A true punky reggae party

I'll never forget the first time I heard The Ruts, the band responsible for my favorite punk song.
As Route 1 continues to mark PUNK WEEK, here is the story behind a song love affair:
It was the summer of 1986 when my sister's friends the Berg family visited our California home from Cambridge, UK. About my age, Karen Berg was also a music lover who had brought several cassette mixes with her to America.
The first song on one of her mixes was the pile-driving "Babylon's Burning" by The Ruts.
By the time I heard "Babylon's Burning" -- a song that had risen to No. 7 in the UK charts in June 1979 -- lead singer Malcolm Owen had been dead six years.
The Ruts mixed reggae with punk better than any band, even better than The Clash. For "Babylon's Burning," the quartet wed the strident sound of punk with the lyrics of roots reggae with mesmerizing effect.
I begged Karen for the cassette, if only to hear "Babylon's Burning" again and again. I have since acquired it on CD and iPod and the song's power has never dimmed.