Police and Thieves
Junior Murvin’s falsetto floated over a country in political violence. Recorded with Lee “Scratch” Perry at Black Ark in 1976, the song crossed into Britain and found another life inside punk.
GO DEEPER
Junior Murvin brought “Police and Thieves” to Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Black Ark in May 1976 while Jamaica was deep in political and street violence. Perry helped develop the lyric, and a remarkable session band including Sly Dunbar, Boris Gardiner and Ernest Ranglin built the backing beneath Murvin’s high, delicate voice. The contrast made the record hit harder: graceful singing describing guns, police and fear. It became a major Jamaican record, reached Britain during the violent 1976 Notting Hill Carnival, and was covered by The Clash the following year. That punk connection did not turn the original into a British story; it shows how quickly Jamaican records were already speaking across scenes.
How they stand with the others
Came togetherThe recording joins Murvin’s writing and falsetto with Perry’s Black Ark production and an elite Jamaican session band.
Crossed overThe Clash’s cover is part of the record’s British afterlife, not evidence that punk owns the story.
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Last checked 1 September 2026