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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
Miss Gradenko
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But are you safe Miss Gradenko?
We were at a policy meeting
They were planning new ways of cheating
I didn't want to rock your boat
But you sent this dangerous note
You've been letting your feelings show
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody at all in here?
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
Is anybody alive in here?
Nobody but us
Your uniform don't seem to fit
You're much too alive in it
You've been letting your feelings show
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody at all in here?
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody at all in here?
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
The lyrics of the song ‘Miss Gradenko’ are quite cryptic and open to interpretation. The song narrates a secret meeting where a serious issue is being discussed. The singer of the song, the singer suspects that Miss Gradenko, who was present at the meeting, is in danger. He is worried about her safety and is warning her indirectly to be cautious. The singer seems to be aware of some illegal or unethical actions that other members of the meeting are planning. He sends this warning to Miss Gradenko by reminding her of her position and power that she holds. However, while doing so, he is careful not to attract any suspicion from the meeting or the director.
The song's lyrics seem to reflect paranoia and fear, as if the singer knows something he should not, and is worried for Miss Gradenko’s safety. The repeated refrain “Is anybody alive in here?” raises questions about the clandestine nature of the meeting and the danger involved for those present. The last few lines of the song seem to suggest that the whole conversation was taking place in secret with only the singer and Miss Gradenko present. The song builds up tension through its lyrics, making it a thrilling and enigmatic listening experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't tell the director I said so
I know I shouldn't say this, but I want to communicate with you
But are you safe Miss Gradenko?
I'm worried about your safety
We were at a policy meeting
We were at a meeting discussing how to do something underhanded
They were planning new ways of cheating
They were discussing new ways to be dishonest
I didn't want to rock your boat
I didn't want to upset you
But you sent this dangerous note
But you sent me a message that could put you in danger
You've been letting your feelings show
You've been showing your true emotions
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Can you assure me that you're okay?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Can you assure me that you're okay?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anyone actually present or listening?
Is anybody at all in here?
Is there anyone at all in here to hear or listen?
Nobody but us in here
There is nobody else here except us
Your uniform don't seem to fit
You don't seem to fit the typical mold of this organization
You're much too alive in it
You're too vigorous and energetic to be a part of this organization
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Can you assure me that you're okay?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anyone actually present or listening?
Is anybody at all in here?
Is there anyone at all in here to hear or listen?
Nobody but us in here
There is nobody else here except us
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anyone actually present or listening?
Is anybody at all in here?
Is there anyone at all in here to hear or listen?
Nobody but us in here
There is nobody else here except us
Nobody but us in here
There is nobody else here except us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stewart Copeland
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel
on Roxanne
Algum leitor sabe a letra de Saludos Caballeros ?
Até agora não conseguí !
daprendiz1@gmail.com