July, 1978.

I actually don’t like cricket that much if I’m honest, but that’s not the point really, is it?

Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, this was the lead single from 10cc’s 1978 album Bloody Tourist and was based on a collection of true events, or ‘fairly true’ according to Gouldman, including an encounter with a Jamaican who, when asked if he liked cricket, replied ‘no, I love it’; a supposed encounter in Barbados when a white man trying to be cool encountered a group of locals that put him in his place and led to the line ‘don’t you walk through my words, got to show some respect’ (although that may also have come from a rumour of a DJ in Newcastle experiencing a similar encounter on the street when he walked through a group of black guys who were talking together).

Whatever the truth behind the inspiration for the song, it proved to be global hit for the group. It reached number one in New Zealand and The Netherlands, peaked at number two in Australia and Ireland and became the first of their releases to make the charts in Austria, reaching number eighteen. Here in the UK it spent thirteen weeks on the chart, including one week at number one. Whilst it would be their third and final number one in the UK, and their last top ten hit, the song has gone on to become synonymous with the band.

One other interesting little fact – the music video was directed by Storm Thorgerson, probably best known for his work with Pink Floyd over the decades.