"Central Park Arrest" is a song composed by Lynsey de Paul for the vocal trio

Thunderthighs Thunderthighs (also known as "Thunder Thighs") were a British backing vocal group, who became artists in their own right. Career The female trio, consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou (American) and Casey Synge, provided the backing vocals ...

, and told the story of a policewoman apprehending a flasher in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. This song in the style of TV cop theme tunes of the day featured police sirens wailing, shots being fired and megaphone radio. The song was a top 30 hit in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The release garnered good reviews in the music press, with ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' choosing it as a single pick and saying "Do-do-do ladies from Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" do their own hit shopping'". It was released as a track on the compilation album, ''Dancing On A Saturday Night, Vol. 2'', on the Philips record label. The recording was released in 1994 on ''World Hits 1974'', a German compilation CD album as well as on the CD, ''Tower Of Strength''. In 2009, it was included on the 5 CD box set ''100 Hits Collection 70's''. The song's writer recorded her own version on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the hit single "

No, Honestly ''No, Honestly'' is a British television sitcom that starred real-life married couple John Alderton and Pauline Collins as Charles ("C.D.") Danbee and Claira Burrell. It depicted their meeting and courtship up to their first wedding anniversar ...

" a few months later, as a lighter bongo driven song. More recently, de Paul's version appeared on her anthology album, ''Into my Music''. It is still played on the radio in the US and the UK.

References

{{authority control Thunderthighs songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul 1974 songs Jet Records singles Philips Records singles Central Park