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The Police got the best of both worlds, introducing punks in London and New York to another rebel noise-reggae. With their intelligent lyrics, perfect harmonies and bleach blond hair, The Police rarely conformed to a single sound. The trio-Sting on bass, Stewart Copeland on drums, Andy Summers on guitar and all three on vocals-could keep a down-beat and a deep bass line and win a crowd. The intrepid band made a point of touring Australia, Asia and India way before anyone had heard of them, an adventurous spirit that would keep them trying new things. After Copeland's older brother passed their demo for the single "Roxanne" to his industry connections, the band were rushed to produced 1978's Outlandos d'Amour. The tortured plea to a lady of the night proved the disc's biggest hit, and the band members have since said that recording it was "an awful rush." Ironically, their trademark bottle blond locks were left over from a gum commercial the band had participated in to earn some quick cash while recording. They had more time on '79's Regatta de Blanc and it paid off-"Message In A Bottle" got them their first #1 and they followed it up with "Walking On the Moon." They claim that recording sessions for their 1980 classic Zenyatta Mondatta were tense, as the band members were already pulling in their own directions, but their third LP is critically regarded as their most solid. The instrumental "Behind My Camel" won them a Grammy, and they had hits with the tense "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and the goofy "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da." The Police would go on to release Ghost In the Machine and Synchronicity and score hit singles with "King of Pain," and the stalker/lover classic "Every Breath You Take."

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