ECHOES OF ’76: JUNIOR MURVIN’S POLICE AND THIEVES COMES FULL CIRCLE
Junior Murvin’s Police And Thieves, rebooted in 1987 by King Jammy, finally lands a digital release. The reissue, from Greensleeves Records, hits just weeks ahead of Cool Down The Heat, the long-lost album Murvin cut with Jammy at the height of dancehall’s digital shift.
Rebuilt at the dawn of dancehall’s digital wave, this version channels the energy of its time. Jammy’s production is sharp and stripped back, driven by the legendary Steely & Clevie. Their riddim hits with machine-precise rhythm, while Murvin’s falsetto floats above, urgent and haunting.
The song’s roots trace back to 1976, when Murvin and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry recorded the original at Black Ark. Born from the street-level tension of Jamaica’s election season, the lyrics tell of breakdown, pressure and state violence.
MURVIN’S VOICE, CUTTING THROUGH THE CIRCUITRY, STILL SPEAKS TO NOW
That summer, Police And Thieves travelled fast. It blared from speakers in Kingston, then echoed through the heatwave streets of West London, where tensions at Notting Hill Carnival boiled over. The song caught fire with British youth, and The Clash soon reinterpreted it, embedding its rebel spirit in punk’s DNA.
By 1987, Jamaica’s sound system landscape had shifted. Jammy pushed Murvin into new sonic terrain, not to replace the past, but to amplify its message. The result is a digital roots anthem that carries the weight of both eras.
In 2025, its fire still burns. The sirens still sound. And Murvin’s voice, cutting through the circuitry, still speaks to now.
ABOUT JUNIOR MURVIN
Junior Murvin’s falsetto cut clean through Jamaica’s roots era. Born in Saint James Parish, he first recorded as Junior Soul. However, his 1976 single Police and Thieves, produced by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, defined his sound. It charted in the UK and inspired The Clash.
Later, Murvin worked with producers like Junjo Lawes and King Jammy. In 2025, Greensleeves reissued his digital-era work, placing his voice within a contemporary dub framework once again.
