Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie

Okay, so it was based on a song about drugs. The phrase has since been used to describe drugs, too. Nonetheless, ‘Pass the Dutchie’ by Musical Youth was good-natured fun that managed to capture the hearts and minds of the UK in September and October of 1982, staying at number one for three weeks.

While hitting the highest reaches of the UK Singles Chart, it wasn’t a first for reggae; in fact, Althea & Donna managed to grab the top spot for a single week in 1978 with ‘Uptown Top Ranking’, only to be overthrown by the Brotherhood of Man and ‘Figaro’ a week later. Yeah, like that’s fair. Still, while the Jamaican girls are perhaps a little better-remembered in modern day music, the cheeky chappies of Musical Youth still managed to churn out a classic, even if they’d apparently lead to the glamorisation of cannabis.

Their tune was based on ‘Pass the Kutchie’, recorded by Mighty Diamonds - also in 1982, as part of their Changes album – and much of the roots reggae stylings were retained by the two pairs of brothers: Kelvin and Michael Grant, alongside Junior and Patrick Waite. The song was selected for them by MCA Records, who picked up the band after John Peel latched onto their talent a few months previously. The title of the song had been subtly changed to “dutchie”, referring to a type a cooking pot. The idea challenged the Thatcher government at the time, with the line “How does it feel when ya got no food?” seen by many to refer to poverty brought on by tough cuts imposed by the regime. Whether that was its aim is unknown, but it certainly struck a chord.

Signing Musical Youth was a great move by MCA, by all accounts. Selling over four million copies to become one of the fastest-selling singles of all time, ‘Pass the Dutchie’ was also nominated for a Grammy Award and grabbed a top-ten placement in the Billboard Hot 100 chart off the back of it. What’s more, the fondly-remembered video accompaniment meant they would also become some of the first black artists to be played on MTV.

Relive the glory days by watching it yourself. You’ll be hard-pressed not to raise a smile.

By Matt Gardner