The Police “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” released

Don’t Stand So Close to Me The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: September 19, 1980 First Charted: September 27, 1980 Peak: 10 US, 9 CB, 12 HR, 9 RR, 2 CL, 11 AR, 1 CO, 14 UK, 2 CN, 5 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.81 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 38.8 video, 102.58 streaming

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

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 singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.04 video, -- streaming

Awards (1980 version): Click on award for more details. Awards (1986 version): Click on award for more details.

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. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for The Police DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sting SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/12/2022; last updated 7/27/2022.