The Police released Zenyatta Mondatta

Zenyatta Mondatta The Police

Released: October 3, 1980 Peak: 5 US, 14 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.3 UK, 10.0 world (includes US and UK), 14.64 EAS Genre: new wave/alternative rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Don’t Stand So Close to Me [4:04] Driven to Tears [3:20] When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around [3:38] Canary in a Coalmine [2:26] Voices Inside My Head [3:53] Bombs Away [3:09] De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da [4:09] Behind My Camel [2:54] Man in a Suitcase [2:19] Shadows in the Rain [5:02] The Other Way of Stopping [3:22] Total Running Time: 38:16 The Players: Sting (vocals, bass) Andy Summers (guitar) Steward Copeland (drums)

Rating: 4.258 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Quotable: “One of the finest rock albums of all time.” – Greg Prato, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album The Police’s first two albums reached the top 30 in the U.S. and were platinum sellers, but one could be forgiven for thinking they might not do much better. From a singles standpoint, their only entries on the Billboard Hot 100 had been the top-40 hit “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle” which stalled all the way down at #74. They were much more successful in their native UK where their debut album Outlandos D’Amour reached #6 and the follow-up, Reggatta De Blanc went to #1, thanks to two #1 singles with with “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon.” The came Zenyatta Mondatta. The album title is comprised of two made-up words. Stewart Copeland said, “It’s not an attempt to be mysterious, just syllables that sound good together.” WK The music must have sounded pretty good to UK and U.S. audiences. It was the band’s second consecutive #1 album in the UK and gave them another #1 single with Don’t Stand So Close to Me. This time, however, the Police were ready to break big in America as well. The “haunting” AM “Don’t Stand” single spun a tale of a teacher lusting after a student, a la Lolita (a book referenced in the lyrics). Despite its creepy theme, the beat was undeniable and the U.S. public sent the song into the top 10. The album followed suit, reaching #5. Come Grammy time, voters named the song Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. “While other tracks follow in the same spooky path (their second Grammy-winning instrumental Behind My Camel and Shadows in the Rain), most of the material is upbeat.” AM That includes Canary in a Coalmine, Man in a Suitcase, and “the carefree De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.” AM The latter, the second single from the album, proved “Stand” wasn’t a fluke hit as it followed it into the top-10 in the U.S. There were even bigger hits to come with their next two albums. Like its predecessors, Zenyatta showed the band’s reggae and punk influences. However, this was also Sting’s first foray into more “politically charged lyrics.” AM Driven to Tears offered up commentary on poverty while Bombs Away referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. WK Those and When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around “all observe the declining state of the world.” AM The album was recorded in four weeks during the Police’s second tour. The band members were disappointed with the end result because of the time pressures. Sting expressed that the album was “not all it could have been.” AM and Stewart Copeland said, “We had bitten off more than we could chew…we finished the album at 4 a.m. on the day we were starting our next world tour.” WK They even went so far as to re-record the two singles in 1986, releasing the new version of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” on their Every Breath You Take – The Singles compilation. The Police may not have been satisfied, but the critics were. AllMusic.com’s Greg Prato calls it “one of the finest rock albums of all time.” AM Rolling Stone’s David Fricke called it “near-perfect pop by a band that bends all the rules and sometimes makes musical mountains out of molehill-size ideas.” WK The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Don’t Stand So Close to Me The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: 9/19/1980 as a single, Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 10 BB, 9 CB, 12 HR, 9 RR, 11 AR, 2 CL, 1 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.0 UK, 1.28 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 38.8 video, 263.49 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The Police’s third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, gave the band their first top-ten album (#5) in the United States, but all three albums had reached the top-10 in the UK. Zenyatta Mondatta and the previous album, Reggatta de Blanc, both reached the #1 slot. As far as singles go, the Police achieved their third #1 in the UK with “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and it gave the band their first taste of the top-10 in the America. In the UK, it wasn’t just a #1 hit, but the best selling single of 1980. WK The song would also land the Police a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song unfolds a tale of a teacher who lusts after and has a relationship with a student. He then has to deal with the guilt of his actions and the fallout when the affair is discovered. The lyrics even reference the infamous novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which tells a similar story. Sting had been an English teacher before he was in the Police and admitted that he’d had feelings for students and they for him, but he’d never acted on them. WK He said the Police found themselves in similar circumstances when they gained popularity and developed a fan base amongst teenage girls. WK Sting sang the “I want my MTV” line in Dire Straits’ 1985 #1 hit “Money for Nothing.” It was determined later that he had unknowingly used the melody from “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and lawyers pushed for Sting’s name to be added as a co-credit to the song WK even though Sting did not want a songwriting credit. SF After the Police’s 1983 blockbuster album Synchronicity, they never recorded an album together again, but they reconvened in 1986 for a greatest-hits collection. They re-recorded a slowed down version of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” for the set.

Don’t Stand So Close to Me ‘86 The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: 9/29/1986 as a single, Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986) First Charted: October 11, 1986 Peak: 46 US, 56 CB, 10 AR, 7 CO, 24 UK, 27 CN, 32 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.04 video, 1.34 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: See “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” (1980 version).

Driven to Tears The Police

Writer(s): Sting First Charted: 3/28/1981 as an album cut Peak: 14 CL, 35 AR, 6 CO, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 26.77 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: A

When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 21 CL, 36 CO, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 23.37 streaming

Canary in a Coalmine The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 13 CL, 15 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Voices Inside My Head The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 21 CL, 36 CO, 28 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.30 streaming

Bombs Away The Police

Writer(s): Stewart Copeland Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.32 streaming

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: 10/25/1980 as a single, Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 10 BB, 13 CB, 18 HR, 14 RR, 4 CL, 5 UK, 5 CN, 6 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 126.17 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: A

Behind My Camel The Police

Writer(s): Andy Summers Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 40 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.93 streaming

Man in a Suitcase The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7streaming

Shadows in the Rain The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: 28 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.69 streaming

The Other Way of Stopping The Police

Writer(s): Stewart Copeland Released: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.91 streaming

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Greg Prato SF Songfacts page for “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” WK Wikipedia page for Zenyatta Mondatta WK Wikipedia page for “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/22/2008; last updated 8/13/2025.