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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
The Bed
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cold wind blows right through that open door
I can't sleep with your memory
Dreaming dreams of what used to be
When she left I was cold inside
That look on my face was just pride
No regrets no love no tears
Bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Since that day when you'd gone
Just had to carry on
I get through day but late at night
Made love to my pillow but it didn't feel right
Every day just the same
Old rules for the same old game
All I gained was heartache
All I made was one mistake
Now the bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Without you
Bed's too big without you
Cold wind blows right through that open door
The Police's song Bed's Too Big Without You speaks about the loneliness, heartache and emptiness that one feels after the end of a relationship. The song starts by saying how the bed is too big without the partner and the cold wind blows through the open door reminding the singer of their solitary state. The person cannot sleep because they keep thinking about the past, the memories that they shared with their partner, and the dreams of what used to be.
The singer also reflects on how they had initially put up a front of not caring about the break-up and that they were "living on their own" as it was the "least of their fears." However, unable to cope with the end of the relationship, they have resorted to making love to their pillow, highlighting their sexual and emotional frustration. The monotony of each day adds to the singer's heartache and they realize that their mistake was not acknowledging the love and their emotions they felt for their partner before it was too late.
Overall, the song talks about how the singer is unable to move on from their past relationship and how the bed, which symbolizes their love and intimacy, is too big when they are not there. The song is raw and emotional, and the music complements it perfectly with a slow and haunting tone.
Line by Line Meaning
Bed's too big without you
The singer feels empty and incomplete without their lover by their side in bed
Cold wind blows right through that open door
The absence of their lover feels like a cold wind blowing through the room, reminding the singer of their loneliness
I can't sleep with your memory
The singer is still haunted by memories of their lover and can't fall asleep without them
Dreaming dreams of what used to be
The singer can only dream of the happy memories they shared with their lover, but those days are in the past
When she left I was cold inside
The singer felt empty and hollow when their lover left them
That look on my face was just pride
Even though the singer was heartbroken, they tried to put up a brave face and hide their emotions
No regrets no love no tears
The singer doesn't regret their past relationship with their lover, but they also don't feel any love or sadness for them anymore
Living on my own was the least of my fears
The singer was more afraid of facing life without their lover than of living alone
Since that day when you'd gone
The singer has been unable to forget the day their lover left them
Just had to carry on
Despite their heartbreak, the singer had to continue with their life
I get through day but late at night
During the day, the singer is able to keep themselves busy and distracted, but their loneliness hits them hard at night
Made love to my pillow but it didn't feel right
The singer tried to find comfort in their pillow, but it couldn't replace the physical intimacy they shared with their lover
Every day just the same
The singer's life has become monotonous and routine without their lover
Old rules for the same old game
The same old patterns and routines of their past relationship are still haunting the singer
All I gained was heartache
The singer only gained emotional pain and heartache from their past relationship
All I made was one mistake
The singer realizes that their only mistake was letting their lover go
Now the bed's too big without you
The singer still feels incomplete and lonely without their lover in bed
Without you
The singer's life is incomplete and they can't imagine living without their lover
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GORDON SUMNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kukol
Bed's too big without you
Cold wind blows right through that open door
I can't sleep with your memory
Dreaming dreams of what used to be
When she left I was cold inside
That look on my face was just pride
No regrets, no love, no tears
Living on my own was the least of my fears
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Since that day when you'd gone
Just had to carry on
I get through day, but late at night
Made love to my pillow but it didn't feel right
Every day just the same
Old rules for the same old game
All I gained was heartache
All I made was one mistake
Now the bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Without you
Bed's too big without you
Cold wind blows right through that open door
@glennkarant6760
Its already in me 'ead when I first wake up to the world in the morning, the very last sound I hear before me shut eye at night and all (sub?)conscious seconds in between - MUSIC is my personal savior and never leaves me...I adore all genres - from rock (especially in almost all it's forms) to reggae to classical to R&B to jazz to soul, etc., etc., etc...here's a list of MY personal TOP 69 favorite artists/bands...:)
1) The Rolling Stones
2) Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter
3) The Ramones
4) The NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders/Buster Poindexter
5) The Allman Brothers
6) Aerosmith
7) Led Zeppelin
8) Santana
9) REM
10) The Who
11) The Psychedelic Furs
12) David Bowie
13) Rod Stewart/The Faces
14) The Talking Heads
15) Robin Trower
16) New Order
17) U2
18) Bob Marley
19) Jeff Beck
20) Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry
21) The Clash
22) Mountain
23) Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton
24) The Police/Sting
25) Guns & Roses
26) Bad Company
27) KISS
28) Jimi Hendrix
29) Nirvana
30) Queen
31) Starz
31) Van Halen
32) The Cure
33) The Young Rascals
34) Deep Purple
35) Lou Reed
36) Billy Idol
37) Peter Frampton
38) The Cars
39) Tears For Fears
40) Tom Petty
41) The Sex Pistols
42) Tommy James & The Shondells
43) The Supremes/Diana Ross
44) Marvin Gaye
45) James Brown
46) Barry White
47) Joe Jackson
48) Neil Young
49) The Pet Shop Boys
50) Tommy Bolin
51) Stevie Wonder
52) Bob Dylan
53) The Stone Temple Pilots
54) The Temptations
55) Blondie
56) Chic
57) Al Green
58) Elton John
69) Squeeze
60) Sade
61) Fleetwood Mac
62) The Grass Roots
63) Donna Summer
64) Journey
65) AC/DC
66) Rainbow
67) Lynyrd Skynyrd
68) Bob Dylan
69) The Beatles
@Frankincensedjb123
Definitely their best album. The instrumentation, melodies, breaks, everything. Top notch.
@eddyvideostar
Dear Frank Incensed: The early POLICE music was their best. Although Sting tried to get more musical, sophisticated, and jazzy, it didn't work, was not the same, and robbed from the spirit of the band -- to be paid back by commercial music companies.
@IsaacSilverman-gh3oh
Agree…even a bit edgy.
@enricovankeeken1624
@@eddyvideostar "But Synchronicity in mAny ways is like the perfect bridge to thE dREAM Of thE blUE tURtlES"
@johnydee5843
I find it hard to seperate the first two albums cept for walking on moon and this more reggae feel... anyone listening for 1st time to both wd think it's one Double Masterpiece...Played both to death in our cars in 80s till they sounded like mush haha then cd players came in mehhhhhh
@alistairclewes9052
I agree. This is a brilliant album!
@glenfordgreen3277
Yo I love the intro to this where it gets louder and louder, with the rhythmic chord changes, fast reggea beat, this is an amazing timeless creative musical work of art. We salute you The Police.
@amiii5950
👊
@bouzianegherzouli7164
éeeses
@julio_scissors
WALKIN' ON ENDOR