I know there are people – many people – who hate this prime fillet of cod reggae. They probably hate cricket too. In both cases they are mistaken.

It’s not exactly authentic but it’s a great tune, infused with a genuine love of reggae. And cricket.

Dreadlock Holiday topped the UK singles chart in the summer of 1978, a golden period for reggae, and the important thing about it is that 10CC clearly do​ love reggae, just as the song says.

The other important thing is that those calling the lyrics racist are rather missing the point – the butt of the song’s mockery is white tourists.

Contrary to some suggestions of racism, the satirical lyrical target is white holidaymakers trying to ingratiate themselves by telling the locals they like cricket and weed. Even the ‘Jamaican’ accent they adopt at one point is (arguably) an impression of those same tourists embarrassing themselves.

Anyway… the composers, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, were inspired to write the song after witnessing cringeworthy behaviour on their own Caribbean holidays.

Stewart, in Barbados with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, recalled seeing a white tourist given short shrift by a group of locals when he sauntered up to them “trying to be cool but (looking) so naff.”

Hence the lyric: “Don’t you walk through my words, you got to show some respect.”

Gouldman came up with the chorus after a holiday in Jamaica where he asked a local whether he liked cricket and received the reply: “No, I love it!”