Police On My Back

In this episode, we throw the book at The Equals and their 1967 non-hit, "Police on my Back." Written by the indestructible Eddy Grant, the debate centers around the song's rude boy narrative (Stratton 2013) and the question of the narrator's guilt or innocence. The next in the line up is The Stacattos (from South Africa). These guys mess the song up in interesting ways, but is it a social statement? Was the original? Well, on "Sandinista," The Clash made the song famous and it's taken on new dimensions since then, so after those perps, we end with Asian Dub Foundation and Zebda's 2003 version, which'll drive you wild with its hybrid instrumentation and high energy. It's an open and shut case!!