Even though they're one of the biggest bands of 1980-1983 they have a really timeless and unique sound. I'd say they're new wave with reggae and classic rock infiuences, but they totally also had an influence on alternative music I think, even if their mainstream songs are softer and more melodic than actual alt rock.

Come to think of it, their only songs that really sounded Eighties were "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "King of Pain" and maybe "Message in a Bottle" (and even they weren't really screaming it, especially compared to alot of other new wave songs). Yet they're tied with the early MTV generation so much, isn't that weird?

Even though they're one of the biggest bands of 1980-1983 they have a really timeless and unique sound. I'd say they're new wave with reggae and classic rock infiuences, but they totally also had an influence on alternative music I think, even if their mainstream songs are softer and more melodic than actual alt rock.

Come to think of it, their only songs that really sounded Eighties were "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "King of Pain" and maybe "Message in a Bottle" (and even they weren't really screaming it, especially compared to alot of other new wave songs). Yet they're tied with the early MTV generation so much, isn't that weird?

The Police were HUGE in the years preceding MTV.  They played a lot of Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and the Cars as well.  Whoever was still together and and selling big in 1981 was what they started with.  The first bands really popularized by MTV were Duran Duran, Eurythmics, The Fixx, A Flock of Seagulls, Modern English and the like.  By 1985, however, MTV deteriorated into a miasma of self-perpetuating rubbish and has been getting ever worse for decades now!
::)

The Police were HUGE in the years preceding MTV.  They played a lot of Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and the Cars as well.  Whoever was still together and and selling big in 1981 was what they started with.  The first bands really popularized by MTV were Duran Duran, Eurythmics, The Fixx, A Flock of Seagulls, Modern English and the like.  By 1985, however, MTV deteriorated into a miasma of self-perpetuating rubbish and has been getting ever worse for decades now!
::)


That's interesting, I actually never realized that. I always was under the impression that The Police slowly picked up steam with time, and started really getting big when "Every Little Thing..." came out. Even their late '70s stuff sounded new wave and Eighties, but I just assumed people got into those early songs after they got popular. Were they as popular in the states as they were in the UK?

Yeah, that's true about MTV. They had to go back at least a couple years to have material to show (although didn't they repeat songs in their selection all the time?), so you could say 1979 to early '81 was "in the MTV range".

That's interesting, I actually never realized that. I always was under the impression that The Police slowly picked up steam with time, and started really getting big when "Every Little Thing..." came out. Even their late '70s stuff sounded new wave and Eighties, but I just assumed people got into those early songs after they got popular. Were they as popular in the states as they were in the UK?

Yeah, that's true about MTV. They had to go back at least a couple years to have material to show (although didn't they repeat songs in their selection all the time?), so you could say 1979 to early '81 was "in the MTV range".

The Police were already huge by the time Synchronicity came out, but Synchronicity sold as much as all their previous records put together.  All the exposure on MTV most certainly could not have hurt!

Synchronicity is probably the biggest-selling album I've ever bought. 

Early on The Police were bigger in the UK, but "Every Breath You Take" was #1 on the Billboard charts for 8 weeks and they were playing to crowds of up to 70,000 people.  You don't get much more popular than that!  Summer of '83, summer of The Police!

The Police were a rare example of a group that quit at the height of their popularity (another being The Smiths).  They agreed, "It's all down hill from here, mates!"  And parted ways.  And then Sting started making elevator music!
:(

That's interesting, I actually never realized that. I always was under the impression that The Police slowly picked up steam with time, and started really getting big when "Every Little Thing..." came out. Even their late '70s stuff sounded new wave and Eighties, but I just assumed people got into those early songs after they got popular. Were they as popular in the states as they were in the UK?

Yeah, that's true about MTV. They had to go back at least a couple years to have material to show (although didn't they repeat songs in their selection all the time?), so you could say 1979 to early '81 was "in the MTV range".


Actually, MTV didnt even start broadcasting till the summer of 1981.  Before then we only had music videos on late night shows like Don Kirshner's Rock Concert,  USA's Night Flight, and HBO's "Video Jukebox" which were videos they showed between movies..  But the Police had so many diff sounds...yes the reggae and ska thing was evident, but songs like "Cant Stand Losing You" reminded me of classic "Who"...  Love the Police!  I just got tickets to go see them in Chicago with Elvis Costello as the opening act!  Talk about a cool double bill!

The Police were a rare example of a group that quit at the height of their popularity (another being The Smiths).  They agreed, "It's all down hill from here, mates!"  And parted ways.  And then Sting started making elevator music!
:(


The Police could barely work together as a unit, fuelled by rivalry and envy so it was a shrewd move for them to stop at the top.

You are right The Police, despite being predominantly an 80s band, didn't sound very 80s at all (in a similar way to UB40) and I also agree that 'Every little thing she does is magic' is probably as 80s as they got.

As for Sting doing elevator music . . . Hmmmm . . . I liked 'Fields of Gold' and 'Englishman in New York'. I think that's about it.

They quited at the top of their career, rather than peak out.  That's what I always admired about them, as a band.

The Police were already huge by the time Synchronicity came out, but Synchronicity sold as much as all their previous records put together.  All the exposure on MTV most certainly could not have hurt!

Synchronicity is probably the biggest-selling album I've ever bought. 

Early on The Police were bigger in the UK, but "Every Breath You Take" was #1 on the Billboard charts for 8 weeks and they were playing to crowds of up to 70,000 people.  You don't get much more popular than that!  Summer of '83, summer of The Police!

The Police were a rare example of a group that quit at the height of their popularity (another being The Smiths).  They agreed, "It's all down hill from here, mates!"  And parted ways.  And then Sting started making elevator music!
:(


You know what's ironic about Synchronicity? Other than the three big singles and "Synchronicity II", practically everything else was slower or jazzy stuff that wasn't really commercial. There were a couple just bizarre rock songs too, like "Miss Gradenko".


Yeah, I don't like Sting's solo career too much, outside a few of his biggest songs. I do think a few of them, like "Fortress Around Your Heart" sound kinda like softer Police songs, though.

f**k da police.

oh, you mean the band?

i liked synchronicity II. we were gonna do that song in the cover band i was in, but then they fired me for not giving a sheesh. and no, they never sounded very "80s," if that really means anything, they were minimalist and the 80s aesthetic was all about extravant playing and extravagant production.