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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
Invisible Sun
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
And they're only going to change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
They would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even wanna die just yet
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
Whoa-oh, oh, whoa-oh
The Police's song "Invisible Sun" speaks of the struggles faced by ordinary people living in the midst of war, violence, and oppression. The lyrics express a deep longing for a better world, a world where people are not forced to live in fear or spend their days hiding from danger. The opening lines of the song underline this sentiment by juxtaposing a playful counting rhyme with serious lyrics about the harsh realities of life in conflict zones.
The line, "I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking at the barrel of an Armalite," refers to the Armalite rifle, a weapon commonly used in the Northern Irish conflict. The singer expresses a desire for peace, rejecting a life filled with violence and repression. He also challenges the idea of blindly following orders, suggesting that it is not enough to merely stay out of trouble by doing what soldiers say. Instead, he craves a life of freedom, where he can pursue his own dreams and aspirations.
The chorus of the song embodies the hope that the singer has for a future where things get better. The "invisible sun" refers to a metaphorical source of hope that gives light and warmth to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. Even in the bleakest situations, there is the possibility of a better life, a brighter future. The song suggests that hope is something that everyone needs, no matter how hard their life may be.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three, four, five, six
The song starts with a count to muster attention
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
The singer doesn’t want to live in a war-torn world where he constantly fears for his life
I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
The singer doesn’t want to live in a world where he has to constantly watch his back to avoid getting caught in conflict
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
The singer is opposed to a life of criminality and the resulting imprisonment
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
The singer doesn’t want to be defined as a number in a government report
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
The singer is hopeful that there is some intangible force of goodness or hope that can sustain people through dark times
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
The world is a bleak place, full of pollution and weariness
And they're only going to change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
They would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even wanna die just yet
The singer is critical of those who would resort to violence to create change and, despite some adversity, still has a will to live
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michelle E. F.
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
And they're only going to change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
They would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even wanna die just yet
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
(Oh oh oh oh oh oh...)
Robin Garrison
Unbeatable combination of a seriously trippy video & the Police at their best. Summer playlist bound. TY for sharing!
Christopher Weber
Outstanding .
Michelle E. F.
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
And they're only going to change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
They would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even wanna die just yet
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
(Oh oh oh oh oh oh...)
laurel cook
Thank You for posting this remastered song~ peace*
Anthony Smith
This is what the Universes bloodstream....sounds like.
Enough Said.
Genius.
mike patrick
I DON'T WANT TO END UP A STASTIC...CAN'T ARGUE WITH THAT...
VideoCleppa[Due]
mike patrick sorry but I don't understand .... don't you want to die of covid and be part of a list ?? I also do not want to be just a number but in Italy we have already been one since 1973 with the introduction of the Tax Code. We are much more idiots than the government ...
v-town1980
Classic song. Video...ehh.
VideoCleppa[Due]
v-town1980 I try to make the videos more animated but sometimes they go behind my head full of hallucinations. I'm sorry you don't like it. Greetings from Italy
Dennis Crosby
The 3DO called, and it's still disappointed.