FIRST TIME REACTING TO | THE POLICE "EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE" REACTION

[@greendragonpublishing]

Multi-talented - you have no idea! Sting (Gordon Sumner) was an English teacher before The Police. He plays loads of instruments, he's an actor, and an activist. He puts on an amazing concert (I've seen him twice!) Sting said he was always surprised that people chose this as a wedding song, because it's ultimately a creepy stalker tale. He also made fun of his own song in another one - in the words to Love is the Seventh Wave (a solo song), he sings "Every cake you bake, every bite you take, every leg you break" near the end :D

[@McLeod2022]

reminds me of Patsy Cline and "Crazy". Love her but the lyrics.... torched... it is not a kind song.... and neither is "You are my Sunshine"... go to the later lyrics and it is DEEP DARK

[@georgeglasser8220]

Ideal?

[@johan.ohgren]

I'm fine with that..

[@furdturgeson_89]

This is the OG; Sting already knew it would be a mega-hit after he wrote it… Another perfect singer/bass player is Geddy Lee from Rush… Plus - maybe Mark Hoppus from Blink-182…

[@McLeod2022]

@@furdturgeson_89 Geddy is underappreciated, as is Rush

[@AlamoDame7]

Written by Sting (lead singer for the Police. Won Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Voted #1 song in several polls for the decade it came out -- It was MY favorite because of its power on vocals and beat and melody.

[@davidmhewett44]

Nothing like a good stalker song.😂😂😂 it is an amazing song.

[@davidmhewett44]

Britt, please do the original video to November Rain by GnR. You'll love the song and video, plus you get to see the "panty dropper" Slash's face.😂

[@Isleofskye]

Unlike many others, you got the concept spot on. So many people, wrongly, thought this was just a love song and played it at their wedding lol Thanks for making the video clearer so we could actually see the expressions on his face.

[@danielandrews6838]

Lead singer who plays the bass Paul McCartney comes to mind

[@docsavage8640]

Geddy Lee, Brian Wilson, Jack Bruce, Peter Cetera, it's not unusual at all

[@peterbulloch4611]

So does Lemmy

[@carla68]

She meant upright bass 😅 but you are quite correct.

[@stevedahlberg8680]

I bet you would love their hit Message in a Bottle. They were extremely important to the music scene in the 80s. Roxanne, Don't Stand So Close To Me, the list goes on and on.

[@zzz7zzz9]

King Of Pain!!!

[@stevedahlberg8680]

@@zzz7zzz9 Yes!

[@misteradrianojeda6702]

There are lead vocalist who play bass besides Sting from the Police...Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee from Rush, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182, Gene Simmons from Kiss, Peter Cetera from Chicago and many more

[@aussierhino471]

Add Suzi Quatro to that list, also Phil Lynott form Thin Lizzy (RIP legend), and Sheryl Crow.

[@matthewgoodA1206]

My personal favorites are Peter Steele of Type O Negative and Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde. Who said she was encouraged by seeing Sting cover both himself.

[@UncleQue]

I suspect she may have mean’t singing while playing an upright bass but I’m not sure.

[@matthewgoodA1206]

@@UncleQue Yeah, she saw him playing bass guitar live, and that was her instrument.

[@Meeshrick]

@@matthewgoodA1206 probably. However this stand up was purely esthetics for the video. Sting playes this live with a standard electric bass

[@jasonhobbs9636]

The public loved abd girls treated it like a great love song, but it was a song about a stalker according to Sting.

[@angelagoodwin5758]

Can't wait to see you dive deeper into The Police waters. "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "Driven to Tears", "Spirits in the Material World", "Don't Stand So Close to Me". and the FUNKIEST song from them, "Voices Inside My Head". That one is a TOTAL banger! After The Police, Sting forged an impressive solo career with songs like "If You Love Someone, Set Them Free", "Englishman in New York", "Mad About You", "Fields of Gold", and "FRAGILE". There's a live performance on You Tube with Stevie Wonder and Sting performing Fragile. Two musical geniuses!

[@parissimons6385]

All great, and would add "Message In A Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon" from the 2nd LP, Regatta de Blanc.

[@xxJOKeR75xx]

The performance with Stevie Wonder is great, but Sting leaves all the spotlight to Stevie. It's great but not a great one to react to if you want to check out Sting.

[@matthewdooley7855]

Driven to Tears is, oddly, such a fun song. Spirits has a great vibe. Don't Stand So Close to Me makes you want to start jumping around.

[@Nirad007]

I think that "if you love someone set them free" was with the police

[@edbluez99]

I was attending a wedding reception where the couple played this as "their" song. Girl standing next to me says "do they realize this song is about stalking?" I replied "apparently not".

[@frankrizzo4460]

And his other song is if you love somebody set them free...

[@pigpen5073]

So in other words, she is a blonde and he is an SOB (son of a blonde)

[@aymee7136]

🤣🤣🤣

[@kardy12]

@@frankrizzo4460 “His other song”, as if he’s only done two?

[@robbob5302]

#Overthinking 🤣

[@jeraldkimball494]

This guy goes by the name Sting and is now a solo artist. He can play most any instrument out there. Hugely talented.

[@debbieholoquist2059]

Yes, he doesn't want to let the love go. And it's a dangerous kind of love because it makes the "loved" person a possession. Imagine knowing that every moment of every day you know that someone is watching all you do.

[@joncaro469]

The song started out as the lead singer, Sting, writing about being in the public eye and never getting a break from being watched and morphed into a song about not letting love go. Sting was asked why he looked so angry in the video and he said he wanted to convey that it was not a happy love song, but quite the opposite.

[@iwannatalktosampson]

This song is played at weddings and other events where people are loving each other. Yet, you are correct. This song is about stalking someone 💯. That's why I laugh when it's played during sentimental moments.

[@lk-music]

When Sting wrote this song, he was staying in the Caribbean, retreating from the negative attention he received for starting a relationship with his neighbour, after separating from his wife. Not just because he was still married, but because his neighbour was also his wife's best friend. So it was in reaction to the criticism he received. Years later Sting reflected that this came across as somewhat stalker-ish, so he wrote 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' as an antidote during his solo career.

[@znk0r]

"Somewhat stalkery" lol

[@jons3808]

Great reaction!! The Police, one of the greatest bands of all time. Stings vocals and Stewart Copeland’s legendary drumming… perfection. They have an amazing catalog.

[@philipkudrna5643]

The lead singer of the band „The Police“ is Sting. He had a solo career later (famous for „Englishman in New York“ or „Fields of Gold“), but also the collab with other Artists (like „All for one“ with Rod Steward and Brian Adams or „Always on your side“.

[@Calamity_Jack]

I laughed when you said you were surprised at how much of the song was sampled for the Puff Daddy/Faith Evans song, "I'll Be Missing You." They apparently didn't get permission to use that sample, so Sting (the lead singer of "The Police" and the songwriter) sued them. He won 100% of the song's royalties and supposedly makes $2,000 a day from those royalties. (Although I personally doubt that's the case these days. It's been a minute.)

[@robertstanford1778]

Recently heard Puff still paying him $5,000.00 a week.

[@tradeladder146]

@@robertstanford1778 Thats True. 👍

[@chamomiletea5424]

They were the 80s soundtrack when I was a kid.. hit after hit.. although I was too young to understand the lyrics, it doesn't take away from the musical genius and good memories ❤️

[@TS4hundo]

This was the original song that was recorded in 1983. Everything else was sampled from this song.

[@bixby9797]

One of the greatest bass lines ever.

[@Mr17051963]

In the 80’s it was just a passionate love song. Now I heard some people talking about the stalker stuff. For me, still is the love song with those misterious 80’s vibes. Good memories! ✌️

[@farmerbill6855]

Haha, we always called this the stalker song. British high school teacher changes name to Sting, assembles a band, calls band the Police for no apparent reason and a rockstar was born. Try on "Roxanne" for size, you'll love it. Lots of other fun tunes too.

[@stephanerbe4985]

It's a song about a stalker hidden in a love songs melody. This is the original. Puff daddy and Faith Evans uses the song for "I'll be missing you"

[@docsavage8640]

Yeah, that was utter sh*t

[@Qualimar]

Great reaction! "Every smile you fake" is one of the creepiest lyrics in any song. It is a great song but very, very dark!

[@CaddyJim]

The frontman playing bass is *Sting* who also have the solo career...

[@marcusrichards402]

This was the number one song of the entire decade of the 1980s. Stayed at number 1 for 8 weeks in 1983. All this according to Billboard Magazine, the industry standard. I was 12 when this song came out. In my mind, it wasn't stalkerish but the whole stalker culture wasn't around til the 90s. In hindsight, it gives off strong stalker vibes, but who knows what the intent was at the time. I enjoy your reactions!

[@kevinfriel6182]

And in 2019 the song became the most played song in radio history, having overtaken ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’.

[@sherribrock2726]

I don’t believe the internet was a part of culture yet. I could be wrong!

[@hebber1961]

Just watched a recent interview where he said he wrote it at a desk of Ian Fleming's. James Bond spy vibes. He was thinking along those lines at the time but likes the fact the song is vague and left it at that.

[@user-or1ye3iz6d]

My favorite band ever, still. And the lead singer, Sting, also has an incredible solo career. Go down both rabbit holes. Amazing musical talent. ❤❤❤

[@distanceismyplastercast]

It's not, despite many peoples miscoception a story of undying love, it's actually about a stalker. No matter where you are or what you're doing "I'll be watching you".

[@ct6502c]

A former lover who couldn't let go after their relationship ended. He's stuck and is obsessed about her.

[@SteveCurie]

Just to be clear this version came way before Diddy's version. Sting who is the lead singer here of the Police actually sang on Diddy's version.

[@becksullivan4796]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. The Police. Sting. Such greatness no one sounds like them

[@jonathanross149]

Biggest hit for a great band.

[@moniquevandoorn8347]

Singer Sting once told that several times couples told him that this song represented them as a couple. And then he thought: o my god, that must be a real sick relationship, because the song is not about love. It is about a creepy threatening stalker. The lyrics and even the melody should make that crystal clear in my opinion.

[@erikjeffreys2144]

I remember when this song came out in 1983. I was 13. I used to watch it every time in came on MTV. The neighbor girl, "Sherry" dedicated this song to her boyfriend, all the while in my heart, I silently dedicated it to her. Crushhhhhhh. She never knew.

[@darrinlindsey]

This was my favorite song as I graduated high school in '84

[@georgeglasser8220]

Geddy Lee from Rush plays bass and keyboards as well as lead singer.

[@chrise3099]

Whisky in a jar song by thin lizzy. Bass guitarist and singer was Phil lynott. Also a song called black coffee by humble pie. Live version with the blackberries as back up singers.

[@c.s.m.k5737]

Taking me back to the 80s...nostalgia!

[@hiphopnerd1425]

Greatest stalker song

[@michellegault4122]

Rush also has a singer who plays bass. Also the Beatles.

[@Festus171]

You can't go wrong exploring the Police or Sting's solo work. Brilliant is not a strong enough word to describe his artistry.

[@angelagoodwin5758]

I agree. He's a musical genius.

[@russelljoslinjr4387]

Basically, all of it was "sampled" for that song!😂

[@pamagnolia]

Stewart Copeland was the founding member of The Police. Restless, Stewart decided to form a trio fashioned on the vibe and energy of punk music. He would call this project “The Police,” a provocative name in its time that capitalized on the everyday brawls that broke out between punks and law enforcement: a regular police presence in the streets of London meant free marketing for his band.

[@davidmhewett44]

Copeland is so underrated as a drummer.

[@dougcoombes8497]

As they admitted years later, they weren't really a punk band, they all dyed their hair blond and acted punk so they could get gigs. They were a genre all their own as far as I'm concerned.

[@ak99uk]

Thee three were in a band with Mike Howlett (from Gong), called Strontium 90 before starting the Police.

[@dougcoombes8497]

@@davidmhewett44 Not just a drummer, he's also an excellent composer with many movies and TV shows to his credit. Everyone in the band is an artist including Andy Summers who is an amazing guitarist with many solo albums.

[@s026]

Is this the one he sampled the snare on the saturn 5 booster. Or was that a myth despit the video

[@TexasMagnolia]

Bruce Hornsby and The Range - The Way It Is…..Huge Surprise.

[@iancremmins4727]

you are in an ideal situation by not knowing so many great bands and singers, i have been basically drip fed them over my life but you get to tap into them whenever you want to hear a new hit, i will download this for my little ipod shuffle just because of the memories it is associated with. you will never run out of music you haven't heard before, what a blessing

[@chicochi3]

Saw the Police in Memphis, TN at the Orpheum Theatre in 1978. Only about 100 people showed up so the band told us to all come on down to the front. Their big song at the time was Roxanne. The next years they filled the Midsouth Coluseum in the same city. Paul McCartney played bass while singing lead. The name "Police" was a little inconvenient when the MC tried to tell us that the police had a car that needed to be moved because it was parked in the wrong place. He had to come back and clarify "The Memphis Police."

[@philipkudrna5643]

Yes, „I‘ll be missing you“ is a cover of the early 80ies Police original „Every breath you take“.

[@larryclark4297]

This song is played in a lot of Movies

[@AgentZ1OO1]

'Walking on the moon' is another great song with an exceptional famous drum playing!

[@Meeshrick]

More RnB and Rap artist songs are sampled from classic rock songs in their entirety...more then than you think

[@CaddyJim]

*#ThePolice** (Roxanne)* *(Message-in-a-bottle)* *(Don't stand so close to me)*

[@jamiewilson9280]

There are loads of bass players who sing at the same time. The most obvious of which is Paul McCartney from the Beatles!

[@doughaviland1729]

Geddy Lee of RUSH is the lead singer, bass and keys player! TOM SAWYER is a must.

[@mazman4268]

Probably the number one bass player lead singer would be Paul McCartney. From a little band you may have heard of called the Beatles.

[@Miblive]

Almost. Number one bass player is Geddy Lee from Rush.

[@chicochi3]

John Waite with the Babys.

[@danieljohnston1798]

Founding member, drummer Stewart Coplands dad was also in the CiA,. As well as the fight between punks and cops thing.

[@brianburwick5175]

haven't seen any comments specifically about the music video, so here goes... `On October 5, 2022, Billboard officially released a statement confirming that the music video for "Every Breath You Take" surpassed one billion views on KZbin. `1st MTV cinematography award for this video `to the best of my knowledge there are 4 versions of this video, a black&white tint, a red tint, a blue tint, and a yellow tint.

[@soozcueful]

Ahh cool. I don’t recall seeing other tinted videos back in the day but those are the colours splashed across the album cover art for Synchronicity- from which this song came

[@janawayne]

A great rabbit hole for you - check out Don't Stand so close to me, Wrapped around my finger, since you liked this one! But everything they did including Sting as a solo artist is worthy

[@BenRollinsActor]

“The Police,” a provocative name in its time that capitalized on the everyday brawls that broke out between punks and law enforcement: a regular police presence in the streets of London meant free marketing for his band.

[@omvan996]

❤❤.. i listen this song when on the way riding my bike😁

[@sentokigames151]

First time I heard this song was during a Stephen King Movie called Cat's eyes. About James Wood smoking.

[@lonnyjohnson2061]

Don't know if it's the song you're remembering, but there was a group that sampled this song without asking Sting's permission. He sued, won, and all the royalties from that song are paid to him. Made him a ton of money.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Dont you hate it when a beautiful girl says, "its your girl", and she unfortunately isnt? Lol. What a gorgeous creature. Whomever is yours is one lucky guy.

[@shortaybrown]

Geddy Lee of Rush plays the bass and sings. Paul McCartney. The singer from The Outfield. Lots of them

[@neilburgess9652]

first single I ever bought. Love this so much

[@philipkudrna5643]

This song is actually one of the less musically complex songs of „The Police“ sting and his friends were actually famous for unconventional chord progressions and intricate and complex musical turns. The „easy listening“ feel of this one is actually rather and exception!

[@BobSmith-lb9nc]

The band founder (Copeland) was the son of a very important CIA executive, and likely named the band for the surveillant sense of the CIA. Sting is the brilliant singer-bassist, also a successful actor.

[@gandalfshakur8235]

i used to research all the music behind all the gangsta rap songs from the nineties and colored my own collection accordingly

[@rickb.4168]

Puff diddly daddly, released a tribute song. the tribute song, was just a really poplar song with a few words changed. WOW! the effort he put in for his friend, makes my heart break!!

[@wgdavis5353]

Hi Ms. Britt, I think that every day, every hour during the Summer of 1983 this song was on the Radio.. ♠W.G.

[@gallery963]

Would like to see you react to their song "Roxanne"

[@TexasMagnolia]

This great song was released in the decade where things weren’t analyzed to death.

[@farmerbill6855]

Ah, the good old days, I remember them.

[@planojag595]

So true!

[@chicochi3]

Tom Evans of Badfinger often played bass while singing lead.

[@jonroux9291]

Lead singer bass players, two names come to mind. Geddy Lee of the band RUSH and Doug Pinnick of the band KINGS-X.

[@badvlad9861]

Mr Mister bass player is also the lead singer ! Watch "Broken Wings" and you'll see exactly that !

[@JeffMartinEquinox]

I'm so glad you got on the Police. Can't wait for you to do more + Sting (solo)

[@cheryla7480]

When several people told Sting that this was their favourite song. He replied “ I don’t know why, it’s about a creepy stalker !”

[@Bekka_Noyb]

You should check out these Police songs: Synchronicity 2, Spirits in the Material World & Everything She Does Is Magic

[@plotmaker]

I was leaving a casino with my girlfriend a couple of years ago and we heard another Police song playing in the elevator, "I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing...". We looked at each other and couldn't catch our breath from the laughter!

[@LenStgelais]

Getty Lee from Rush is playing base and is the singer also 😉

[@metracy42]

Sting (lead singer,bassist & lyricist on this song) said he was disconcerted by how many people have hugely misunderstood this song. He insists it is about the obsession with a lost lover, and the jealousy and surveillance that follow. (what we call stalking now). He said "One couple told me 'Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!' I thought, 'Well, good luck.’ When asked why he appears angry in the music video, Sting told BBC Radio 2, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite. And he has said it was a female stalking a male. I think it came from personal experience. It was the ‘80’s so my memory is a little hazy. I was a huge Police fan at the time. Even though I knew what the song was about, I still love/d it haha! Xx

[@haydenwittig8877]

Imagine a song like this in 2023 NO this quality is long gone the 80s was the greatest for music LIVE AID 1985 never leaves our minds.

[@vinnywarren2144]

Lovely geordie accent(Newcastle England)nice review 🇬🇧👍

[@James-ko3gw]

Sting, the lead singer was originally a school teacher.

[@FredtheFrisian]

Yeah, I think there were definitely a lot of people that didn't listen to the lyrics when this song was a hit and thought of this as a love song, but it's far from it, it's about a very possessive character; it's disturbing. In fact Sting made a song later which expressed the opposite "if you love someone, set them free". All the best from the Netherlands!

[@kevindohn6776]

Yes you have !!! If you've done any RUSH reactions, lead singer is the bassist, and I'm sure i could think of some others

[@tommylee5121]

Hi Britt love your reaction you have a wonderful channel plz keep up the wonderful work you are doing ❤❤

[@JackSmith-hx8zh]

Paul McCartney of the Beatles was also a bassist, some 20 years before.

[@boricuaprepper4949]

This could be the number one song of this decade

[@gamesman0118]

The stalker anthem.

[@chicochi3]

Or my dogs at lunch time. 😛

[@Isleofskye]

Stalking is overrated, It's not the game it was..

[@donrobbie1461]

I went to school in the same town (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England) with Sting's girlfriend and then wife Trudy Styler. Being at an all boys school we had girls from the local high school join us for plays and Trudy was one of them who joined us!!

[@donnaneville192]

Check out Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic or Roxanne by the Police. Not sure how they came up with name of band, have heard different stories.

[@artfisk3]

this song is about vengence !

[@thedeceiver5545]

The singer and writer Sting makes 3 million dollars a year just from the Diddy track, which wasn't properly cleared when the song was released. When they came to the table for a settlement, Sting said that's easy, I want 100% of writing in perpetuity . And he got it.

[@chrisjohnson1599]

You need to hear "Don't Stand So Close to Me"

[@throwabrick]

I am not sure where the name comes from, but they started as Stewart Copeland the drummer looking for talent for a punk band, he found Sting playing bass in a jazz band. They were both very technically gifted musicians, and they got a lot of grief for not being "Real Punks" because of their chops. Like The Clash, they combined Jamaican influences with their punk rock, so lots of ska and reggae sounding grooves. Stewart is a world-class drummer and his fills and poly-rhythms are brilliant while remaining groovy. The Police was one of the bands that really made me listen to the production when I was a kid, almost a Pink Floyd touch to the layering and space. Also, for reference: Rush and Motorhead both have bass players as lead singers. If you haven't reacted to Rush yet, Geddy Lee has a distinctive high voice. Check out Subdivisions, an 80s classic track that is very accessible.

[@lorddaver5729]

Can't help noticing you don't mention the third member of Police, guitarist Andy Summers. A bit insulting, wouldn't you agree? He is as good a guitarist as Stewart Copland is a drummer.

[@throwabrick]

​@@lorddaver5729 I didn't mention Andy because they hadn't found him yet. The group started off as Stewart and Sting with another guitarist. Andy joined a few months later. So no, I would not agree it is insulting. I was talking about how The Police formed, and Andy had nothing to do with that.

[@scottyarthuraustralia7567]

The band Motor head their lead singer the late great godfather of heavy metal music. Lemmy Kilmister also played bass and sang lead too

[@JanHKlijn]

Singers bass players: Paul McCartney, Meshell Ndegeocello, Esperanza Spalding.......

[@steveeverett1736]

I always had the feeling it was more about a love that had been broken, fractured beyond repair and how he's wanting to 'swoop in' at the right moment to 'rescue' her but he doesn't realize how broken he is

[@joeluv0078]

Top of my head... Jackie Blades of Night Ranger. Lead Singer & Bass Geddy Lee of RUSH. Lead Singer & Bass.

[@rowanmayfair9249]

Ultimate stalker song!!!!

[@steveross8364]

"I don't like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats is another almost forgotten classic from the end of the 70's. Made in the early days of the music video so the video is a bit ropy but the song is good. Another good Police song is "Don't Stand So Close To Me". Both might be worth a react?

[@module79l28]

And many people don't know that "I Don't Like Mondays" is about another very dark subject.

[@steveross8364]

@@module79l28 Agreed. Both songs I mentioned are about darker subjects.