Justin Dealey
BBC News
Reporting fromThe Oval, London
Getty Images
A rock musician who co-wrote a song with the lyrics “I don’t like cricket – I love it” has just gone to his first match – nearly 47 years after the hit was released.
Graham Gouldman, a founding member of the band 10cc, had never seen live cricket, despite the 1978 hit “Dreadlock Holiday” being adopted as an anthem by many fans of the sport.
But with the help of BBC Three Counties Radio, Gouldman saw England beat the West Indies in Tuesday’s one-day international at The Oval.
“After today’s experience I can say ‘I don’t like cricket, I absolutely love it’,” said Gouldman, 79.
He added: “I’ve had a really lovely day really, enjoyed it… great atmosphere, great people.
“I just had a wonderful time.”
Asked if he would attempt to write another hit about his first match, he said: “When you have had a nice experience like this I’m sure somewhere, at some point. something will crop up in a song.”
Lily May-Symonds/BBC
He is the only original member in the current line-up of 10cc, which formed in Stockport in 1972.
The band had five consecutive UK top-ten albums and twelve singles in the UK Top 40, including three chart-toppers.
Gouldman has said “Dreadlock Holiday” was inspired by a man he met on holiday in Jamaica.
Since it hit number one in several countries, including the UK, the song has been played at countless matches.
It was described by former England cricketer Phil Tufnell as the “soundtrack to my cricket career”.
“Wherever we was touring, it was always on,” he told Gouldman.
“Also I’m pretty sure when I came out of the second jungle [on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here] that was the tune I came out to.”
Fans told BBC Three Counties presenter Justin Dealey – who helped organise Gouldman’s day at The Oval – they could hardly believe it was the musician’s first match.
