1980 St. Pauls riot the "Western Daily Press". 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead, a predominately white working-class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance. Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus laws were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary William Whitelaw came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the
Riot in English were release from the album. The lead single "Simon Simon" managed to be successful in dance charts, peaking inside the top forty on the "Billboard" Dance Club Songs chart. However, the following singles "Riot in English" and "Overtime" failed to chart. Joe Viglione from AllMusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars. He praised Bozzio's lyrics saying that "she knows how to pull a chic cliché and envelope it" and also added that Prince gave her "the opportunity to prove she's as charming on record as she is in person and a talent in her own