Shaggy said: “Music needs to go back to the classic sound. Everybody now is doing something called ‘new’ music.

“But it’s not new as it uses all the seven basic notes. There’s not much else you can do. So it’s not really new, it’s recycled.

“You have Pharrell telling you about ‘Happy’ but the subject matter has been done from as far back as the song Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

“You look at songs like Blurred Lines, which is taken from Marvin Gaye. These kids don’t know that it was by Marvin Gaye.

“We’ve proven this over and over with Oh Carolina, which was in the 50s, but when they heard it in 1993 they thought this was new and innovative.

“But really, it came from something else.”

“Music needs to go back to the classic sound”

Shaggy

The ex-US Marine is limbering up for the three-day Boomtown Fair festival in the sleepy Winchester countryside next month, where he is keen to get crowds booty-shaking to his collection of new and old numbers.

But Shaggy, real name Orville Richard Burrell, wants to get away from the mainstream R&B and pop elements he was made to incorporate in well-known songs such as Angel and It Wasn’t Me.

Since the release of his album Hot Shot in 2000, the gruff-voiced singer has been keen to revert to traditional reggae jams and colossal bashment beats.

“I had to wait until that contract was up in 1996. From that point I started doing straight dancehall and write and produce for other people.”

Shaggy said that Boomtown Fair ravers can expect to hear all his classic tunes from the early days up until his more recent work.

“We’re going to have a great time, play some tunes and burn up the place,” he said.

Shaggy will be performing at Boomtown Fair, which takes place August 7-10 in Matterley Estate, Hampshire. For tickets visit boomtownfair.co.uk/tickets.