Song of the Day 10/20: Prefab Sprout, “The Best Jewel Thief in the World”

Officials called yesterday’s broad-daylight robbery at the Louvre a professional job, but the bandits certainly aren’t the best jewel thieves in the world, or they wouldn’t have dropped a couple of the priceless artifacts on their way out. I visited that gallery last year, so I recognized the pieces of 19th-century jewelry they stole.

Prefab Sprout started in the ’80s as a project of the McAloon brothers, Paddy and Martin, and eventually grew into a full band, but since 2003 it’s been Paddy alone who wrote and played all their music. “The Best Jewel Thief in the World” appeared on his most recent LP, 2013’s “Crimson/Red,” which consists of songs he wrote over the preceding 15 years. The album made the UK top 20, but the song failed to chart as a single.