We've got 'Zenyatta Mandatta' by The Police on CD for just £5.99
The Police formed in early 1977 in London by Stewart Copeland (drums), Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting (bass and lead vocals), and Henry Padovani (guitar). Andy Summers later joined the group, and after a very short stint as a quartet, Padovani left the band. The Police became one of the most popular bands in the late 70's and 80's. In fact if you were there in the early 80's you couldn't help notice The Police. Their fresh, reggae influenced sound broke through. More of that in a moment.
Yes everyone talks about Synchronicity - which was a blindingly good album, but for us, it was their early work that was truly unique and that's why we have Zenyatta Mondatta and Outlandos D'Amour. Zenyatta Mondatta was one of those albums that just could have been a complete mess. You know when "eclectic" just looks like a patchwork quilt with no theme? In the middle of their career they took a big risk with this album. I know you are going to ask about the name. With Zenyatta Mondatta you have a cross over work that makes sense. We all know how hard it can be to blend blues with, say, pop, even (he inhales) The Rolling Stones didn't get that right. But Zenyatta Mondatta works musically fusing a fine balance of reggae, jazz and the emerging new wave electronic sound.
The Police are notable as one of the first mainstream white pop groups to adopt reggae as a predominant musical form and to score major international hits with reggae-styled material. Although reggae was already very popular in the United Kingdom (due to the large number of Caribbean immigrants) and a number of Western European countries, reggae was little known in the United States and rejected by most black artists in U.S, and prior to the emergence of the Police only a handful of reggae songs had enjoyed any significant chart success.
The Police's lyrics, on their biggest songs were about sex and love. But, ahead of their time, their lyrics increasingly became about environmental awareness and human oneness as time went on.
Back to the human story.
Tension grew between the band members, because unlike most other bands, they did not share songwriting credits. They released their last album, Synchronicity, in 1983, selling over 8 million copies. Synchronicity is critically regarded as their best album, with hits such as Synchronicity II , King of pain , and probably their best known song, Every breath you take. In 1984, after touring in support of Synchronicity, The Police went on hiatus while Sting pursued his acting and solo music careers. In 1986 The Police reformed and played a few concerts for Amnesty International, soon after the band went into the studio but it stopped there.
In 1992 the band released "Message in a Box", their 4 CD box set, and performed at Sting's wedding to Trudie Styler. A live CD was released in June 1995. On March 10, 2003 The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed Message in a Bottle, Roxanne and Every Breath You Take.
The Police reformed in 2007 and opened the Grammy award ceremony of that year with a performance of Roxanne. Towards the end of May the band began a world tour. In 2008 the tour ended at Madison Square Garden, New York on August 7, and The Police disbanded for good.
And we miss them!