Larry Wallis is an English guitarist, songwriter, and producer, with one of the longest discographies you’ve never heard. He’s played in the Pink Fairies, an early line-up of Motörhead, and produced albums for Wreckless Eric (of “Whole Wide World” fame).
Somewhere in between all that, he recorded a solo single, “Police Car”/”On Parole”. I first heard the song playing over the speakers at the Troubadour, and googled the lyrics to track the song down when I got home (I didn’t have Shazam at the time). At the time, Wikipedia was not as prevalent as it is now, so it was only recently that I was able to learn more about Wallis.
“Police Car” is a dirty, sexy little rocker with an incredible guitar riff. The lyrics may be a bit silly, but Wallis pulls them off with a disengaged, Alice Cooper-esque wail. It’s a classic piece of 70’s rock, produced by fellow rocker Nick Lowe.
