The Police Caricature

The Police Caricature, shown here in NYC, 1980. Stewart Copeland age 28, Sting age 29 and Andy Summers age 38.

The Police were a British rock band formed in London in 1977. Emerging in the British new-wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz. Considered one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the US, in 1983 Rolling Stone labelled them “the first British New Wave act to break through in America on a grand scale, and possibly the biggest band in the world.” The Police disbanded in 1986, but reunited in early 2007 for a one-off world tour that ended in August 2008.

Their fifth and final studio album, Synchronicity (1983), was No. 1 in both the UK and the US, selling over 8 million copies in the US alone. Its lead single, “Every Breath You Take”, became their fifth UK number one, and first in the US. The Police have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time.

The Police’s power trio line-up of Copeland, Sting, and Summers performed for the first time on August 18, 1977 at Rebecca’s club in the English city of Birmingham in the West Midlands.

The bleached-blond hair that became a band trademark happened by accident. In February 1978, the band, desperate for money, was asked to do a commercial for Wrigley’s Spearmint chewing gum (directed by Tony Scott) on the condition they dye their hair blond. The commercial was shot with the band, but was shelved and never aired.

The Police hit songs: “Roxanne”, “Message In A Bottle”, “Walking On The Moon”, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, “De Do Do Do De Da Da Da”, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, “Every Breath You Take”, “King Of Pain”, “Synchronicity II”, “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “So Lonely”.

In 2003, the Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.