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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
14. Can't Stand Losing You
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I guess it's all true what your girlfriends say
That you don't ever want to see me again
And your brother's gonna kill me and he's six feet ten
I guess you'd call it cowardice
But I'm not prepared to go on like this
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I see you've sent my letters back
And my L.P. records and they're all scratched
I can't see the point in another day
When nobody listens to a word I say
You can call it lack of confidence
But to carry on living doesn't make no sense
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I guess this is our last goodbye
And you don't care, so I won't cry
And you'll be sorry when I'm dead
When all this guilt will be on your head
I guess you'd call it suicide
But I'm too full, to swallow my pride
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you
The lyrics of The Police's song "Can't Stand Losing You" reflect the feelings of someone who is heartbroken and rejected by a former lover. The singer of the song has made multiple attempts to reach out to the person who has left them but all they have encountered are negative responses. Despite this, they can't seem to let go of their love for this person, which has caused them to lose confidence in themselves and even consider suicide.
The opening lines show how desperate the singer is to connect with their former lover. They have tried calling multiple times but to no avail. The next line further emphasizes their pain as they mention how the girlfriends of their former partner have confirmed that they don't want to see them ever again. To make matters worse, the brother of the ex-lover is threatening violence toward the singer, which underscores the feeling of being completely undone.
As the song progresses, the singer realizes that they need to accept that the relationship is over even though they can't handle the rejection. It's a conflict between wanting to hold on to the idea of what they once had and acknowledging that they need to move on for their own well-being. The song captures the experience of heartbreak in a real and raw way, highlighting how much pain a person can feel when they lose someone they love.
Line by Line Meaning
I called you so many times today
I desperately tried to get in touch with you today
And I guess it's all true what your girlfriends say
I assume what your girlfriends are saying about me is accurate
That you don't ever want to see me again
You've made it clear that you want nothing to do with me anymore
And your brother's gonna kill me and he's six feet ten
Your brother is so angry with me that he might harm me physically
I guess you'd call it cowardice
Some people might label my behavior as cowardly
But I'm not prepared to go on like this
I cannot keep living with this pain and heartache
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
The thought of losing you is too much for me to handle
I can't stand losing you
I cannot cope with the idea of losing you as a romantic partner
I see you've sent my letters back
I notice that you have returned the letters I sent you
And my L.P. records and they're all scratched
My favorite records have been damaged in the process
I can't see the point in another day
I cannot find a reason to keep going, day after day
When nobody listens to a word I say
It feels like nobody is paying attention to me
You can call it lack of confidence
Perhaps some people might say that I lack confidence
But to carry on living doesn't make no sense
At this point, continuing to live seems pointless and futile
I guess this is our last goodbye
I understand that this is the end of our relationship
And you don't care, so I won't cry
Since you're not upset, I won't waste any tears on you
And you'll be sorry when I'm dead
You'll regret treating me this way when I'm no longer alive
When all this guilt will be on your head
You'll have to live with the guilt of how you treated me
I guess you'd call it suicide
Some might label my behavior as suicidal
But I'm too full, to swallow my pride
I am too proud to let you continue treating me poorly
I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you
I am incapable of dealing with the thought of losing you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RIGHT-HAND
minahis come bi me wine gohhomme ! jamaica farewell : 4:44
Down the way
Where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in kangstınston town
Down at the market you can hear
Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
Ackee, rice, salt, fish are nice
And the rum is fine any time o' year
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kangstınston town.
avedic
good god...i was born when this was...83. yet, im only now discovering the police. i write music...it's my entire life. yet, i never really gave this band the chance they deserved. i feel so inspired right now. had no idea how utterly creative and transcendent they were. this is so utterly beyond anything else out in 83...
OneSource
Sting is wild in this video , loved his bass lines , simple greatness...!
paulrecords
Amazing the part from 11:36:51:00 to 11:38:09:00!!!!! Sting's voice is incredible and the sound of the Andy's guitar is incredible...not forgetting, the biggest drummer of all time, Mr. Stewart A. Copeland.
Istvan1980
The best of the best!!! I miss so much The Police!!! Sting is one of the best musicians ever!! Love from Madrid, Spain!!
Pruett Fade
One of the greatest bands ever!!!
Love the sea shanty...
paul apkarian
This band is from another planet... I go into a trance when I hear this band... Sting,stewart & andy... amazing...
Laura Idini
Oh, lo so molto bene!!!
Greg Kulig
Stewart Copeland's drumming is brilliant!
rbtz07
I was at this concert and I was 15 and it was a magical performance as you can hear.
Mauricio Victer
Amazing! ❤👏