (he also goes on to claim 'I don't like reggae, I LOVE it' for the same reasons). You can take this one of two ways, which is quite neat because it also sums up the two ways you can take the song; either with a good humoured amusement, or as an offensive display of outrageous racist stereotyping.

The case for the prosecution is a strong one. For a start, the song seems hell bent on not portraying Jamaican folk in too flattering a light. All have 'dark voices' with the men engaged in robbery with menaces, the women deal in dope and everybody, when they aren't mugging or getting high, are out playing cricket. Presumably with reggae blasting over the PA system. To compound this injury, Gouldman and Stewart adopt cod-patois accents throughout that hark back to the Typically Tropical affair with their "Don't you cramp me style, don't you queer on me pitch" jive. But what sounded fresh and effervescent in the mouths of Althea and Donna now sounds smug, piss-taking and yes, vaguely offensive when coming from some middle aged, middle class white men. And to make sure these voices are heard, the reggae backing is a subdued chink chink affair instead of the genuine article's chunk chunk, suggesting that the band are parodying both Jamaicans and their music.

In its defence, 'Dreadlock Holiday' is a well crafted song and, to be fair, the sheer unexpectedness of that 'I don't like cricket' yell is still amusing even when you know it's coming. At heart though, there's a mean and spiteful edge to it all that both belies and negates the sunny, feel-good nature the song aspires to. The humour lands wide of the target somewhat, making it the sound of a clever, clever band being not quite as clever as they think they are. Reggae fans will hate it on sight and if non reggae fans are looking to dip their toes in the water then there a better places to start than this.