The Police

The Police were an English <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock</a> band formed in <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a> in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as <a href="/facts/Sting_(musician)/zSd0xAPB">Sting</a> (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), <a href="/facts/Andy_Summers/BA2aXEkl">Andy Summers</a> (guitar) and <a href="/facts/Stewart_Copeland/efNvSHUU">Stewart Copeland</a> (drums, percussion), and this remained unchanged for the rest of the band's history. The Police became globally popular from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Emerging in the British <a href="/facts/New_wave_music/jw9IYpDh">new wave</a> scene, they played a style of rock influenced by <a href="/facts/Punk_rock/voBjpcpS">punk</a>, <a href="/facts/Reggae/JC95IvF6">reggae</a>, and <a href="/facts/Jazz/lmUzXGq8">jazz</a>.
Their 1978 debut album, <a href="/facts/Outlandos_d%2527Amour/8bJkecpM">Outlandos d'Amour</a>, reached No. 6 on the <a href="/facts/UK_Albums_Chart/h1hyzP13">UK Albums Chart</a> and contains the singles "<a href="/facts/Roxanne_(The_Police_song)/kp2TqA6w">Roxanne</a>" and "<a href="/facts/Can%2527t_Stand_Losing_You/1FjHT06W">Can't Stand Losing You</a>". Their second album, <a href="/facts/Reggatta_de_Blanc/1N7CTW7G">Reggatta de Blanc</a> (1979), became the first of four consecutive No. 1 studio albums in the UK and Australia; its first two singles, "<a href="/facts/Message_in_a_Bottle_(The_Police_song)/MEmKA270">Message in a Bottle</a>" and "<a href="/facts/Walking_on_the_Moon/wF6gW9Qj">Walking on the Moon</a>", became their first UK number-one singles. Their next two albums, <a href="/facts/Zenyatta_Mondatta/8sIMQbsx">Zenyatta Mondatta</a> (1980) and <a href="/facts/Ghost_in_the_Machine_(album)/IcqIpPP3">Ghost in the Machine</a> (1981), led to further critical and commercial success, with two songs, "<a href="/facts/Don%2527t_Stand_So_Close_to_Me/7MxtsGnc">Don't Stand So Close to Me</a>" and "<a href="/facts/Every_Little_Thing_She_Does_Is_Magic/1WEnMU2p">Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic</a>", becoming UK number-one singles and Top 5 hits in other countries. The former album was their breakthrough into the US, reaching number five on the US <a href="/facts/Billboard_200/XtbnoFSM">Billboard 200</a>.
Their final studio album, <a href="/facts/Synchronicity_(The_Police_album)/1aPIjRV3">Synchronicity</a> (1983), was No. 1 in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy and the US, selling over 8 million copies in the US. Its lead single, "<a href="/facts/Every_Breath_You_Take/zYRmV1lD">Every Breath You Take</a>", became their fifth UK number one, and only US number one. During this time, the band were considered one of the leaders of the <a href="/facts/Second_British_Invasion/xYHnaPWt">Second British Invasion</a> of the US: in 1983 <a href="/facts/Rolling_Stone/HhCFoJ9F">Rolling Stone</a> labelled them "the first British New Wave act to break through in America on a grand scale, and possibly the biggest band in the world". However, at the height of their fame the Police disbanded in 1984, periodically reuniting for one-off performances before fully reuniting in early 2007 for a <a href="/facts/The_Police_Reunion_Tour/DXzTu0MC">world tour</a> ending in August 2008. They were the world's highest-earning musicians in 2008 due to their reunion tour, which was the <a href="/facts/List_of_highest-grossing_concert_tours/xfgKRMSk">highest-grossing tour</a> of 2007.
The Police have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the <a href="/facts/List_of_best-selling_music_artists/LnwvfKQU">best-selling bands of all time</a>. The band won a number of music awards, including six <a href="/facts/Grammy_Awards/2bxYJjPV">Grammy Awards</a>, two <a href="/facts/Brit_Awards/bxtQ4aR2">Brit Awards</a> (winning <a href="/facts/BRIT_Award_for_British_Group/3X7Mk7yY">Best British Group</a> once), and an <a href="/facts/MTV_Video_Music_Award/F9H94We9">MTV Video Music Award</a>. In 2003, they were inducted into the <a href="/facts/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame/6hRagsTD">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>. Four of their five studio albums appeared on Rolling Stone's list of the "<a href="/facts/Rolling_Stone%2527s_500_Greatest_Albums_of_All_Time/40CPshrf">500 Greatest Albums of All Time</a>". The band were included among both Rolling Stone's and <a href="/facts/VH1/QHke2pHv">VH1</a>'s lists of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

The Police open-in-new

The Police