The Police
The Police | |
|---|---|
The Police performing live on 1 August 2007 at Madison Square Garden, New York. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | New wave, pop rock ska |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | A&M, Polydor, Universal Music Group |
| Members | Sting Andy Summers Stewart Copeland Henry Padovani |
| Website | Official website |
The Police was a British rock band who played a style of rock music that was influenced by jazz, punk and reggae music. As of 2008, The Police are one of the most successful bands in the world having sold over 40,000,000 records worldwide.[1] The Police, along with The Clash, are notable for using reggae as a major part of their musical form.
Rolling Stone ranked The Police number 70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[2]
The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.[3]
History
The Police formed with Stewart Copeland in late 1976 as drummer, Sting as the singer-bassist and Henry Padovani as the guitarist. In early 1977 they recorded their first single, "Fall Out"/"Nothing Achieving,".
Band members
Line-ups
| (December 1976–July 1977) |
|
|---|---|
| (July 1977–August 1977) |
|
| (August 1977–July 1986) |
|
| (August 1986–January 2007) |
(The Police disbanded) |
| (January 2007–August 2008) |
|
Discography
Studio albums
- Outlandos d'Amour - November, 1978 - UK #6; US #23 - US sales: Platinum
- Reggatta de Blanc - October, 1979 - UK #1; US #25 - US sales: Platinum
- Zenyattà Mondatta - October, 1980 - UK #1; US #5 - US sales: 2x Platinum
- Ghost in the Machine - October, 1981 - UK #1; US #2 - US sales: 3x Platinum
- Synchronicity - June, 1983 - UK #1; US #1 - US sales: 8x Platinum
Live albums
- Live! - (1995) US sales: Platinum
- The Police: Certifiable - (November 11, 2008) - Live CD of 2007/08 Reunion Tour recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina (packaged with DVD or Blu-ray, Also a Best Buy Exclusive.)
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT [4] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
ITA [8] |
NED | NZ | US | ||||
| Every Breath You Take: The Singles |
|
1 | 4 | 20 | 11 | — | 18 | — | 11 | 1 | 7 |
| |
| Their Greatest Hits |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | 7 | 28 | — |
| |
| Greatest Hits |
|
10 | 16 | 66 | 24 | 70 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 141 [10] |
||
| Every Breath You Take: The Classics |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | ||
| The Very Best of Sting & The Police |
|
11 | 22 | 4 | 66 | — | 18 | 9 | 17 | 5 | — | ||
| The Very Best of Sting & The Police (updated) |
|
1 | — | — | — | — | 59 | 4 | 69 | 17 | 46 |
| |
| The Police |
|
3 | 17 | 65 | — | — | 78 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| |
| Flexible Strategies |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Box sets
| Title | Album details | Peaks | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [18] |
FRA [6] |
US | ||||||||||||
| Six Pack |
|
17 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings |
|
— | — | 79 |
| |||||||||
| Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings |
|
17 | 188 | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
- The Six Pack collection was listed as a hit single for The Police[19] in 1980 (under 2021 Official Chart rules it would be now categorised as an album)
Extended plays
| Title | EP details | Peaks |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| Voices Inside My Head (Remixes) |
|
100 |
Singles
| Month of release (UK) | Song | UK singles | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Main- stream Rock | Dutch Top 40 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1977 | "Fall Out" | — | — | — | — | — |
| April 1978 | "Roxanne" | — | — | — | — | Outlandos d'Amour |
| September 1978 | "Can't Stand Losing You" | 42 | — | — | — | Outlandos d'Amour |
| November 1978 | "So Lonely" | — | — | — | — | Outlandos d'Amour |
| April 1979 (re-r.) | "Roxanne" | 12 | 32 | — | 21 | Outlandos d'Amour |
| June 1979 (re-r.) | "Can't Stand Losing You" | 2 | — | — | 9 | Outlandos d'Amour |
| September 1979 | "Message in a Bottle" | 1 | 74 | — | 2 | Reggatta de Blanc |
| November 1979 (re-r.) | "Fall Out" | 47 | — | — | — | — |
| November 1979 | "Walking on the Moon" | 1 | — | — | 9 | Reggatta de Blanc |
| 1980 (Ger. and Fra. only) | "Bring on the Night" | — | — | — | — | Reggatta de Blanc |
| February 1980 (re-r.) | "So Lonely" | 6 | — | — | 31 | Outlandos d'Amour |
| October 1980 | "Don't Stand So Close to Me" | 1 | 10 | 11 | 3 | Zenyatta Mondatta |
| December 1980 | "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" | 5 | 10 | — | 11 | Zenyatta Mondatta |
| September 1981 (UK only) | "Invisible Sun" | 2 | — | — | — | Ghost in the Machine |
| October 1981 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Ghost in the Machine |
| December 1981 | "Spirits in the Material World" | 12 | 11 | 7 | 6 | Ghost in the Machine |
| May 1982 (US only) | "Secret Journey" | — | 46 | 29 | — | Ghost in the Machine |
| May 1983 | "Every Breath You Take" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Synchronicity |
| July 1983 | "Wrapped Around Your Finger" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 17 | Synchronicity |
| October 1983 | "Synchronicity II" | 17 | 16 | 9 | — | Synchronicity |
| January 1984 | "King of Pain" | 17 | 3 | 1 | — | Synchronicity |
| October 1986 | "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" | 24 | 46 | 10 | 20 | Every Breath You Take: The Singles |
| 1995 | "Can't Stand Losing You/Reggatta de Blanc" (live) | 27 | — | — | — | Live! |
| 1997 | "Roxanne '97" (featuring Pras) | 17 | 59 | — | 38 | The Very Best of Sting and the Police |
| 2000 | "When The World Is Running Down" (Different Gear vs. The Police) | 28 | — | — | — |
Awards
BRIT Awards
- 1982 – Best British Group
- 1985 – Outstanding Contribution To Music
Grammy Awards
- 1980 – Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Reggatta de Blanc"
- 1981 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Don't Stand So Close to Me"
- 1981 – Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Behind My Camel"
- 1983 – Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take" (awarded to Sting)
- 1983 – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Every Breath You Take"
- 1983 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Synchronicity
References
- ↑ "Madonna - The Police are richer than you!". 23 June 2020.
- ↑ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Police fan bands go on patrol
- ↑ http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/inductee-list/
- ↑ "Austrian Albums". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ↑ Canadian Albums:
- Every Breath You Take: The Singles: "The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- Greatest Hits: "The Police - Greatest Hits" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- The Very Best of Sting & The Police: "The Police - The Very Best of Sting & The Police" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Discographie The Police". lescharts.com (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ↑ German Albums:
- Every Breath You Take: The Singles/The Classics: "The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles/The Classics" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- Their Greatest Hits: "The Police - Their Greatest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- Greatest Hits: "The Police - Greatest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- The Very Best of: "The Police - The Very Best of" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- The Police: "The Police - The Police" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- ↑ Italian Albums:
- Their Greatest Hits: "The Police - Their Greatest Hits" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- The Very Best of Sting & The Police: "The Police - The Very Best of Sting & The Police" (in Italian). italiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- The Police: "The Police - The Police" (in Italian). italiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ↑ "New Zealand Certification". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ @billboardcharts (25 April 2022). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200..." (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2022 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2016 Albums". ARIA. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020.
- ↑ "New Zealand Certification". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Police – Best of" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- ↑ "Italian Certification". FIMI. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "New Zealand Certification". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "New Zealand Certification". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ↑ "The Police | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
Other websites
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Police.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Police
- The Police - official website
- UnRated Magazine Review of The Police - Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
- http://www.jambase.com/ - Stewart Copeland Interview