The band reunited in January 2007 for a reunion tour that lasted until August 2008.
Biography
The Police formed in early 1977 in London by Stewart Copeland (drums), Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting (bass and lead vocals), and Henry Padovani (guitar). Andy Summers later joined the group, and after a very short stint as a quartet, Padovani left the band. The Police became one of the most popular bands in the late 70s and throughout the 80s.
The Police are notable as one of the first mainstream white pop groups to adopt reggae as a predominant musical form and to score major international hits with reggae-styled material. (The first all-white reggae band with permanent members and frequent recording in Europe was Peps Blodsband, lead by Peps Persson from south Sweden who changed from blues to reggae 1974/75). Although reggae was already very popular in the United Kingdom (due to the large number of Caribbean immigrants) and a number of Western European countries, reggae was little known in the United States and rejected by most black artists in U.S, and prior to the emergence of the Police only a handful of reggae songs had enjoyed any significant chart success. The Police, UB40, The Clash and Bob Marley (Jamaican, partly living in England after being shot in Jamaica, are considered with a number of new wave, rock and ska bands as one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the U.S.
The Police were strongly influenced by reggae (especially reggae drumming and base lines), jazz and, in the beginning, punk rock – something that came to be shifted more and more towards pop during the 80s. Their lyrics also changed from challenging, but yet somewhat politically restrained punk- and new wave lyrics, to after 1982 in some songs emphasize environmental awareness and human oneness. The biggest hits, however, had romantic or sexual themes. The Police met together with other "white" British bands which played reggae, as UB40, criticism from black English rastafarian reggae bands like Aswad (in a BBC documentary on TV) and Steel Pulse, for being accomplices in the music industry of "Babylon", stealing the Caribbean slave descendants' musical treasure. This criticism has later been withdrawn. Aswad has even made the covers of Police songs like "Roxanne".
Tension grew between the band members, because unlike most other bands, they did not share songwriting credits. They released their last album, Synchronicity, in 1983, selling over 8 million copies. Synchronicity is critically regarded as their best album, with hits such as Synchronicity II, King of Pain, and probably their best known song, Every Breath You Take. In 1984, after touring in support of Synchronicity, The Police went on hiatus while Sting pursued his acting and solo music careers. Two years later, The Police reformed and played a few concerts for Amnesty International. Soon after the band went into the studio. Sting wanted to re-record their old songs but Andy and Stewart wanted to leave the originals alone and only two songs were re-recorded during these studio sessions. Although the group is considered to have disbanded in 1984, 1986 was the last time The Police engaged in any musical activity.
In 1992 the band released "Message in a Box", their 4 CD box set, and performed at Sting's wedding to Trudie Styler. A live CD was released in June 1995. On March 10, 2003 The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed Message in a Bottle, Roxanne and Every Breath You Take.
The Police reformed in 2007 and opened the Grammy award ceremony of that year with a performance of Roxanne. Towards the end of May the band began a world tour. In 2008 the tour ended at Madison Square Garden, New York on August 7, and The Police disbanded for good. Sting was quoted towards the end of the tour that he had achieved closure with the band and revealed that The Police would never tour or record again.
Sting has said that the material on the album Ghost in the Machine were inspired by the writings of Arthur Koestler, and that the Police's final studio album Synchronicity was influenced by the writings of Carl Jung. Sting also peppers his songs with literary allusions: the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me" mentions Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita; "Tea in the Sahara" alludes to the novel The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles; and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" refers both to the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, from Greek mythology, and to Mephistopheles, from the German legend of Faust .
Discography
* Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
* Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
* Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
* Ghost in the Machine (1981)
* Synchronicity (1983)
12-Man in a suitcase
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's only mine because it holds my suitcase
It looks home to me alright
But it's a hundred miles from yesterday night
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Another key for my collection
For security I race for my connection
Bird in a flying cage you'll never get to know me well
The world's my oyster, a hotel room's a prison cell
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
I'll invite you back to my place
It's only mine because it hold my suitcase
It looks like home to me alright
But it's a hundred miles from yesterday night
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Must I be the man in a suitcase
The lyrics of The Police’s “Man In A Suitcase” tell the story of a character who lives out of a suitcase, traveling frequently and never really having a permanent home. The singer muses on the idea of whether or not he is the “man in a suitcase,” someone defined entirely by his transience and lack of connection to any one place. While he claims that his suitcase feels like home, he acknowledges that his constant travel means that he is always moving away from where he was the day before. The singer contrasts his own life with that of a “bird in a flying cage,” suggesting that while he may be free to travel the world, he is still limited by his need to constantly be on the move. The lyrics suggest a sense of unease and restlessness, questioning whether a life spent constantly traveling is truly fulfilling.
The song has been interpreted in a number of ways by fans and critics over the years. Some have speculated that the lyrics are autobiographical, written about frontman Sting’s own experiences touring with The Police. Others have pointed out the existential themes of the song, which touch on questions of identity and purpose. Still others have suggested that the song is a commentary on the alienating effects of modern life, where people are frequently disconnected from their communities and forced to live as transients.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd invite you back to my place
I'm offering to bring you to where I reside
It's only mine because it holds my suitcase
The only thing that makes the place mine is my suitcase being there
It looks home to me alright
Even though it's not a permanent home, it feels like one to me
But it's a hundred miles from yesterday night
I'm far away from where I was last night
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Do I have to live such a transient and detached lifestyle?
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
Do I blend in with the strangers around me because I don't have a sense of home?
Another key for my collection
I'm constantly adding to the keys I have for different temporary living spaces
For security I race for my connection
I rush to make sure I'm secure and able to get to my next temporary home
Bird in a flying cage you'll never get to know me well
I'm constantly on the move, so it's hard to truly get to know me
The world's my oyster, a hotel room's a prison cell
Even though I have the freedom to go anywhere, living in hotel rooms feels like imprisonment
I'll invite you back to my place
I'm still offering to bring you to where I reside
It's only mine because it holds my suitcase
Again, the only thing that makes it mine is my suitcase being there
It looks like home to me alright
Just like before, even though it's not permanent, it feels like home to me
But it's a hundred miles from yesterday night
Once again, I'm far away from where I was the night before
Must I be the man in a suitcase
Even more than before, I'm questioning whether this transient lifestyle is necessary
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
This feeling of detachment and disassociation from any one place is making me feel like a stranger.
Must I be the man in a suitcase
The questioning continues about whether this lifestyle is really worth it.
Is it me, the man with the stranger's face
I'm beginning to accept that this lifestyle has made me feel like a stranger everywhere I go.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Neil Graves
Superb . Love it my fave from Zenyatta
Ken Johnston
Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it!! This is the only live version of this song I've seen!
HiterSs
there's another live clip of man in a suitcase in essen
Michael Stojsavljević
Underrated song from zenyatta
Ignacio Romero Sanchez
wonderfull... the best
oliver o neill
One of the best fucking bands in the world.
oliver o neill
See all you recording keyboard Rock stars . You could not match up to this sort of talent
Alessandro Conti
Sono Devastanti.
Wlady Fdz
The Andy Summers tempo is vital for the band
Mick Mccauley
Stewart Copeland must underrated drummer ever