The Ruts - Jah War....in Southall

The Ruts consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John "Segs" Jennings (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums) and are best known as a punk band for, the excellent “Staring At The Rude Boys”, “Babylon’s Burning” and “In A Rut” . Although a punk band they were heavily influenced by reggae and were involved with anti-racist protest groups such as Rock Against Racism and People Unite, a collective based in the London borough of Southall.
“Jah War” is a song about a demo that took place in Southall, when trouble flared between protestors (protesting against the NF who were planning a meeting in the borough) and the Special Patrol Group. Attacks by the SPG led to the death of New Zealander Blair Peach and severe injuries to Clarence Baker. Other reggae artists also sang about this event at the time, most notably Linton Kwesi Johnson with “Reggae Fi Peach" on Bass Culture.
“Jah War” I think is the finest piece of ‘white reggae’ you will probably hear. It is a great slice of up-tempo reggae with its driving bass line and bright sounding horns. The song came out as a single, but unfortunately never made the charts. I suppose the majority of the British record buying public were not ready to embrace this type of style or more importantly the content by a 'white' band then.
Another good reggae track by this band is “Love In Vain”, which is more laid back, warm, dubby feeling tune with echoy horns and harmonica, and without the angst filled lyrics. This track can also be found on The Crack or on the B side of the 3 minutes of excellence that is “Staring At The Rude Boys”.
Also worth checking out, although not totally reggae influenced, is the powerful S.U.S. A song about the archaic law when the Police had the power to arrest when all you had to do was look just a bit suspicious of committing a crime. A law that if you were Black and young meant you were bound to be pulled in to the station on a regular basis.