"Central Park Arrest" is a song composed by

Lynsey de Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...

for the vocal trio

Thunderthighs Thunderthighs (also known as "Thunder Thighs") were a British backing vocal group, who released records in their own right. Career The female trio, consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou (American) and Casey Synge, provided the backing vo ...

, and told the story of a policewoman apprehending a flasher in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. This song in the style of TV cop theme tunes of the day featured police sirens wailing, shots being fired and megaphone radio. The recording was produced by Steve Rowland (who got de Paul to write the song specifically for the trio) with a musical score by British composer, arranger and conductor, John Cameron. According to "Beat Instrumental", de Paul also played the piano on the recording. The song was a top 30 hit in the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number 3 on the Radio Northsea Toppers chart and number 2 on the Swedish Poporama chart. The record was a forecast hit on the New Zealand Pop-o-Meter chart and listed in the German Hessen chart. The release garnered good reviews in the music press, with ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' choosing it as a single pick and saying "Do-do-do ladies from Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" do their own hit shopping'". The ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' listed it as one of the best songs in 1974 in their year end review. It was released as a track on the compilation album, ''Dancing On A Saturday Night, Vol. 2'', on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

. The recording was released on CD in 1994 on ''World Hits 1974'', a German compilation CD album as well as on ''Tower Of Strength''. In 2009, it was included in the five CD box set ''100 Hits Collection 70's''. The song's writer recorded her own version on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to the hit single "

No, Honestly ''No - Honestly'' is a British television sitcom which starred real-life married couple John Alderton and Pauline Collins as Charles ("C.D.") Danbee and Claira Burrell. It depicted their meeting and courtship up to their first wedding anniversa ...

" a few months later, as a lighter bongo driven song with de Paul as the producer. More recently, de Paul's version appeared on her anthology album, ''Into my Music''. It is still played on the radio in the US, New Zealand, and the UK. It is listed in the U.S. Catalog of Copyright, Library of Congress and has been mentioned in a number of books on 1970s pop/rock.''In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in ’70s Britain'' by Will Hodgkinson, Blink Publishing, 15 September 2022,

References

{{authority control 1974 songs 1974 singles Thunderthighs songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul Jet Records singles Philips Records singles Mercury Records singles Central Park