Police Car

Album: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (1979)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 2010, Jeff Turner of Cockney Rejects published his autobiography - co-written with Gary Bushell. In this book he relates two incidents which between them inspired no less than three songs: "I'm Not A Fool," "Police Car" and "(They're Gonna) Put Me Away."

    At the age of 14 he was in a gang, and one day they tried to shake down someone for £200,000, a sort of mini protection racket. They thought it was a laugh but ended up in court where the police spun a web of lies that made this none-too-humorous joke sound credible. Three weeks later he was arrested at a football match. This appears to have been gratuitous. When the first case came to court he was convicted and given a suspended sentence and a £100 fine. Thinking he couldn't do any worse, the second time he sacked his lawyer and defended himself.

    Turner related: "It was a very simplistic argument: why would I be shouting, punching and kicking in an end full of my own supporters? I said that it beggared belief." His friend who was tried with him said the same. The magistrates agreed, obviously "because they gave the copper a grilling. Then they summed up the case in no time and said that the two of us were not guilty and we were free to go."

    The very short "Police Car" was inspired by this second misadventure. It was actually recorded as The S--tters, but fortunately that didn't last long; it remains to be seen how far the band would have got had they not changed their name. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.