The Police

**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. 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.

The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.

## 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,".

### Line-ups

|bgcolor="#E7EBEE"|(December 1976–July 1977)|
| --- | --- |
|*Sting - bass, lead vocals *Henry Padovani - guitar *Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals||
|*Sting - bass, lead vocals *Henry Padovani - lead guitar *Andy Summers - rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals||
|*Sting - bass, lead vocals *Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals *Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, vocals||
|(The Police disbanded)||
|*Sting - bass, lead vocals *Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals *Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals||

### 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

|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Title|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Album details|scope="col" colspan="10"|Peak chart positions|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Certifications|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|* Released: 31 October 1986 * Label: A&M|1|4|20|11|—|18|—|11|1|7|* UK: 4× Platinum * CAN: Platinum * NZ: Platinum * US: 5× Platinum|
|* Released: October 1990 * Label: A&M|—|—|—|—|—|5|4|7|28|—|* GER: Gold * NLD: Gold|
|* Released: 28 September 1992 * Label: A&M|10|16|66|24|70|5|—|—|1|141|* UK: 2× Platinum * AUS: 5× Platinum * CAN: Platinum * NZ: Platinum|
|* Released: March 1995 * Label: A&M|—|—|—|—|—|65|—|—|—|—||
|* Released: 3 November 1997 * Label: A&M|11|22|4|66|—|18|9|17|5|—|* AUS: Gold * AUT: Gold * GER: Gold * ITA: Gold * NZ: Gold|
|* Released: 18 February 2002 * Label: A&M|1|—|—|—|—|59|4|69|17|46|* UK: 4× Platinum * US: Gold|
|* Released: 5 June 2007 * Label: A&M|3|17|65|—|—|78|26|5|4|11|* UK: Platinum * CAN: Gold * NZ: Gold|
|*Released: November 2018 * Label: A&M *Part of the complete studio recordings box set, also released separately|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|colspan="14" align="center" style="font-size:90%"|"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.|||||||||||

### Box sets

|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Title|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Album details|scope="col" colspan="3"|Peaks|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Certifications|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|* Released: 30 May 1980 * Label: A&M|17|—|—|||||
|* Released: 27 September 1993 * Label: A&M|—|—|79|* CAN: Gold * US: Platinum||||
|* Released: 16 November 2018 * Label: A&M|17|188|—|||||
|align="center" colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"|"—" 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 in 1980 (under 2021 Official Chart rules it would be now categorised as an album)

### Extended plays

|scope="col" rowspan="2"|Title|scope="col" rowspan="2"|EP details|scope="col"|Peaks|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|* Released: May 1995 * Label: A&M|100|||||

### Singles

|Month of release (UK)|align="left"|Song|width="40"|<small>UK singles</small>|width="40"|<small>U.S. Hot 100</small>|width="40"|<small>U.S. Main- stream Rock</small>|width="40"|<small>Dutch Top 40</small>|align="left"|Album|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 1977|align="left"|"Fall Out"|—|—|—|—|align="left"|_—_|||||
|April 1978|align="left"|"Roxanne"|—|—|—|—|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|September 1978|align="left"|"Can't Stand Losing You"|42|—|—|—|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|November 1978|align="left"|"So Lonely"|—|—|—|—|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|April 1979 (re-r.)|align="left"|"Roxanne"|12|32|—|21|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|June 1979 (re-r.)|align="left"|"Can't Stand Losing You"|2|—|—|9|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|September 1979|align="left"|"Message in a Bottle"|1|74|—|2|align="left"|_Reggatta de Blanc_|||||
|November 1979 (re-r.)|align="left"|"Fall Out"|47|—|—|—|align="left"|_—_|||||
|November 1979|align="left"|"Walking on the Moon"|1|—|—|9|align="left"|_Reggatta de Blanc_|||||
|1980 (Ger. and Fra. only)|align="left"|"Bring on the Night"|—|—|—|—|align="left"|_Reggatta de Blanc_|||||
|February 1980 (re-r.)|align="left"|"So Lonely"|6|—|—|31|align="left"|_Outlandos d'Amour_|||||
|October 1980|align="left"|"Don't Stand So Close to Me"|1|10|11|3|align="left"|_Zenyatta Mondatta_|||||
|December 1980|align="left"|"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"|5|10|—|11|align="left"|_Zenyatta Mondatta_|||||
|September 1981 (UK only)|align="left"|"Invisible Sun"|2|—|—|—|align="left"|_Ghost in the Machine_|||||
|October 1981|align="left"|"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"|1|3|1|1|align="left"|_Ghost in the Machine_|||||
|December 1981|align="left"|"Spirits in the Material World"|12|11|7|6|align="left"|_Ghost in the Machine_|||||
|May 1982 (US only)|align="left"|"Secret Journey"|—|46|29|—|align="left"|_Ghost in the Machine_|||||
|May 1983|align="left"|"Every Breath You Take"|1|1|1|6|align="left"|_Synchronicity_|||||
|July 1983|align="left"|"Wrapped Around Your Finger"|7|8|9|17|align="left"|_Synchronicity_|||||
|October 1983|align="left"|"Synchronicity II"|17|16|9|—|align="left"|_Synchronicity_|||||
|January 1984|align="left"|"King of Pain"|17|3|1|—|align="left"|_Synchronicity_|||||
|October 1986|align="left"|"Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"|24|46|10|20|align="left"|_Every Breath You Take: The Singles_|||||
|1995|align="left"|"Can't Stand Losing You/Reggatta de Blanc" _(live)_|27|—|—|—|align="left"|_Live!_|||||
|1997|align="left"|"Roxanne '97" _(featuring Pras)_|17|59|—|38|align="left"|_The Very Best of Sting and the Police_|||||
|2000|align="left"|"When The World Is Running Down" _(Different Gear vs. The Police)_|28|—|—|—|align="left"||||||

### 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_

## Other websites

- The Police - official website
- UnRated Magazine Review of The Police - Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
- http://www.jambase.com/ - Stewart Copeland Interview

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: The Police
- **img**: ThePolice_2007.jpg
- **img capt**: The Police performing live on 1 August 2007 at Madison Square Garden, New York.
- **image size**: 250
- **landscape**: Yes
- **background**: group_or_band
- **genre**: New Wave music, New wave, pop rock ska
- **origin**: London, England
- **label**: A&M Records, A&M, Polydor Records, Polydor, Universal Music Group
- **associated acts**: Strontium 90, Oysterhead, Gizmo, Sting (musician), Sting
- **current members**: Sting (musician), Sting
Andy Summers
Stewart Copeland
Henry Padovani
- **website**: [http://www.thepolice.com Official website]