The original sources of classic Jamaican recordings are many and varied. Sometimes they’re the most obvious Top 20 chart toppers, sometimes underrated tracks from hit albums, sometimes old showtunes and standards that the big band musicians would have played for diners and dancers in upmarket hotels and clubs. And then you have this, a hot ska adaptation of the theme to a British cops and robbers TV show that hardly anyone remembers.

Echo Four-Two was a spin off from the hugely popular UK TV series No Hiding Place, but only ten out of a proposed 13 episodes were filmed due to an actors’ strike. A second series had been planned but never came to fruition, and the show seems to have vanished without trace. The show’s theme tune was composed by Laurie Johnson, probably best known for classic 1960s and 70s TV themes such as The Avengers, Animal Magic, Jason King, Thriller and The Professionals, and was released in 1961 on a single, where it appeared as the B side to his version of Taranteño Rojas’s “Sucu Sucu”. This was the theme for another TV show, Top Secret, and the song became popular all over the world, being covered by – among others – Nina & Frederik and, of course, The Skatalites.

I couldn't find any trace of Echo Four-Two on the island’s long running paper Jamaican Gleaner’s TV listings, so it looks doubtful whether the show was ever seen on the island, so presumably Roland, Sir D or a close associate had somehow acquired a copy of the 7" and suggested the cover of its B side. We’ll probably never know exactly how and why “Ball ‘O’ Fire” was recorded, but the mystery in no way diminishes the excellence of this ska masterpiece.

As for the change of title, we know that the retitling of records had long been standard practice among Jamaican sound system men, who not only scratched off the credits and label logos to keep their most exclusive tunes rare and unknown, but also came up with snappy new names for the tunes so their followers knew who was playing it. Many of the ska era record producers (like Coxsone Dodd) owned sound systems, so it’s only natural that this custom was extended to their new releases, not so much to avoid paying publishing royalties (which they probably wouldn’t have paid anyway) but to make their singles more memorable and commercial by naming them after popular films and newsworthy figures or events (current or otherwise).

The only mention I could find of “Ball ‘O’ Fire” in the Gleaner is when the single appears in the Top 10 in April 1965, so with that in mind, I would hazard a guess that producer Coxsone Dodd got the name from the 1941 film that starred Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck – which might perhaps seem a stretch, but I’m happy to be corrected.

Alphonso and The Skatalites do a splendid job, the rhythm is exciting and fast paced, there’s plenty of accents and rolls from drummer Lloyd Knibb, the horns are nicely arranged, and there’s a deejay who announces the title over the intro as well as providing siren imitations (probably a fire engine rather than a police car!) and vocal percussion to boot. Like so many excellent ska instrumentals, it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to be covered in rocksteady or reggae style, however it was revived to good effect by Jamaica’s ace guitarist Ernest Ranglin on his seminal Below The Bassline album in 1996.

Chris Lane is a label boss, writer, producer and selector based in London. Subscribers can read more about his Fashion Records label in Neil Kulkarni’s feature in The Wire 421 via Exact Editions. You can catch up with instalments one, two and three of the series, too.