The Police

08 November 2008

They were composed of three individuals. A bass guitarist named Gordon Matthew Sumner, a lead guitarist named Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland. By 1983, they were recognized as the most popular music group in the world. Consistently playing to sold-out venues in America, Europe, South America and Japan to name a few, it was their world tours and live performances which led to their break into popular culture.

With dozens of radio singles spread across five albums, audiences witnessed this band's vast transition in musical styles and genre. Their lyrics dealt with world conflicts, political positions and topics considered taboo to society. What began as a band whose roots came from reggae mixed with rock later evolved into a sophisticated new wave sound in response to critics labeling them as just another British rock group. The band did not entirely form until 1977 as the trio met informally and came together without knowing one another. Essentially, one day they were strangers and the next day they became a band. It began in the late 1970's in England.

In 1976, the British rock scene revolved around groups like the Sex Pistols, labeled a punk band whose rebellious antics and music influenced fellow British musicians. Drummer Steward Copeland attended a performance by one such inspired punk band called "Last Exit" at a college in Newcastle. Copeland did not think much of the band, but noticed the abilities of the bass guitarist Gordon Sumner. Following an introduction after the performance, Copeland invited this bass guitarist to London to record a single. Copeland's older brother Miles owned a low budget recording studio and was looking to sign musicians with potential.

In haste, Copeland added lead guitarist and friend Henry Padovani to record the single "Fallout." Following this single, the band toured unsuccessfully. Stewart Copeland (drummer) and Gordon Sumner (bass-guitarist) eventually decided to play a side gig with the group Strontium 90. Andy Summers was the lead guitarist of this band and after the performance Copeland asked him to join his group. Summers agreed on the condition that Henry Padovani be removed from the band. Copeland remembers running into Andy following the Strontium 90 gig: "He pulled me into a café and said ‘You guys have a great group except that you need to sack the guitarist and get a new one - me." (Hal 1993, 28)

After some consideration, Copeland and Gordon agreed and the trio was formed. They were to be called, The Police. Following initial tours throughout Europe in 1977, little recognition was gained. Nonetheless, The Police fed off the intense and skilled songwriting of bass guitarist Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting. During their initial European tour, they stopped in Paris and Sting saw the red-light district for the first time. It inspired him to write the eventual hit song "Roxanne."

After the European tour, The Police had no money, no record contract and seemingly no hope of succeeding. Stewart Copeland swallowed his pride and asked his brother (Miles) to finance their studio time. Miles not only came through with the check, but after hearing the song "Roxanne" sold it off as a single to A&M records and booked them as a support group to the headliner band Spirit.

In April 1978, "Roxanne" was released for radio play and got good reviews. However, due to its controversial subject, the song received little airplay. For now, the mass media decided Britain was not ready to listen to songs discussing prostitutes or red light districts. The format of rock mixed with reggae (as in Roxanne) was intriguing and Sting wrote several other melodies with similar textures. "Can't Stand Losing You," in the same vein as "Roxanne," became their second A&M single, and also their second A&M flop.

Miles (Stewart's brother and record producer) then decided on taking the chance of a low budget US tour. It helped that his brother had become an established agent in the states. This was Miles strategy to "break" British bands into the states - fast moving, low rent and generating interest by performing to college audiences.

On October 20, 1978, The Police flew a low budget airline into the US carrying their guitars and drum equipment as hand luggage. That same night, they would debut in New York at CGMB, a legendary punk venue. For the next month, they drove hundreds of miles playing 23 shows in 27 days for $200 a night. It put their foot in the door.

In November of 1978, The Police released their first full length album entitled "Outlandos D'Amour" in the UK. With songs like "So Lonely," "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You" (listening sample tracks 4, 1 and 3 respectively) boasting a reggae-rock style, this album laid down the foundation for many more hits to come. A little known fact is the song "So Lonely" carries a tango beat, not reggae as Sting would later admit. It fooled all the music critics at the time. There are no ‘filler' songs on this album as each displayed an upbeat tempo with solid and well constructed melodies. Songs like "Truth Hits Everybody" (track 2) epitomized this band's ability to maintain succinct harmony while indulging the rock and roll fans with a strong fast paced melody. Despite the potential of this album, it initially went unnoticed and The Police entered the studio in February 1979 to begin recording their second album. For this second album, remnants of the reggae-rock from their initial album carried over. Sting had written three potential classics with "Message in a Bottle," "Walking on the Moon" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You" (listening sample tracks 5, 6 and 7 respectively). However, they needed more songs for this album and were entirely against shoving ‘filler' songs on an album. They decided to add an instrumental piece entitled "Regatta De Blanc" (white reggae), along with several tunes written by drummer Stewart Copeland. "Regatta De Blanc" was also the album title. This album's classic melodies carried over in songs like "Bring on the Night," "Message in a Bottle" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You." In the song "Walking on the Moon," Stewart Copeland's drumming warrants the songs' absolute immortality. This album mainly featured reggae-rock, although there were German cabaret and instrumental pieces included. Sting displayed outstanding vocals throughout the numerous choruses within the album.

By October of 1979, "Regatta De Blanc" reached number one in the UK and number 25 in the USA. In addition, their first album rode the wave as it reached sixth in the UK and 23rd in the USA. Despite the fact this was a revolutionary album for them and for rock (which was stagnant in 1979), critics were fast to point out the lack of variety in texture and style from both albums.

They launched a full fledged world tour nonetheless as a headliner band seemingly overnight. Songs from their sophomore album simultaneously competed with tracks from their first album for UK and US chart supremacy. The Police re-released singles from their first album and this time around they were well received. Even "Roxanne" went to the top of the UK charts despite its taboo context proving a talented band could overcome social and political regulation with mass appeal. "Message in a Bottle" became their first number one hit in the UK.

Miles Copeland then decided to do something that had never been done before. The Police strayed from the largest market (USA where their sophomore album peaked at 26) and embarked on a massive 37-city, 19-country world tour. It began in 1980 at Germany where they played in a nationally televised performance shown to all of Europe. The tour moved on to places like New York, Hong Kong, New Zealand, India and Egypt.

No rock band had ever played in India or Egypt before The Police. Though their venues were hostile and difficult to perform in, the media it generated was well worth the effort. By the time the tour had reached its last stop in Newcastle, 40,000 ticket requests were received for a 4,000 seat venue.

It was time to start working on a third album and there was a lot of pressure to produce an encore to a seemingly perfect sophomore album. Sting took several months off to write songs. He had a new strategy for the next album. Sting recalls, "The songs on Outlandos were all me, me, me. ‘I feel so lonely,' ‘Roxanne, I won't share you with another boy,' ‘I was born in the 50's.' With Zenyatta (third album title), I've turned to what's happening outside. I couldn't have written these songs three years ago. I hadn't seen the world for a start. And I was too interested in me." (Hal 1993, 39)

Rushed into the studio just after completing the tour, The Police found themselves with one month to record their third album. "Zenyatta" as it was called finished at 4 am of the last possible day to record. Stewart Copeland remembers, "We had bitten off more than we could chew. We finished the album at 4 am on the day we were starting our next world tour. We went to bed for a few hours then traveled down to Belgium for our first gig. It was cutting it very fine." (Hal 1993, 40)

"Zenyatta" featured songs with brilliant textures like "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "De Do Do Do, Da Da Da Da" (listening sample tracks 8 and 9 respectively). Their first single and the album itself immediately shot to number one in the UK. The album featured lightweight reggae melodies and more instrumental pieces than in past albums. One of the reggae tunes entitled "Driven To Tears" (track 10) was written critiquing the treatment of third world countries by the more prosperous ones. The song "Man In A Suitcase" carried a catchy ska riff and no doubt spoke of The Police touring lifestyle. From the upbeat instrumentals to the anger in "Driven To Tears," this album brought a variety of different moods and served as a transitional period for the maturing band.

At the tail end of the "Zenyatta" tour, The Police had had enough and cancelled several gigs. It was time for a well deserved break. Adding fuel to the fire, both Sting and lead guitarist Andy Summers got divorced following this tour.

After several months break, The Police entered the studio in June 1982 to record their fourth album entitled "Ghost In The Machine." The title came from Sting and referred to the human spirit generated in music from studio technology.

This album strayed from the traditional sound as they utilized the keyboard (played by all three on different tracks) and riffing saxophone solos. Their advance single "Invisible Sun" (track 13) spoke to the violence of Northern Ireland and the pain of growing up in such a country. It reached number 2 in the UK (not released in America) and provoked arguments about censorship when the video was blocked by various music networks due to its political content. "Ghost In The Machine" went straight to the top in the UK.

It featured love songs like "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and bashed politicians in "Spirits In The Material World" which became classic hits world wide. Aside from these songs, Sting used the rest of the album to complain about political and social issues. Being that this was the eighties and new wave sound became increasingly popular, this album showcased The Police ability to modify their sound to the changing times. After this album The Police decided to take a year off to pursue individual interests.

In this time off, bands like "Men At Work" and "Wang-Chung" (who were apparent copyists) prospered. Critics were quick to jump on The Police as being just another band whose sound was getting old and had been done over. In response to this, The Police decided to sound less like themselves by moving the regatta element further into the background. Stewart Copeland pointed out, "We took off the rough edges. Got rid of all the reggae stuff that Middle America couldn't handle." (Hal 1993, 49)

For their fifth album entitled "Synchronicity," The Police were determined to prove the critics wrong. Sting had written the bass melody for a song called "Every Breath You Take." He remembers that it was "written at a time of awful personal anguish." (Hal 1993, 50) Lead guitarist Andy Summers spent hours trying to find a melody to fit the song. "It was really quite difficult to get it to the point where it was simple yet had that power going through it," he said. "At such times, Sting always used to say ‘Make it your own' in a challenging sort of way - so I did. And the moment I played that riff everyone sat up and paid attention." (Hal 1993, 50)

Sting knew right away that "Every Breath You Take" (track 12) would be number one worldwide, even in the US where they had yet to have an album or song reach number one. Sting said, "All the bastards wrote us off and I knew I had this song. I knew it would be a Number 1."

He was right. In June, 1983, Synchronicity and the single "Every Breath You Take" took to the airwaves. Both the single and album were simultaneous chart toppers in America, where the album held number one for 17 weeks (even though it was the year of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"). Following the release, Rolling Stone wrote they were "almost unquestioned as today's best-loved band." (Hal 1993, 51)

In this album, all punk-reggae elements were distinguished. It was replaced with new wave sound and artsy overtones. Some fans to this day complain that this album was soft rock and it has its share of bashers. Despite this fact, "Synchronicity" was The Police most successful album ever. Tracks like "King of Pain" (track 11) and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" logged plenty of airtime along with "Synchronicity II" and "Tea In The Sahara." However, it was clear that this album was more of a Sting solo effort. Stewart Copeland did not have any special drumming efforts and Andy Summers seemed like a session man in every track excluding "Every Breath You Take."

The accompanying tour was as popular as ever. Their shows were exciting and spontaneous, ahead of their time. On August 18, early in the tour, they played to 70,000 people at Shea stadium, New York. At the time, a comparison to the Beatles was hardly presumptuous. As they sat together in the hotel room prior to the show, they all looked at one another and realized it does not get any bigger. "That was the beginning of the end," Sting said. (Hal 1993, 51) With everyone in the band financially secure and their individual personalities tugging at one another, tensions rose and The Police came to an abrupt end. It was clear Sting was the best songwriter. He wanted the melodies slower while Stewart and Andy always wanted them to be faster. Sting felt that he no longer needed his band mates and eventually pursued a solo career.

In 2003, The Police were put into the rock and roll fame and performed as the headliner induction band. They had not performed together since 1986 prior to their induction performance.

When dissecting what musical contributions The Police made, it is safe to argue that their worldwide effort reached millions of fans in much the same way as the Beatles. They were one of the few bands that consistently produced numerous chart toppers per disc. Their tours showcased this band's ability as musicians with extraordinary skill. The accompanying live version listening samples are poignant with riffs, melodies and textures that define one of the most versatile and energetic bands in history.

Initially The Police catered to college students, those in their late teens and twenties around the world. It is interesting to note that the reggae-rock sound utilized in their first three albums brought them the above mentioned fan base. At concerts, they appealed to the young adult generation with their energetic live performances and catchy melodies. It should be pointed out that the number of tracks from all five albums considered to be ‘filler' by critics could be counted on one hand.

Expecting much of the same with the fourth and fifth albums, some fans were disappointed. The last two albums appealed to older crowds as their new wave sound and experimentation reached new audiences. There are a good number of fans who followed the band from the beginning that bash the band's final effort. A good example can be seen in their "Police Live" two disc album released in 1991. The first disc features a 1979 performance early in their career where the three of them play fast, with energy and combine their voices together. The second disc is one of their final performances together that occurred in 1983. For this concert, The Police had three female vocalists, slowed the pace on all of their songs, knocked off as much reggae from the old hits as possible and sounded like a maturing band rather than the rock poster boys they once were. By 1983, their fan base grew to include fans of soft rock (often in their thirties and forties).

In terms of presentation, The Police started out by each member dying their hair blond. For each video, show and album, their hair was always gold. It was their trademark. Today, all band members are active in performances dedicated to charity events. In particular, Sting has set-up a charity foundation to save rainforests.

With numerous songs attacking political and social stances, the band was able to make statements to the world with little censorship. Their mass appeal overcame governments allowing their message to resonate throughout the airwaves. Sting was the main songwriter and drew his influences from firsthand accounts witnessed while on tour. From the red light districts he saw in Paris ("Roxanne") to his time spent living in Ireland ("Invisible Sun") to world tours in India and Egypt ("Driven To Tears"), Sting (who has a PhD in musicology is recognized as a musical genius) was not shy about expressing his views.

To this day, fans await word on a reunion which seems likely to never occur. Both Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland are ready, but Sting refuses. In an interview with VH1 in the mid-nineties, Sting was asked about the possibility of a reunion. "No," he said. "Doing a reunion is just trying to recreate the past. The past is the past. We are all different people now. It was a great past and something I truly loved being a part of, but I have moved on." (VH1 Behind The Music).

Update: In 2007, The Police reunited and continue to tour to sell out stadiums around the world with hints of a brand new studio album occurring in Fall 2008. Bibliography Leonard, Hal. The Police: Message In A Box. 1 ed. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 1993.