"Police and Thieves" ( "Police and Thief") is a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

first recorded by the falsetto singer

Junior Murvin Junior Murvin (born Murvin Junior Smith, circa 1946 – 2 December 2013) was a Jamaican reggae musician. He is best known for the single " Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976. Early life He was born in Saint J ...

in 1976. It was covered by the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and included on their self-titled debut album released in 1977.

Junior Murvin version

The song was originally written by Junior Murvin.Katz, David (2006) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Omnibus Press, , p. 246-9, 272, 493 Murvin approached

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

in May 1976 and auditioned the song at Perry's Black Ark studio; Perry decided to record the song the same afternoon, and decided to alter the lyric slightly. Players on the track included

Boris Gardiner Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist. He was a member of several groups during the 1960s before recording as a solo artist and having hit singles with " Elizabethan Reggae" (in 1970), " I Wann ...

(bass),

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pla ...

(guitar), Sly Dunbar (drums),

Keith Sterling Keith Sterling (born Keith Sterling-McLeod, January 1952, Kingston, Jamaica)Larkin, Colin (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', 4th edn., OUP USA, , p. 743 is a piano and keyboard player. Biography Keith Sterling is a well-respected Jam ...

(keyboards), and Joe Cooper (organ), with backing vocals provided by Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan of

The Heptones The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into ...

. The next day dub versions were mixed and versions with different lyrics recorded. The song, about gang war and police brutality, was out on the street in a couple of days, backed by

The Upsetters The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxso ...

' dub version "Grumbling Dub", and became a big hit in Jamaica. Released in Jamaica on Federal Records' Wild Flower subsidiary label (as "Police and Thief") it was issued in the UK by Island Records in July, and proved to be a bigger sales and club hit in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

than in Murvin's and Perry's native

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It was also successful in the US, where it was issued on the Mango label. Island also issued a 12-inch version with

Jah Lion Jah Lloyd, aka Jah Lion, The Black Lion of Judah, and Jah Ali (born Patrick Lloyd Francis, 29 August 1947, died 12 June 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer, deejay and producer. Biography Francis was born in Point Hill, Saint Catherine Parish ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

version "Soldier and Police War", and Glen DaCosta's

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

version "Magic Touch" added. The song was included as the title track on Murvin's 1977 album. The song became an anthem in the UK in 1976 as the Notting Hill Carnival erupted into a riot.O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998) ''Reggae Routes'', Temple University Press, , p. 166

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

and Paul Simonon of the Clash were involved in the rioting, which inspired them to cover the song on their debut album, in a style that they called "'punk reggae', not 'white reggae'". It appeared in Ted Bafaloukos' 1978 film '' Rockers'', and also in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...

's 1998 film ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

''. The song has since been re-recorded by Murvin several times; A digital version appeared on a 1987 single produced by

Prince Jammy Lloyd James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub ma ...

, an acoustic version was included on the 2007 album ''Inna de Yard'', and a new version was released in 2008 on a Ralston Brown-produced single. In 2019, French label Broken Stick Records released a 12" with a new vocal version by Murvin himself (recorded in 2006), a brand new deejay cut by U Roy, a melodica version and a dub version.

Reception

Murvin's version became a Top 30 UK hit in 1980, peaking at no. 23. It was named 'Reggae Single of the Year' by ''Black Echoes'', and placed sixth in the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s end of year singles chart. In 2022, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' named it the 188th best song of the 1970s, saying "Falsetto is frequently used in reggae, but not often is there a track as gently piercing. There’s that perfect amount of echo, carrying Murvin's vocal improvisations and the humming chorus along, making them bounce off the walls and charge ever forward."

The Clash version

The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

punk rock

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Clash's punk/reggae version appeared on their eponymous debut album. The Clash's version, which is six minutes in length, is an example of a rock band incorporating

into their repertoire. Murvin's first commentary was "They have destroyed Jah work!". 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 An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

. In the beginning of the song,

reinterprets the line "They're going through a tight wind" as a tribute to

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

, already an established American punk band and an influence on The Clash. The lyric line appears in the Ramones' "

Blitzkrieg Bop Blitzkrieg Bop is a song by American punk rock band, Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, ''Ramones'', released two months later. The song, w ...

". Perry considered that the Clash had "ruined" the song with their version, but later agreed to work with them nonetheless.

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

was inspired to write his song "

Punky Reggae Party "Punky Reggae Party" is a song by Bob Marley, recorded and released in 1977. Not appearing on any studio album, it was released in 1977 as a 12-inch single in Jamaica only on the Tuff Gong and Black Art labels, as a B-side to the " Jamming" singl ...

" after hearing the Clash's version – his reaction after hearing it for the first time was "It is different, but me like how him feel it".

Other versions

The Clash's version appears on the soundtrack for the

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

film, ''

The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen W ...

''. The song also appears in the '' Reno 911!: Miami'' movie where it is performed by Dave Grohl, who is listed in the credits under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Sprechen Sie Deutsch". Several other versions have been recorded, including several on tribute albums to the Clash. Jazz musician Billy Iuso covered it on his 2015 album ''Overstanding''.

Junior Murvin version

Reception

The Clash version

Other versions

References

Further reading