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.BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Police fan bands go on patrol

The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/inductee-list/

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)Sting - bass, lead vocals
Henry Padovani - guitar
Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals (July 1977–August 1977)Sting - bass, lead vocals
Henry Padovani - lead guitar
Andy Summers - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals (August 1977–July 1986)Sting - bass, lead vocals
Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals
Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, vocals (August 1986–January 2007)(The Police disbanded)  (January 2007–August 2008)Sting - bass, lead vocals
Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals
Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals

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
+The Police compilation albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications UK AUS AUT CANCanadian Albums:
 Every Breath You Take: The Singles: 
 Greatest Hits: 
 The Very Best of Sting & The Police:  FRA GERGerman Albums:
 Every Breath You Take: The Singles/The Classics: 
 Their Greatest Hits: 
 Greatest Hits: 
 The Very Best of: 
 The Police:  ITAItalian Albums:
 Their Greatest Hits: 
 The Very Best of Sting & The Police: 
 The Police:  NED NZ US Every Breath You Take: The Singles 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 Their Greatest Hits Released: October 1990
 Label: A&M — — — — — 5 4 7 28 — GER: Gold
 NLD: Gold Greatest Hits 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 Every Breath You Take: The Classics Released: March 1995
 Label: A&M — — — — — 65 — — — — The Very Best of Sting & The Police 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 The Very Best of Sting & The Police (updated) Released: 18 February 2002
 Label: A&M 1 — — — — 59 4 69 17 46 UK: 4× Platinum
 US: Gold The Police Released: 5 June 2007
 Label: A&M 3 17 65 — — 78 26 5 4 11 UK: Platinum
 CAN: Gold
 NZ: Gold Flexible StrategiesReleased: November 2018
 Label: A&M
Part of the complete studio recordings box set, also released separately — — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Box sets
+The Police box sets Title Album details Peaks Certifications UK FRA US Six Pack Released: 30 May 1980
 Label: A&M 17 — — Message in a Box:The Complete Recordings Released: 27 September 1993
 Label: A&M — — 79 CAN: Gold
 US: Platinum Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings Released: 16 November 2018
 Label: A&M 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 in 1980 (under 2021 Official Chart rules it would be now categorised as an album)

Extended plays
+The Police extended plays Title EP details Peaks UK Voices Inside My Head (Remixes) Released: May 1995
 Label: A&M 100

Singles
 Month of release (UK)SongUK singlesU.S. Hot 100U.S. Main- stream RockDutch Top 40Album 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 — 21Outlandos d'Amour June 1979 (re-r.)"Can't Stand Losing You" 2 — — 9Outlandos d'Amour September 1979"Message in a Bottle" 1 74 — 2Reggatta de Blanc November 1979 (re-r.)"Fall Out" 47 — — —— November 1979"Walking on the Moon" 1 — — 9Reggatta de Blanc 1980 (Ger. and Fra. only)"Bring on the Night" — — — —Reggatta de Blanc February 1980 (re-r.)"So Lonely" 6 — — 31Outlandos d'Amour October 1980"Don't Stand So Close to Me" 1 10 11 3Zenyatta Mondatta December 1980"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" 5 10 — 11Zenyatta Mondatta September 1981 (UK only)"Invisible Sun" 2 — — —Ghost in the Machine October 1981"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" 1 3 1 1Ghost in the Machine December 1981"Spirits in the Material World" 12 11 7 6Ghost in the Machine May 1982 (US only)"Secret Journey" — 46 29 —Ghost in the Machine May 1983"Every Breath You Take" 1 1 1 6Synchronicity July 1983"Wrapped Around Your Finger" 7 8 9 17Synchronicity 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 20Every Breath You Take: The Singles 1995"Can't Stand Losing You/Reggatta de Blanc" (live) 27 — — —Live! 1997"Roxanne '97" (featuring Pras) 17 59 — 38The 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 

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

Category:1977 establishments in England
Category:1970s British music groups
Category:1980s British music groups
Category:2000s British music groups
Category:2008 disestablishments in England
Category:English rock bands
Category:Musical groups established in 1977
Category:Musical groups from London
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2008