"The Guns of Brixton" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash, originally released on their 1979 album London Calling.
Simonon was originally doubtful about the song's lyrics, which discuss an individual's paranoid outlook on life, but was encouraged to continue working on it by Joe Strummer.
According to Allmusic critic Rick Anderson, "No song on London Calling (or on any previous album) demonstrated their mastery of reggae as effectively as 'Guns of Brixton' did.
When performing the song live, Simonon would switch instruments with Strummer because he was unable to play the bass line whilst singing lead vocals at the same time.
Norman Cook (also known as Fatboy Slim) sampled the bass line for Beats International's 1990 song "Dub Be Good to Me", which became a #1 hit in the UK.
[14] Will Hermes has called the cover "the sound of history circling in wondrous ways" because the song references Cliff's character Ivan from The Harder They Come.