Biography
Origins
The Police formed in London in early 1977 around Gordon Sumner, known as Sting, a former schoolteacher from Newcastle upon Tyne who had been playing bass in a local jazz-fusion band called Last Exit[1]. Drummer Stewart Copeland, who had been playing progressive rock with Curved Air, sought Sting out after being introduced through a music journalist, and once Sting relocated to London the two began jamming almost immediately[1]. The pair recruited guitarist Henry Padovani and played their first show as a trio on 1 March 1977, before Andy Summers joined that August to complete the classic lineup[1].
Sting has described the band's early goal as carving out a stylistic space between the raw aggression of the punk scene they emerged alongside and the polish of mainstream rock, drawing instead on reggae, jazz, and pop influences[1].
Breakthrough
The band recorded its debut album, Outlandos d'Amour, on a shoestring budget borrowed from manager Miles Copeland, working intermittently at Surrey Sound Studios whenever time opened up[2]. The single “Roxanne,” inspired by a trip to a red-light district in Paris, was initially treated as a minor track within the sessions, but Miles Copeland's enthusiastic reaction upon hearing it led him to bring it straight to A&M Records, setting the band on the path to international stardom[3].
References
- The Police - Wikipedia — Band formation history and early stylistic identity.
- Outlandos d'Amour - Wikipedia — Recording context and budget for the debut album.
- How the Police Turned Hookers Into a Hit: The Story of 'Roxanne' | Ultimate Classic Rock — Account of Miles Copeland championing Roxanne and launching the band's career.