The Police Ghost in the Machine released

Ghost in the Machine The Police

Released: October 2, 1981 Peak: 3 US, 13 UK, 15 CN, 11 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.3 UK, 9.5 world (includes US and UK), 13.71 EAS Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Spirits in the Material World [2:59] Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic [4:22] Invisible Sun [3:44] Hungry for You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil) [2:53] Demolition Man [5:57] Too Much Information [3:43] Rehumanize Yourself [3:10] One World (Not Three) [4:47] Omegaman [2:48] Secret Journey [3:34] Darkness [3:14] Total Running Time: 41:03 Other Songs from This Era: I Burn for You [3:07] The Players: Sting (vocals, bass) Andy Summers (guitar) Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.133 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album “For their fourth album, 1981’s Ghost in the Machine, the Police had streamlined their sound to focus more on their pop side and less on their trademark reggae-rock. Their jazz influence had become more prominent, as evidenced by the appearance of saxophones on several tracks. The production has more of a contemporary ‘80s sound to it (courtesy of Hugh Padgham, who took over for Nigel Gray), and Sting proved once and for all to be a master of the pop songwriting format.” AM “The album spawned several hits, such as the energetic Spirits in the Material World (notice how the central rhythms are played by synthesizer instead of guitar to mask the reggae connection) and a tribute to those living amid the turmoil and violence in Northern Ireland circa the early ‘80s, Invisible Sun.” AM “But the best and most renowned of the bunch is undoubtedly the blissful Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” AM It topped the charts in the UK and reached #3 in the U.S. “Unlike the other Police releases, not all of the tracks are stellar (Hungry for You, Omegaman), but the vicious jazz-rocker Demolition Man, the barely containable Rehumanize Yourself, and a pair of album-closing ballads (Secret Journey, Darkness) proved otherwise.” AM “While it was not a pop masterpiece, Ghost in the Machine did serve as an important stepping stone between their more direct early work and their more ambitious latter direction, resulting in the trio’s exceptional blockbuster final album, 1983’s Synchronicity.” AM The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Spirits in the Material World The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: 12/4/1981 as a single, Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 11 BB, 15 CB, 17 HR, 9 RR, 7 AR, 2 CO, 12 UK, 13 CN, 50 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 63.53 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: On “the energetic Spirits in the Material World notice how the central rhythms are played by synthesizer instead of guitar to mask the reggae connection.” AM

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: 9/25/1981 as a single, Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 3 US, 6 CB, 4 GR, 8 HR, 3 RR, 12 AR, 1 CO, 11 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 9.0 radio, 45.6 video, 508.46 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” was released in most parts of the world as the lead single from their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine. In the UK and Ireland, the lead single was the far less commercial-sounding “Invisible Sun.” The latter would reach #2 in the UK, but “Magic” would become the Police’s fourth #1 in the UK and third top 10 in the U.S. Sting wrote and recorded a demo of the song as an acoustic ballad SF in 1976 after moving from Newcastle to London. As he said, “I had no money, no prospects, nowhere to live. All I had was [drummer] Stewart Copeland’s phone number and some vague idea of forming a band.” SF He sang it when he auditioned at the Zanzibar in Covent Garden but was told he needed “commercial hit songs. We don’t need this kind of stuff.” SF He recorded another demo in January 1981. WK The record company was convinced it was a hit and the band, who thought it was too soft, tried recording it from scratch. According to Copeland, “We tried it fast, we tried it slow, we tried it reggae, we tried it punk, we tried it as a bossa nova…We tried every which way, but nothing.” SF Sting agreed that none of the new versions had the same level of energy as his 1981 demo. They ended up using the demo with Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers playing on top of it. WK It also includes a piano part by French Canadian keyboard player Jean Alain Roussel. In reviewing the end results, Chris True of All Music Guide said, “The choppy reggae guitars are pushed aside by amazing piano and synth arrangements, that trademark reggae beat is there but it’s a bit more transcendent, a bit more pop mainstream (but not in a bad way). Summers’ guitar is still there, but it’s more of a background instrument adding yet another layer to the wall of sound. There are sounds all over the place on ‘Every Little Thing,’ but they never get muddy or obtrusive. Sting, as usual, is in amazing form lyrically (‘it’s a big enough umbrella / But it’s always me that ends up getting wet’), as the…doofus in love.” AMG The song won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Pop Song.

Invisible Sun The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: 9/19/1981 as a single, Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 10 CL, 8 CO, 2 UK, 89 AU, 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 33.05 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: A

Hungry for You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil) The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 31 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.81 streaming

Demolition Man The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 45 CL, 38 CO, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.73 streaming

Too Much Information The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.82 streaming

Rehumanize Yourself The Police

Writer(s): Stewart Copeland, Sting Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.61 streaming

One World (Not Three) The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.08 streaming

Omegaman The Police

Writer(s): Andy Summers Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.95 streaming

Secret Journey The Police

Writer(s): Sting Released: April 1982 as a single, Ghost in the Machine (1981) B-Side: “I Burn for You” First Charted: 2/6/1982 Peak: 46 BB, 47 CB, 90 HR, 24 CL, 29 AR, 4 CO, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.13 streaming

About the Song: A

Darkness The Police

Writer(s): Stewart Copeland Released: Ghost in the Machine (1981) Peak: 39 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.98 streaming

I Burn for You The Police

Writer(s): Sting (see lyrics here) Released: April 1982 as B-side of “Secret Journey,” Brimstone and Treacle (soundtrack, 10/21/1982) First Charted: December 4, 1982 Peak: 27 AR, 29 CO, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.90 video, 0.93 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Sting first recorded this song with Last Exit, his band before the Police. He later presented it to the Police for consideration on their third album, 1980’s Zenyatta Mondatta. However, they “deemed [it] unsuitable for the musical direction the band was taking,” WK considering it “too sentimental.” PW In 1981, the group Hot Gossip recorded the song and the Police recorded it during the sessions for their Ghost in the Machine album. The versions done by Last Exit and Hot Gossip featured a verse which was omitted from the Police’s recording. That version was still shelved for another year. Finally, in 1982 it was released on the Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack along with other music written and recorded by Sting and the Police. It was released as a single in late 1982, reaching #27 on the album rock chart. Clips from the movie have been integrated into the video below along with the original version of “I Burn for You” by Last Exit. The movie was based on a 1976 BBC television play by Dennis Potter. Both versions starred Denholm Elliott; the 1982 film featured Sting as one of the co-stars. The story focuses on a middle-class London suburban couple and their daughter, who has been rendered comatose by a hit-and-run accident. The father (Elliott) meets a stranger one day (Sting) who claims to be friends with the daughter. When he rapes the girl, she awakes screaming and fully recovers from her disability. Sting also recorded the song as a solo artist, first on his 1986 live album Bring on the Night and again in 2010 for Symphonicities, a collection of rerecordings of his work. The version done for Bring on the Night was made into a video. In 1991, the Bob Belden Ensemble recorded the song for their Sting tribute album, The Music of Sting: Straight to My Heart.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Greg Prato AMG All Music Guide review of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” PW ThePoliceWiki.org SF Songfacts page for “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” WK Wikipedia page for Ghost in the Machine WK Wikipedia page for “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” WK Wikipedia page for Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/22/2008; last updated 8/13/2025.