The Police

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Active:
January 1977 - August 2008, for 31 years.
Snapshot:
A Group with 19 releases, and credited 3 times on others' music. 4 members.

Biography

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The Police were one of the biggest new wave bands in the world in the early 80s, uniquely appreciated for their reggae-tinged pop. Among their many memorable singles were "Roxanne", "Message in a Bottle" and "Every Breath You Take".

Even though their first two singles, "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You", were banned by the BBC on the grounds of "unsuitable subject matter" (prostitution and suicide respectively), their first album Outlandos d'Amour made it to the Top 10 of the UK album charts.

Their second album Reggatta de Blanc, self-mockingly named as a guess at the French for "white reggae", was their Grammy-winning breakthrough, and to promote the album the band embarked on a gruelling world tour. However, the pressure of success and the strains of touring exacerbated personality clashes within the group and the albums Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), Ghost in the Machine (1981) and Synchronicity (1983) were produced in an increasingly tense atmosphere. The latter records were recorded with each of the band in separate rooms and yet despite this, the albums deliver some of their best known and strongest material, including "Every Breath You Take" which reached No.1 in the Billboard Hot 100. Synchronicity was the biggest-selling album of their career, selling over eight million copies in the US alone.

After Synchronicity the band split to pursue solo careers. Stewart Copeland was writing music for films including Rumble Fish and Wall Street, while Andy Summers was also writing music for the screen, with Down and Out in Beverly Hills among his credits. Meanwhile Sting, besides a flourishing acting career, returned to his roots with the jazz-tinted Dream of the Blue Turtles.

In 2003 The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and earned 70th position on the Greatest Artists of All Time list in Rolling Stone magazine. After a break of over 20 years it was announced the band would perform together at the 2007 Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles, and they then embarked on a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of "Roxanne".

Music

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Genres

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR), Alternative Rock, New Wave,
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Discography

22 releases – 19 under their own name and 3 credits on others' music Edit

Members

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Stewart Copeland

Stewart Copeland

founder member
  • drums:
    • 1977-2008
Sting

Sting

founder member
  • bass guitar, vocals:
    • 1977-2008
Andy Summers

Andy Summers

founder member
  • guitar:
    • 1977-2008

Henri Padovani

founder member
  • guitar:
    • 1977

In the News

( 3 stories between 7th May 2008 and 13th July 2010 )

Sting: The Police Won't Reunite Again

Jul, 13 2010

Former Police frontman Sting has emphatically ruled out any chance of the three-piece returning to the stage, following the success of their 30th anniversary reunion gigs in 2007 and 2008. Sting told the Daily Telegraph: "I had an instinct that it was the right time to realize that asset, and I was right. But it wasn't easy. There was nothing new in it - no new songs, no new energy, no desire to take that as a platform and move somewhere else. It was purely an exercise in nostalgia. People reacted to the Police coming back as if Mum and Dad had got together, you could see that emotion in the audience. Who really wants to go and live with the wife you divorced? I won't do it again. But I don't need to. I've done it now." The news may not be popular among fervent fans hopeful for a rerun of the music of their youth, but Sting is perfectly happy as he is. “I have a very good life,” he said. “I play music, I make money and I have an active life as some kind of philanthropist, and it’s all fine. You know, I get enough love and adulation. If everyone loved you, well, that would be boring, wouldn't it?”

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The Police

Sep, 26 2008

The Police have made more money in the last 12 months than anyone else in the music biz, according to a new survey by Forbes magazine. Despite not releasing any new material for more than twenty years, last year's reformation of the new wave three-piece so excited their fans that the band were able to rake in $115 million (£62 million) in tour receipts, sponsorships and increased sales of their back catalog and merchandise. But while Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland will have to split that revenue between them, Beyoncé won't have to ask anyone if she can flash the plastic thanks to her $80 million (£43 million) income last year. Rounding out the top 3 of musicians currently least worried by global economic turmoil is Toby Keith, who earned $48 million (£26 million) thanks to touring, sponsorships, and the success of two albums, Big Dog Daddy and A Classic Christmas.

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The Police

May, 7 2008

The Police have announced sketchy details about their final ever show, which will take place somewhere indoors in New York this summer. Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers reunited at last year's Grammy ceremony before embarking on their first world tour since 1984. The band, most famous for hits such as "Roxanne", "Every Breath You Take" and "King of Pain", didn't reveal any more details about the venue of the gig, but did say that proceeds from the event would go towards arts programming for New York public television.

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