The Guns of Brixton

"The Guns of Brixton"
Song by the Clash
from the album London Calling
Released14 December 1979
RecordedAugust–September, November 1979
StudioWessex, London
GenreReggae[1][2]
Length3:07
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Paul Simonon
Producer(s)Guy Stevens

"The Guns of Brixton" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash, originally released on their 1979 album London Calling. It was written and sung by bassist Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, South London. The song has a strong reggae influence, reflecting the culture of the area and the reggae gangster film The Harder They Come.

  1. ^ Thomson, Ian (14 December 2019). "London Calling 40 years on: How The Clash rewrote the rule book". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 December 2020. The standout reggae-inflected track on London Calling, Guns of Brixton, written by the band's bassist, Paul Simonon, alludes to the Jamaican outlaw Vincent "Ivan", or "Ivanhoe", Martin, who terrified the island's capital, Kingston, in the 1940s with his armed hold-ups, until a police manhunt left him dead.
  2. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1979". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 362–364. ISBN 9781493064601.