Every Breath You Take:
The Singles
Greatest hits album by
The Police
Released27 October 1986[1]
Recorded1978–1986
GenreNew wave, post-punk, reggae rock
Length50:26 (The Singles)
59:20 (The Classics)
LabelA&M
ProducerThe Police, Hugh Padgham, Nigel Gray and Laurie Latham
The Police chronology
Synchronicity
(1983)		 Every Breath You Take:
The Singles
(1986)		 Greatest Hits
(1992)
Alternative cover
Every Breath You Take: The Classics (1995)
Singles from Every Breath You Take: The Singles
  1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"
    Released: 29 September 1986[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauA−[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Tom HullA[8]

Every Breath You Take: The Singles is the first compilation album by the Police, released in 1986. In 1990, the album was repackaged in New Zealand, Australia and Spain as Their Greatest Hits with a different cover.

A video collection entitled Every Breath You Take: The Videos was released alongside the album. It was released on VHS and Betamax cassette, as well as on Laserdisc in the UK, Europe and in Japan. The collection featured fourteen promotional videos, for twelve of the thirteen tracks on the album as well as "Synchronicity II" and the original version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me".

Background

In the aftermath of their Synchronicity Tour in 1984, the Police announced that they were taking a pause of reflection before recording a new album. The same year Andy Summers released a second album of instrumental music with Robert Fripp, Bewitched. Stewart Copeland worked on the soundtrack of the Francis Ford Coppola film Rumble Fish, with the single "Don't Box Me In" peaking at No. 91 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1985 Sting released his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, with great critical and commercial success. The album was followed by an extensive promotional tour, that resulted in a double live album, Bring on the Night. In 1985 Copeland started working on The Rhythmatist, an ambitious project that led him to spend a significant amount of time recording and filming in Congo. About one year later Summers scored the soundtrack for the film Down and Out in Beverly Hills.

By the time the trio reconvened to play three concerts for the Amnesty International A Conspiracy of Hope Tour in June 1986, the atmosphere was tense. According to Sting, "It was a very symbolic moment. We'd broken up, then sort of reformed to do the Amnesty Tour. U2 were there as well and as we closed our set with "Invisible Sun", Bono came out and sang it with us. And then we symbolically handed our instruments over to U2, because they were about to become what we were — the biggest band in the world".[9]

In July the band booked time in the studio to record a new album. In the liner notes to the Police's box set Message in a Box, Summers recalled: "The attempt to record a new album was doomed from the outset. The night before we went into the studio Stewart broke his collarbone falling off a horse and that meant we lost our last chance of recovering some rapport just by jamming together. Anyway, it was clear Sting had no real intention of writing any new songs for the Police. It was an empty exercise." With Copeland unable to play the drums, the short-lived reunion resulted in an attempt to re-record some of their previous hits. Copeland opted to use his Fairlight CMI to program the drum tracks but Sting pushed to use the drums on his Synclavier instead. As the group's engineer found the Synclavier's programming interface difficult, it ended up taking him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming and claimed that the Fairlight's "Page R" (the device's sequencing page) saved his life and put him on the map as a composer. In a Qantas inflight radio program named "Reeling in the Years", Copeland was quoted as saying that the argument over Synclavier versus Fairlight drums was "the straw that broke the camel's back," and that this led to the group's unravelling.

"Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" was released in October 1986 as the final single from The Police. "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" was also recorded but the band was unsatisfied with the result, and as such it was shelved, only to be subsequently included on the DTS-CD release of the Every Breath You Take: The Classics album in 1995.

As to signify the poor atmosphere pervading the session, the three band members did not appear together in the photograph on the album cover, nor in the video shot by Godley & Creme to promote "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86". Following the release of the album, the Police effectively disbanded.

Reception

Every Breath You Take: The Singles reached No. 1 in the UK album charts and No. 7 in the US charts. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" made it into the UK Top 25.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sting

Side one
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Roxanne"Outlandos d'Amour3:11
2."Can't Stand Losing You"Outlandos d'Amour2:47
3."Message in a Bottle"Reggatta de Blanc4:50
4."Walking on the Moon"Reggatta de Blanc5:01
5."Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"re-recording of song from Zenyatta Mondatta4:52
6."De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"Zenyatta Mondatta4:06
Side two
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
7."Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"Ghost in the Machine4:19
8."Invisible Sun"Ghost in the Machine3:44
9."Spirits in the Material World"Ghost in the Machine2:58
10."Every Breath You Take"Synchronicity3:56
11."King of Pain"Synchronicity4:57
12."Wrapped Around Your Finger"Synchronicity5:14

Cassette/CD version in U.K./Europe only

All tracks are written by Sting

No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Roxanne"Outlandos d'Amour3:11
2."Can't Stand Losing You"Outlandos d'Amour2:47
3."So Lonely"Outlandos d'Amour4:48
4."Message in a Bottle"Reggatta de Blanc4:50
5."Walking on the Moon"Reggatta de Blanc5:01
6."Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"re-recording of song from Zenyatta Mondatta4:52
7."De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"Zenyatta Mondatta4:06
8."Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"Ghost in the Machine4:19
9."Invisible Sun"Ghost in the Machine3:44
10."Spirits in the Material World"Ghost in the Machine2:58
11."Every Breath You Take"Synchronicity3:56
12."King of Pain"Synchronicity4:57
13."Wrapped Around Your Finger"Synchronicity5:14

Personnel

Every Breath You Take: The Classics

In 1995, A&M released Every Breath You Take: The Classics (reissued in some European countries as The Police Greatest Hits (digitally remastered) in 1996) to replace the original album. It features a slightly different track listing: the original version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" replaces the 1986 recording at track 5; the '86 version appears at track 13. A « New Classic Rock Mix » of "Message in a Bottle" is included as track 14. The album was reissued on the DTS format in 2000 and on hybrid CD/SACD in 2003, with both of these versions including a previously unreleased version of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". At the same time as the 2003 CD/SACD release, the Every Breath You Take: The Videos video collection was released on DVD as Every Breath You Take: The DVD.

In the DTS version, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" features a different intro. Also, The Singles featured a shortened version of "Can't Stand Losing You" which featured an early fade out which ends the song before the final chorus concludes; The Classics replaces this with the full-length version.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sting

No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Roxanne"Outlandos d'Amour3:11
2."Can't Stand Losing You"Outlandos d'Amour2:58
3."Message in a Bottle"Reggatta de Blanc4:50
4."Walking on the Moon"Reggatta de Blanc5:01
5."Don't Stand So Close to Me"Zenyatta Mondatta4:04
6."De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"Zenyatta Mondatta4:06
7."Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"Ghost in the Machine4:19
8."Invisible Sun"Ghost in the Machine3:44
9."Spirits in the Material World"Ghost in the Machine2:58
10."Every Breath You Take"Synchronicity4:13
11."King of Pain"Synchronicity4:57
12."Wrapped Around Your Finger"Synchronicity5:14
13."Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"rerecording of song from Zenyatta Mondatta4:51
14."Message in a Bottle" (New Classic Rock mix)remix of song from Reggatta de Blanc4:51
DTS/SACD edition alternative track
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
6."De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86"rerecording of song from Zenyatta Mondatta4:25

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia — 150,000[21]
Brazil — 200,000[22]
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[24] 2× Platinum 600,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States (RIAA)[28]
video 		Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ "RIAA".
  2. ↑ "Great Rock discography". p. 636.
  3. ↑ Allmusic review
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ "Robert Christgau: CG: The Police". www.robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ "The Police – Rolling Stone".
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  8. ↑ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Rock (1970s)". tomhull.com. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Article "I think if we came back..."". www.scarlet.nl. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 236. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Police – Every Breath You Take - The Singles" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Police – Every Breath You Take - The Singles" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Police – Every Breath You Take - The Singles" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 4 June 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Every breath you take" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  15. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Police – Every Breath You Take - The Singles". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Police – Every Breath You Take - The Singles". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "Police | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  18. ↑ "The Police Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  19. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1987 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  21. ↑ Baker, Glenn (30 January 1988). "The Majors" (PDF). Billboard. p. A-3. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  22. ↑ Souza, Tarik de (6 January 1988). "Um bom ano para o disco". Jornal do Brasil. p. 36. Retrieved 18 November 2020 – via National Library of Brazil.
  23. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Police – Every Breath You Take". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  24. ↑ "French album certifications – The Police – The Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Select THE POLICE and click OK. 
  25. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – The Police – Every Breath you Take". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "European Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music & Media. 26 December 1987. p. 44. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  27. ↑ "British album certifications – The Police – Every Breath you Take". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  28. ↑ "American video certifications – The Police – Every Breath you Take". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  29. ↑ "American album certifications – The Police – Every Breath you Take". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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