Don't Stand So Close To Me

**Don't Stand So Close To Me** by **The Police** is a significant song featured on Vinyl Classic Rock.

About 1.25% chance or 1 in 80 songs are estimated, similar to Magic Man by Heart, about 1 in 73 songs it's frequency is very high. Originally estimated at about 3.4 then later upgrade the intensity to 4.2.

"**Don't Stand So Close to Me**" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third album *Zenyatta Mondatta*. It concerns a schoolgirl's crush on her teacher which leads to an affair, which in turn is discovered.

The band's third No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, it was also the best selling single of 1980 in the UK. The song also charted in the top ten in Australia, Canada and the US. The Police won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

## Background

The music and lyrics of the song were written by the lead singer of The Police, Sting. The song deals with the mixed feelings of lust, fear and guilt that a female student has for a school teacher and vice versa, and inappropriateness leading to confrontation which is unravelled later on in the song. The line *Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov* alludes to Vladimir Nabokov's novel *Lolita*, which covers somewhat similar issues. After being criticised for rhyming *shake and cough* with *Nabokov*, Sting replied, "I've used that terrible, terrible rhyme technique a few times. Technically, it's called a feminine rhyme – where it's so appalling it's almost humorous. You don't normally get those type of rhymes in pop music and I'm glad!"

Before joining The Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher.

In 1993, however, he said of the song's inspiration, "You have to remember we were blond bombshells at the time and most of our fans were young girls so I started role playing a bit. Let's exploit that." In a 2001 interview for the concert DVD *...All This Time*, Sting denied that the song is autobiographical.

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" appeared on The Police's album *Zenyatta Mondatta* (A&M), and became a hit No. 1 UK single, along with a corresponding music video. In the US, it reached the top 10 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10. In the UK, the track was confirmed by the end of 1980 to have been the biggest selling single of that year.

The B-side, "Friends", was written by Andy Summers and is inspired by *Stranger in a Strange Land*, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Summers described the track as "Very quirky. A touch of Long John Silver on Acid."

Sting was asked to perform on Mark Knopfler's "Money for Nothing" as he was in Montserrat at the time, and accidentally reused the melody from "Don't Stand So Close to Me" in the counterpoint lyric "I want my MTV." It was only after this story was relayed to reporters during promotions for the *Brothers in Arms* album that lawyers for Sting became involved, and later copies of the album co-credit the song to Sting. The initial pressings list only Knopfler. It is one of only two shared songwriting credits on any Dire Straits album.

## Composition

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" features Sting on lead vocals. Like many Police songs, the verses are more subdued, while the chorus is bolder and louder. The song also bears a reggae style, yet another common trait in Police songs. Thematically, the "wet bus stop" idea invites comparison with the 1966 hit song "Bus Stop" by another English group, The Hollies.

The track uses a guitar synthesizer in the middle of the song, which was used by guitarist Andy Summers. Summers said, "After Sting had put the vocals on 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' we looked for something to lift the middle of the song. I came up with a guitar synthesiser. It was the first time we'd used it. I felt it worked really well." The verses and choruses do not feature this effect.

The verses are in the key of G minor, and the chorus is in D major.

## Track listing

**7-inch – A&M / AMS 7564 (UK)**

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03
2. "Friends" – 3:37

**7-inch – A&M / AMS 2301 (US)**

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03
2. "A Sermon" – 2:34

## Personnel

* Sting – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, bass pedals
* Andy Summers – guitars, guitar synthesizer
* Stewart Copeland – drums

## Chart history

### UK chart history

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" quickly ascended to No. 1 in its first week of release on 27 September 1980, confirming their status as one of the UK's leading contemporary groups. It was also their third UK chart-topper in 12 months—in tandem with the No. 1 success of their new album *Zenyatta Mondatta*.

The band's four-week run at No. 1 was the most for any single in the UK in 1980. Having held off considerable competition from Ottawan with "D.I.S.C.O." and "Baggy Trousers" by Madness, The Police fell to No. 3 (being replaced at No. 1 by "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand). "Don't Stand So Close To Me" spent a total of 8 weeks inside the UK top 40, dropping out on 22 November. Three weeks later, their follow-up hit "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" charted at No. 9, eventually peaking at No. 5.

### US chart history

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" broke into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 on 21 February 1981 at No. 39. By 25 April, it reached a peak position of No. 10, matching their previous US hit "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". It dropped out of the top 40 on 23 May after a 13-week run.

### Legacy

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, "Don't Stand So Close To Me" took on a very different meaning in the context of COVID-19, as people worldwide practiced social distancing.

The song was re-recorded in 1986 with a new, brooding arrangement, a different chorus and a more opulent production. The new version appeared as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on the album *Every Breath You Take: The Singles*, and was released as a single, reaching No. 24 in the British charts. It also reached No. 11 in Ireland, No. 14 in New Zealand, No. 19 on the Netherlands MegaCharts Singles Chart (number 20 on Dutch Top 40), No. 27 in Canada and No. 46 on *Billboard* Hot 100 (No. 10 on the *Billboard* Mainstream Rock Tracks).

Because of the decrease in tempo, a slight lyric change is found in the line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" (the word 'famous' was added). A new music video was produced for the reworked song by Godley and Creme, notable for its early use of animated computer graphics.

Because drummer Stewart Copeland had broken his collarbone and was unable to drum, he opted to use his Fairlight CMI to program the drum track for the single, while singer/bassist Sting pushed to use the drums on his Synclavier instead. The group's engineer found the Synclavier's programming interface difficult; it ended up taking him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming and claimed that the Fairlight's then-legendary "Page R" (the device's sequencing page) saved his life and put him on the map as a composer. In a Qantas inflight radio program named "Reeling in the Years", Copeland was quoted as saying that the argument over Synclavier versus Fairlight drums was "the straw that broke the camel's back," and that this led to the group's unravelling.[*citation needed*]

As the Police had already disbanded by the time the 1986 single was released, this, aside from the then-unreleased "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86," was the last recording before the band's reunion and the most recent studio recording the band has released.