The Police

For law enforcement, see Police.

The Police was a British rock band who played a style of rock music that was influenced by jazz, punk and reggae music. As of 2008, The Police are one of the most successful bands in the world having sold over 40,000,000 records worldwide.^[1] The Police, along with The Clash, are notable for using reggae as a major part of their musical form.

The Police
The Police performing live on 1 August 2007 at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	New wave, pop rock ska
Years active	1977–1984 1986 1992 2003 2007–2008
Labels	A&M, Polydor, Universal Music Group
Members	Sting Andy Summers Stewart Copeland Henry Padovani
Website	Official website

Rolling Stone ranked The Police number 70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[2]

The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.^[3]

History

The Police formed with Stewart Copeland in late 1976 as drummer, Sting as the singer-bassist and Henry Padovani as the guitarist. In early 1977 they recorded their first single, "Fall Out"/"Nothing Achieving,".

Band members

Line-ups

(December 1976–July 1977)	Sting - bass, lead vocals Henry Padovani - guitar Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
(July 1977–August 1977)	Sting - bass, lead vocals Henry Padovani - lead guitar Andy Summers - rhythm guitar, backing vocals Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
(August 1977–July 1986)	Sting - bass, lead vocals Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, vocals
(August 1986–January 2007)	(The Police disbanded)
(January 2007–August 2008)	Sting - bass, lead vocals Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

• Outlandos d'Amour - November, 1978 - UK #6; US #23 - US sales: Platinum
• Reggatta de Blanc - October, 1979 - UK #1; US #25 - US sales: Platinum
• Zenyattà Mondatta - October, 1980 - UK #1; US #5 - US sales: 2x Platinum
• Ghost in the Machine - October, 1981 - UK #1; US #2 - US sales: 3x Platinum
• Synchronicity - June, 1983 - UK #1; US #1 - US sales: 8x Platinum

Live albums

• Live! - (1995) US sales: Platinum
• The Police: Certifiable - (November 11, 2008) - Live CD of 2007/08 Reunion Tour recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina (packaged with DVD or Blu-ray, Also a Best Buy Exclusive.)

Compilation albums

The Police compilation albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		UK	AUS	AUT [4]	CAN [5]	FRA [6]	GER [7]	ITA [8]	NED	NZ	US
Every Breath You Take: The Singles	Released: 31 October 1986 Label: A&M	1	4	20	11	—	18	—	11	1	7	UK: 4× Platinum CAN: Platinum NZ: Platinum[9] US: 5× Platinum
Their Greatest Hits	Released: October 1990 Label: A&M	—	—	—	—	—	5	4	7	28	—	GER: Gold NLD: Gold
Greatest Hits	Released: 28 September 1992 Label: A&M	10	16	66	24	70	5	—	—	1	141 [10]	UK: 2× Platinum AUS: 5× Platinum[11] CAN: Platinum NZ: Platinum[12]
Every Breath You Take: The Classics	Released: March 1995 Label: A&M	—	—	—	—	—	65	—	—	—	—
The Very Best of Sting & The Police	Released: 3 November 1997 Label: A&M	11	22	4	66	—	18	9	17	5	—	AUS: Gold[13] AUT: Gold[14] GER: Gold ITA: Gold[15] NZ: Gold[16]
The Very Best of Sting & The Police (updated)	Released: 18 February 2002 Label: A&M	1	—	—	—	—	59	4	69	17	46	UK: 4× Platinum US: Gold
The Police	Released: 5 June 2007 Label: A&M	3	17	65	—	—	78	26	5	4	11	UK: Platinum CAN: Gold NZ: Gold[17]
Flexible Strategies	Released: November 2018 Label: A&M Part of the complete studio recordings box set, also released separately	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Box sets

The Police box sets

Title	Album details	Peaks			Certifications
		UK [18]	FRA [6]	US
Six Pack	Released: 30 May 1980 Label: A&M	17	—	—
Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings	Released: 27 September 1993 Label: A&M	—	—	79	CAN: Gold US: Platinum
Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings	Released: 16 November 2018 Label: A&M	17	188	—
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

• The Six Pack collection was listed as a hit single for The Police^[19] in 1980 (under 2021 Official Chart rules it would be now categorised as an album)

Extended plays

The Police extended plays

Title	EP details	Peaks
		UK
Voices Inside My Head (Remixes)	Released: May 1995 Label: A&M	100

Singles

Month of release (UK)	Song	UK singles	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. Main- stream Rock	Dutch Top 40	Album
May 1977	"Fall Out"	—	—	—	—	—
April 1978	"Roxanne"	—	—	—	—	Outlandos d'Amour
September 1978	"Can't Stand Losing You"	42	—	—	—	Outlandos d'Amour
November 1978	"So Lonely"	—	—	—	—	Outlandos d'Amour
April 1979 (re-r.)	"Roxanne"	12	32	—	21	Outlandos d'Amour
June 1979 (re-r.)	"Can't Stand Losing You"	2	—	—	9	Outlandos d'Amour
September 1979	"Message in a Bottle"	1	74	—	2	Reggatta de Blanc
November 1979 (re-r.)	"Fall Out"	47	—	—	—	—
November 1979	"Walking on the Moon"	1	—	—	9	Reggatta de Blanc
1980 (Ger. and Fra. only)	"Bring on the Night"	—	—	—	—	Reggatta de Blanc
February 1980 (re-r.)	"So Lonely"	6	—	—	31	Outlandos d'Amour
October 1980	"Don't Stand So Close to Me"	1	10	11	3	Zenyatta Mondatta
December 1980	"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"	5	10	—	11	Zenyatta Mondatta
September 1981 (UK only)	"Invisible Sun"	2	—	—	—	Ghost in the Machine
October 1981	"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"	1	3	1	1	Ghost in the Machine
December 1981	"Spirits in the Material World"	12	11	7	6	Ghost in the Machine
May 1982 (US only)	"Secret Journey"	—	46	29	—	Ghost in the Machine
May 1983	"Every Breath You Take"	1	1	1	6	Synchronicity
July 1983	"Wrapped Around Your Finger"	7	8	9	17	Synchronicity
October 1983	"Synchronicity II"	17	16	9	—	Synchronicity
January 1984	"King of Pain"	17	3	1	—	Synchronicity
October 1986	"Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"	24	46	10	20	Every Breath You Take: The Singles
1995	"Can't Stand Losing You/Reggatta de Blanc" (live)	27	—	—	—	Live!
1997	"Roxanne '97" (featuring Pras)	17	59	—	38	The Very Best of Sting and the Police
2000	"When The World Is Running Down" (Different Gear vs. The Police)	28	—	—	—

Awards

BRIT Awards

• 1982 – Best British Group
• 1985 – Outstanding Contribution To Music

Grammy Awards

• 1980 – Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Reggatta de Blanc"
• 1981 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Don't Stand So Close to Me"
• 1981 – Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Behind My Camel"
• 1983 – Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take" (awarded to Sting)
• 1983 – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Every Breath You Take"
• 1983 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Synchronicity