London Calling

A couple of years ago Nas played a famously aborted show at London's Brixton Academy. Famous amongst the UK's hip-hop heads because of its fore-shortening due to some wannabe rudeboy firing off some shots in the venue. Gun crime is relatively rare in the UK and so shots in a concert was quite a big deal, and to this day the culprit is unknown, despite giving rise to a wave of media scare-mongering about the pernicious influence of hip-hop (read "black") music on the youth in the inner-cities. That is a whole different topic, but why I mention Nas's concert of about 5 songs, is because that night he entered the stage in what was to me a totally inspired move.

The frenetic strains of The Clash's "London Calling" rang out as Nas prowled onto the stage, a fitting hello to his UK fanbase. Of course, many in the crowd showed no sign of recognition or indeed interest, some outwards disdain at this punk interlude, but I thought it was totally don, and such a maverick sign of Nas's own rich musical knowledge. Anyway, that is a long-winded introduction to the band themselves, commonly heralded as one of the UK's pre-eminent musical heroes. I personally have always found The Clash a little hit and miss, but when they hit it is often a classic. I also have The Clash to thank for introducing me to one of the greatest songs ever, Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves", written and produced by the legendary Lee Scratch Perry in 1976.

The relationship between UK punk and reggae is an interesting one and worthy of more time than here, but if you haven't dug out Police and Thieves in a while, you should do so quick smart. Absolutely timeless, this is one of those rare tracks that it is simply impossible to tire of. So sweet-natured, a beautiful melody, and Murvin's verging on falsetto paean to the police violence and racial unrest widespread in both Jamaica and the UK at the time. The album of the same title from which it came is no slouch either. I bet you're reaching for it already!