Synopsis

Musical Youth perform "Pass the Dutchie" along London's South Bank, playing their instruments as a school official attempts to stop them. The chase ends badly for the authority figure, who falls and injures himself. The action then shifts to a comic courtroom, where the group faces trial. After the jury returns a not-guilty verdict, the young musicians celebrate by turning the courtroom into another performance space.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed partly on the south bank of the River Thames near Lambeth Bridge.

• The courtroom sequence features actor Julian Firth.

• The authority figure has been described as a school official or truancy officer, giving the video a playful youth-versus-authority theme.

• "Pass the Dutchie" reworked the Mighty Diamonds' reggae song "Pass the Kouchie." The original song referred to cannabis, so Musical Youth changed "kouchie" to "dutchie," a West Indian cooking pot, and replaced references to herb with references to food.

• The recording had to be edited by physically cutting and splicing the tape so it would fit on a seven-inch single.

• The video is widely noted as the first by Black artists to be aired on MTV, appearing several months before Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

• The single became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in the United Kingdom and selling more than five million copies worldwide.

• The song gained a new generation of attention after appearing in the fourth season of Netflix's "Stranger Things."