Delroy Wilson was the Cool Operator immortalised by The Clash. Here’s the song that earned him the nickname.

Delroy Wilson started out as a child star, recording a string of ska hits for Studio One in his early teens, most of them (Joe Liges, Spit In The Sky) bad-mouthing Prince Buster, former protege of studio boss Coxsone Dodd.

After his high, quavery voice broke, he made one of the first big hits of the rocksteady era (Dancing Mood) and he’s synonymous with that brief period (1966-68). But it was after he left Studio One to team up with producer Bunny Lee in the embryonic roots era that his smooth soulful voice came to my attention.

This is the tune that The Clash referred to when they name-checked him in their tune White Man In Hammersmith Palais – the sobriquet ‘Cool Operator’ stuck, even though in the song he’s not singing about himself – it’s a term he’s applying to the girl who’s caught his eye.

The toaster on the version here, from 1971, seems to be someone called Lizie, who I have to admit never having heard of before. Sadly, Delroy Wilson drank himself into an early grave, dying of cirrhosis of the liver in 1995.