The Police Outlandos D’Amour

Outlandos D’Amour The Police

Released: November 2, 1978 Peak: 23 US, 6 UK, 22 CN, 15 AU, 15 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.61 US, 0.3 UK, 6.5 world (includes US and UK), 16.77 EAS Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Next to You [2:50] So Lonely [4:49] Roxanne [3:12] Hole in My Life [4:52] Peanuts [3:58] Can’t Stand Losing You [2:58] Truth Hits Everybody [2:53] Born in the ‘50s [3:40] Be My Girl – Sally [3:22] Masoko Tanga [5:40] Total Running Time: 38:14 The Players: Sting (vocals, bass) Andy Summers (guitar, backing vocals) Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.292 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “Unquestionably one of the finest debuts to come out of the ‘70s punk/new wave movement” – Greg Prato, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album “While their subsequent chart-topping albums would contain far more ambitious songwriting and musicianship, the Police's 1978 debut, Outlandos d'Amour (translation: Outlaws of Love) is by far their most direct and straightforward release.” AM “Although Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were all superb instrumentalists with jazz backgrounds, it was much easier to get a record contract in late-‘70s England if you were a punk/new wave artist, so the band decided to mask their instrumental prowess with a set of strong, adrenaline-charged rock, albeit with a reggae tinge.” AM “Some of it may have been simplistic (Be My Girl-Sally, Born in the '50s), but Sting was already an ace songwriter, as evidenced by all-time classics like the good-girl-gone-bad tale of Roxanne, and a pair of brokenhearted reggae-rock ditties, Can't Stand Losing You and So Lonely.” AM “But like all other Police albums, the lesser-known album cuts are often highlights themselves — the frenzied rockers Next to You, Peanuts, and Truth Hits Everybody, as well as more exotic fare like the groovy album closer Masoko Tanga and the lonesome Hole in My Life. Outlandos d'Amour is unquestionably one of the finest debuts to come out of the ‘70s punk/new wave movement.” AM The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Next to You The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 23.64 streaming

So Lonely The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: 11/3/1978 as a single, Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 10 CL, 5 CO, 6 UK, 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.25 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 190.79 streaming

Roxanne The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: 4/7/1978 as a single, Outlandos D’Amour (1978) First Charted: February 10, 1979 (The Police), April 10, 1982 (Sting) Peak (The Police): 32 BB, 31 CB, 26 GR, 39 HR, 1 CL, 2 CO, 12 UK, 31 CN, 34 AU, 1 DF Peak (Sting): 28 AR, 7 CO, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK, 1.50 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 126.30 video, 911.94 streaming

Awards (The Police): (Click on award to learn more). Awards (Sting): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Drummer Stewart Copeland told Rolling Stone “That song has been the turnaround for us.” RS500 Punk was hitting London in 1977 and The Police’s brand of art rock wasn’t well received. The group was excited when they landed a gig as an opening act for a punk band at a Paris club. However, upon arrival it turned out there was no other act and the group ended up playing to an empty house. SJ Things got worse when the band’s car broke down after the gig. Sting, the band’s singer and chief songwriter, decided to take a stroll, finding himself wandering through Paris’ red-light district. As Sting recounted, “It was the first time I’d seen prostitutes on the streets…I imagined being in love with one of those girls.” SJ The idea for the song “Roxanne” was born. The namesake was inspired by the heroine in the play Cyrano de Bergerac. A poster for the play was featured in the hotel lobby where the band was staying in Paris. RS500 Sting originally conceived the song as a bossa nova, but Copeland suggested the final rhythmic form as a tango. WK Although Sting wasn’t particularly impressed with the end result, the group’s manager, Miles Copeland III, was “immediately enthusiastic.” WK The single was the first major-label release for the group after they’d released “Fall Out” on an independent label in 1977. SF It didn’t chart initially, but was rereleased after “Can’t Stand Losing You” became a minor UK hit in the fall of 1978. Sting performed the song solo in 1981 for The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball (released in 1982), a benefit for Amnesty International. The stripped down, slower version gave the song a very different feel and demonstrated a trait Sting would exhibit throughout his solo career of being unafraid to revisit classics with new spins.

Hole in My Life The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.01 streaming

Peanuts The Police

Writer(s): Stewart Copeland, Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 31 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.06 streaming

Can’t Stand Losing You The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: 8/14/1978 as a single, Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 8 CL, 8 CO, 2 UK, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 19.0 video, 131.42 streaming

Truth Hits Everybody The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.87 streaming

Born in the ‘50s The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.94 streaming

Be My Girl – Sally The Police

Writer(s): Sting, Andy Summers Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.14 streaming

Masoko Tanga The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Outlandos D’Amour (1978) Peak: 40 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.85 streaming

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Greg Prato RS500 Rolling Stone (12/04). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 148. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/22/2008; last updated 8/13/2025.