Dreadlock Holiday

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"Dreadlock Holiday"
File:10cc - Dreadlock Holiday single cover.png
Single by 10cc
from the album Bloody Tourists
B-side"Nothing Can Move Me"
ReleasedJuly 1978
RecordedStrawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England, 1977
Genre
Length4:28
LabelMercury
Songwriters
Producer10cc
10cc singles chronology
"People in Love"
(1977) 		"Dreadlock Holiday"
(1978) 		"For You and I"
(1978)

"Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae song by 10cc. Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, it was the lead single from the band's 1978 album, Bloody Tourists.[3] It was a number one hit in several countries.

Composition

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The song was based on real events Eric Stewart and Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward experienced in Barbados, and Graham Gouldman experienced in Jamaica. Graham Gouldman commented: "Some of the experiences that are mentioned are true, and some of them are ... fairly true!"[4][5] Stewart recalled seeing a White man "trying to be cool and he looked so naff" walking into a group of Afro-Caribbeans and being reprimanded, which became the lyric "Don't you walk through my words, you got to show some respect".[6] Another lyric came from a conversation Gouldman had with a Jamaican, who when asked if he liked cricket replied, "No, I love it!".[7]

Music video

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The music video for the song was directed by Storm Thorgerson.[8] The beach scene in the official video was filmed on the Dorset coast near Charmouth.

Reception

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"Dreadlock Holiday" became the group's international number 1 hit topping the charts in the UK,[9] Belgium, New Zealand and The Netherlands. The single also reached number 2 in Ireland and Australia, became a top 10 hit in Norway and Switzerland and top 20 in Germany and Sweden. In Austria the song was 10cc's sole entry in the charts, peaking at number 18.[10]

In North America, "Dreadlock Holiday" became a minor hit, peaking at number 45 in Canada's RPM charts and number 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100. When asked why he thought the song didn't do better in the US, Gouldman said that reportedly some radio stations would not play reggae of any kind.[11][better source needed]

In the UK, the song was the band's third number 1 and at the same time final top 10 hit.[12]

In a 2025 interview, Gouldman responded to claims that the song's lyrics perpetuated stereotypes about the Caribbean by stating that while people from the region he had encountered had expressed uniformly positive opinions, he would not have written some of the lines in the present day.[13]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[34] Gold 100,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Usage in media

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  • In 2000, Guy Ritchie's film Snatch contained the song.[36]
  • The song is used in the first episode of The Mighty Boosh, "Killeroo". It is danced to by Rich Fulcher's character, Bob Fossil, who cuts the song off after the lyric, 'I don't like cricket' before saying, 'That's why I don't like cricket.'
  • In 2002, Intenso Project sampled the track in their hit "Luv Da Sunshine".
  • In 2010, David Fincher's film The Social Network contained the song being mixed by a college DJ.
  • The song has been used as the theme music for cricket programming in the UK on Sky Sports.[37]
  • The song is used in the 2013 film Life of Crime.
  • The song appears in the 2016 video game Watch Dogs 2.[38]
  • The song was used in the 2019 Christmas Special of Gavin and Stacey.

References

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  4. ^ Graham Gouldman, The Songwriters Circle, BBC2, 1999.
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  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  16. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dreadlock Holiday". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday". VG-lista.
  23. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "10cc – Dreadlock Holiday". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "10cc Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – 10cc – Dreadlock Holiday" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Enter Dreadlock Holiday in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2019 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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