Police and Thieves

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Police and Thieves"

Song by Junior Murvin, The Clash
from the album Police and Thieves, The Clash
Released	8 April 1977
Recorded	March, 1977
Genre	Reggae
Length	6:04
Label	Island Records, CBS
Writer(s)	Junior Murvin, Lee "Scratch" Perry
Producer(s)	Lee "Scratch" Perry, Mikey Foote
Police and Thieves, The Clash track listing
Protex Blue (11)	"Police and Thieves" (9)	48 Hours (13)

Police and Thieves is a song identified with both the man who co-wrote and originally produced the song, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and with the English punk rock band, The Clash. Junior Murvin's original version can be found on several Lee Perry compilations released or licensed by Island Records, including Reggae Greats and Arkology, while the Clash's version appears on their eponymous debut album.

The song was originally recorded in 1976 by reggae artist Junior Murvin, who co-wrote the song with the already famed reggae music producer, Perry. Murvin's version was a bigger sales and club hit in England, than in Murvin's and Perry's native Jamaica.

The Clash's version, which is six minutes in length, is one of the first examples of a rock band incorporating reggae into their repertoire. The song had been a rehearsal room favourite of the band. It had not originally been planned for inclusion on The Clash, but an impromptu version the band started playing during a break in a recording session, spurred the decision to finalize their own arrangement, record it, and include the finished article on their album.

In the beginning of the song, Joe Strummer interpolates the line "They're going through a tight wind" as a tribute to The Ramones - already an established American punk band - and an influence on The Clash. The lyric line appears in the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop".

The Clash

Joe Strummer | Mick Jones | Paul Simonon | Topper Headon

Nick Sheppard | Keith Levene | Pete Howard | Terry Chimes | Vince White

Discography