What Makes This Song Great? "Walking on the Moon" The Police

[@nunancreative8932]

Modern songwriters could learn a lot by just studying what ISN'T in this track. The use of space is so refreshing in contrast to today's mixes.

[@melrupinski88]

Spot on, as a band, they had an uncanny knack for making the spaces between notes sound great too.

[@tinusplotseling3130]

@@melrupinski88 Yes! Thats exactly what i was thinking recently. What’s really great about the new wave sound, is the space that exists in between the notes. Makes it feel dark, deep and blue-ish. Wonderful

[@buney]

Yeah!

[@spindriftdrinker]

Space is so important in pop, and underutilized. Like the second of silence in "Good Vibrations", before the final chorus.

[@cvn6555]

Whole sections where all you really hear are the hats? Never happen today.

[@stevenbyrd2188]

A good example of what Rick has always reminded viewers: "Before there were pro tools, there were pros." The Police were pros.

[@bobbywilson1132]

I hadn't heard this before. I love it. I'm gonna use this.

[@mattygee5000]

And before there was autotune, there were people IN tune..just sayin'..

[@blackdog2006]

Best quote ever

[@IndigoJo]

Pro Tools makes amateurs think they're pros, and think their bedroom is Abbey Road. Some great artists can't produce to save their lives, but their results are actually released.

[@monitor4208]

As an amateur, I can tell, that it’s hard work, to get my ideas into something like a song or track. Struggling with my lack of ability to master my instruments, and to master the software. But it’s fun anyway.

[@secularZoo]

It's great that Rick has interviewed all the Police, and not the other way around. 🤣

[@wesleyalan9179]

😂

[@vincentbull]

Bravo 😂

[@Musicarbs]

The police would completely beato rick

[@PraiseIommi]

Ba dum tss

[@Boethius411]

@@Musicarbshey, that’s my story😂😂😂. Rick can’t have it. 😇

[@ggghhhbbnjjjbb2330]

I'm a guitar player, but when I listen to these guys I can't keep my ears off the drums. The drumming is mesmerising.

[@ronaldlogan7983]

Stewart is amazing

[@mrfuzz6744]

Agreed and same - guitar player myself but the drums (and bass for that matter) grab me with the Police. I guess the only other similar band like that would be Rush, also a three-piece :)

[@ericgood8960]

Copeland's drums define the Police's primary sound, followed closely by Sting's bass. Summers guitar rounds it out, but it's nowhere near as important to capturing the Police sound as he would like you to think.

[@ggghhhbbnjjjbb2330]

He's like a gracefully drunk gymnast/ballet dancer on meth. All over the place but he never falls over and somehow it all hangs together beautifully. Completely bamboozles my brain listening to it.

[@jimyoung9262]

Dude...same...amazing drumming

[@drew19799]

Rick teaches me how to listen to songs I’ve heard hundreds of times before.

[@aaronsmith2611]

Agreed. I've been playing music for nearly 40 years. I started off by playing covers that I had to learn from cassette tapes. That meant a lot of focusing on parts, play, rewind, play, and repeat. And because of that I've developed my ear to pick up a lot of things most listeners don't hear. It's actually a very different way to listen to music and often makes it difficult to listen to songs as a whole. That said, with this series that Rick does, I notice how much I still miss.

[@vedsomaiya7110]

The stark difference between "listening" and "hearing"

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Rick teaches me that he and his fans idolize crap pop 'music' just like Orwell predicted would happen. Tavistock is real.

[@drew19799]

@@pharmerdavid1432 weird take but ok.

[@IggyB-Music]

He finally brought back the series with one of the best bands ever Respect 🙏🙏

[@robertmasteller6509]

...keep it up...

[@johndodson4527]

Reggie jazola

[@Compassiron1]

Amen!

[@IggyB-Music]

@@robertmasteller6509 eeyo yo yo yo yoooo…

[@IggyB-Music]

@@justinsayin3979heck yea I would love to see that

[@TheBassOnTheBass]

Rick, The Police are the biggest music influence of my life. I decided to become a musician at 16 because of them and the Beatles. Twenty years on, I pay my morgage and my bills by singing opera, far away from home, where I started in my bedroom, listening to The Police and dreaming someday of jumping on the stage with my bass. God bless them, they motivated me all the way through my ups and downs. When I was listening to their music I could feel the energy of a rock band choesion, of art through adversity, of an immortal force that will live on, to quote Andy Summers, "long after the three Police members are all long gone". Sting came to one of my performances last year at the Salzburg Festival where I was singing right in front of him ... and Stewart liked and said "bravo" to my Acustic rendition of Walking on the Moon on Instagram. Not bad, for me, the little Italian who couldn't hold a note for dear life. Life is great, and music lasts a lifetime. Ciao from Austria!

[@TheHelicapt]

Sting and the police are the reason I learned how to play bass guitar. Huge influence on me growing up. Amazing music.

[@cristiannunez2117]

Nice circle of life, ha❤

[@eggchipsnbeans]

A lovely story

[@rachelar]

How can I become a pro opera singer

[@TheBassOnTheBass]

@@rachelar hard work, hard work... and some more hard work

[@speedypete07gnarly]

That whole record is pure gold.

[@FecklessCowboy]

Actually it was Vinyl… 🥴

[@Luftmysza.]

Yea honestly it blew me away in a way which not many albums do

[@nathanr5825]

Every song they made is pure gold. Fixed it for you

[@IggyB-Music]

Heck yea one of favorites to this day

[@dabu73]

maybe not “On any other day” lol but the other songs are amazing

[@geoffmarr7526]

In 1978/79 we saw the Police live at Bruce Stadium in Canberra. It was a warm spring evening, we were 'enhanced' and had superb sight and sound. Easilly 10,000+ in audience. They kicked off with Walking On The Moon. The whole place went deadset frikkin nuts. Two hours of bliss. One of the most joyous concerts I ever attended.

[@shiv2033]

Yeah, we need this series to never end.

[@flinx649]

Rick is a great interviewer... but I like the song is great series the best.

[@btimec5290]

One a week please!!

[@mstephencrowell]

@@flinx649 I like how he incorporated his interviews into the mix of this, made it even that much better!

[@Mar-up7db]

The atmosphere in this song is still unmatched.

[@japhyryder66]

Yes! I feel the same way about “Tea In The Sahara”.

[@martinnelson8382]

Atmosphere? I thought the song was called walking on the moon.

[@ando-ryu]

That guitar riff at the start is like a Time Machine. Straight back.

[@darthlaurel]

And when I think about all the hot trash making it in the radio today.....smdh.

[@LowEarthOrbitPilot]

The closest I could think of was ‘Dream Weaver’ (Gary Wright)

[@kurtdejgaard]

Living in rural Denmark without music stores in the nearest village and Danish State Radio as the only source (on rare occasions) to listen to new music, at 14 years of age I spent some of the first money I earned working at a local car repair shop to buy a transistor radio. And when everyone else on the farm was sleeping, I'd lie i bed, tuning in to Radio Luxembourg. "Walking on the Moon" was one of the first things I heard. It was a revelation. Never heard anything like it. This wasn't your typical 3 or 4-chord pop or rock song. This was... Sophisticated!... Mysterious!... Same for Randy Crawford and the Crusaders playing "Street Life". All these new sounds I had never imagined. "Don't stop til you get enough" by Michael Jackson, "Cars" by Gary Numan, "Is she really going out with him?" by Joe Jackson and the for RL somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Buggles. All within the first few weeks of owning that Blaupunkt transistor radio. I've never smoked anything stronger than tobacco. But those few weeks to months, I was high as a kite!

[@dancarter482]

Damn DUDE; I teared-up reading that! I was a snot-nosed latchkey kid in London at the time. Gary Newman and The Police changed my life, yeah and I LOVE Randy Crawford.

[@nikodraganic]

Radio Luxembourg brought forward entire generations of alternative and rock subcultures in former Yugoslavia in the time when western music couldn't be found on the radio or in record stores. Even though those generations were denied many of the freedoms we now take for granted, somehow they still had that joy of discovering music and connecting through music, which, for the most part today, is lost. Except for this channel, and this man right here, Rick.❤

[@lauriesuzanne8848]

Ohhh what GREAT memories! Randy Crawford is totally mag!

[@obbadda]

Meeee tooo! *_Thank you so much_* for sharing that powerful experience of discovery and awe. ​@@dancarter482

[@user-po3ir2tx5z]

Ah... memories of RTL. "Sends magic through the air!"

[@rolandlickert2904]

I'm 75 years old and it's one of my favourite songs. Have all police CDs.

[@jimplummer4879]

I had all of their LPS back in the day.

[@Forceprincess]

After all of these years, the music of the police still sound like magic

[@VINZBROWN]

Abbbbsolutely ❤❤❤❤

[@tchristianphoto]

Stewart Copeland's minimalist and highly, highly variable drumming is a masterclass on how to say more with less.

[@matthewperry2767]

Less is definitely relative when you’re Talking about him cuz he was very busy in certain aspects

[@mattraino3274]

Uh what? Just the fact the man has a gong says Stuart is NOT a minimalist…..you’re thinking Ringo.

[@sundaynightdrunk]

If you watch his Rick Beato interview, he had no idea what Sting and Andy were doing half the time, so he mostly did his own thing and they tended to like it.

[@automachinehead]

i think him and jeff porcaro are the rawest drummers in the business

[@feloniousmonk3049]

@@sundaynightdrunk /\ Facts! But seriously, Copeland, in terms of style, is really up there, with Bonham, The Professor, Neale Peart, Jeff Porcaro and Bernard Purdy. At least, in my lifetime, those are the top rated that come to me as really standing out.

[@Gunterlooker]

What makes this "what makes this song great" video even greater than others, is the fact that Rick has interviewed the three members of the band and has exclusive insights into the creation, recording and production. No one else can do this!

[@wildbeanz]

My thoughts exactly.

[@alexmartell2432]

I can't believe "what makes this song great" is back! So awesome! Rick has an awesome ear, and he gives you the confidence to attempt to emulate him. Wow that Guitar tone!

[@travkatz]

Rick Beato belongs in the hall of Fame

[@matthewperry2767]

No

[@purplebondsaiyan2987]

He's in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame just got Inducted This Year

[@matthewperry2767]

@@purplebondsaiyan2987 Ra-Cha-Cha

[@markmcarthy596]

Hall of Fame is No longer worthy of the Best. Was-but not anymore

[@DeanCameron]

There should be a Beato Award.

[@michaelpoe8332]

I like it when he says " did you hear that?" , then he singles out the track and I say " now I do" . then that part stands out more than anything else

[@paulcoffland8673]

These elder musicians who didn't fry their brains back in the day are so smart and technical- it's a master class whenever they speak and Rick is able to make it relatable.

[@VINZBROWN]

A PERFECT comment!!!

[@phildarwell655]

I remember Sting one saying "it's not just about the notes you play, but the gaps in between". Perfectly demonstrated here. Wonderful band.

[@backslash68]

perfectly demonstrated on track bed's too big without you, I mean the gap left by the bass there is one whole measure!

[@boriss.861]

Sting could have been made aware or heard someone like Vladimir Horovitz who was a Master in music being made by the space in-between the notes and can be perfectly seen in black and white by the compositions of Frederick Chopin who's compositions only come to life if space is made between the notes. Glenn Gould ( Bach Goldberg Variations).. Nigel Kennedy ( Vivaldi Seasons) these broke the mould.

[@templarpunk9332]

Moving to bass in my current group after over 30 years playing guitar has taught me a lot about the value of space, especially in the low end. Nothing muddies up a song like the bass player carrying on like a coked-up Jaco Pastorius.

[@rohandoe8361]

I have said for 40 years that the drumming in this song is as good as it gets. But I never knew WHY it was so good, or HOW they did it … until today. Thank you Rick for educating me, and a bigger thank you to Stewart Copeland for creating such magic.

[@jonashormann5700]

Glad to hear 'What makes this song great' is making a return :)

[@NickKoziupa]

I remember standing in front of a stereo at Sears as an eight year old in 1979 listening to this for the first time and being totally confused and mesmerized.

[@brettocheltree7437]

I don’t believe in perfection, but the Police’s music is perfect.

[@hcp2395]

My friend , I agree completely with you. Perfect music = police.

[@jwallacephoto]

Love how every instrument has their own space, nobody is interfering with anyone else!

[@Yellowtruck55]

That's a good point, especially on such a sparse, uncluttered piece of music.

[@andercoyote4170]

This song is all about space…

[@earthangel7620]

@@andercoyote4170😂

[@TjByers369]

@@andercoyote4170 😏

[@domo3552]

Exactly.. That's the genius and discipline of musicians who put the arrangement and the song first, the musicians themselves are humble enough to see themselves as mere conduits to the song, as 'enablers' and 'facilitators' to the song, without ego getting in the way.

[@gregb91401]

That 1st chord Andy Summer plays is very similar to the opening chord for Hard Days Night

[@markbayer1665]

Was just thinking exact same thing

[@zippitydoodah5693]

That hit me as well

[@mrminor9418]

Got on here to say the same

[@mikenicholson7465]

Singing: Giant steps are what you take and I've been working like a dog.

[@markbayer1665]

@@mikenicholson7465 bwahaha. That interview got me digging thru my old vinyl. Required a trip to the basement to retrieve this one

[@adlovett9831]

I'm obsessed with the Police and never noticed the synthesiser or piano before. Thank you for enlightening me Mr. beato.

[@brianhackett-jl3hc]

My thought too! I've been listening to this song for 45 years, learned how to play it for a band I was in, and never noticed the synth!

[@RCAvhstape]

I noticed the pad but never thought much of it, never noticed those sci fi noises before.

[@jackblah5842]

18:15 how could we have never noticed that warble! Incredible

[@thebelgian1959]

Same here never knew

[@pitchforker3304]

The Police were ahead of their time. So grateful each member sat with Rick Beato to talk music and song writing. Other bands would be wise to follow The Police, again.

[@danfromnorcal]

Rick is like his own industry. As you say, every band that wants to remain relevant should contact Rick.

[@antimoricciardi7508]

I well remember when I was dancing to it (actually, I let its energy flow through me) in the 80s. And just a year ago, I was at a Sting concert with my 2 teenage children who were going wild just like me 40 years later. The joy, the power, the beauty of their music knows no barriers. No band has managed to cross generations as if time meant nothing. Then as now, The Police are simply a "stand alone band". 13:43

[@CaptainReedo40]

High school marching band trip through Italy in 1986, listened to this song maybe 100,000 times, on a yellow “Sports” Walkman. Good times.

[@jmazoso]

Still have my Sports Walkman, i was cool when i got it for Christmas.

[@CorbCorbin]

Was it the one they advertised to hang from the shower head? 😆

[@AngelHadzi]

I had the same Sports Walkman back in Argentina in the same year! really good times!

[@aboczsr]

Great time to be alive. Remember what it was like to go to a record store when a new album from a fav band came out? Pure joy!

[@WichhartAcres]

Core memory

[@sarajamus]

The speed at which I clicked on the notification….! My all time fave Police song!!

[@IThinkYouLookLarvely]

Same here, I clicked on it and the video had zero comments, then tons of them within seconds!

[@Yakaru1]

Same here.

[@jmeakin4]

Same!

[@YOURTECHFRIEND]

Agree, one of my absolute favorites if not THE favorite track. There's just something about it! 🎸😎

[@330thcube]

Mine too! It's so chill and has a little bit of a nostalgic feel to it

[@verified.my2cents]

Sting has said he was drunk in a hotel room when the riff came into his head. He started singing 'Walking round the room, ya, ya, walking round the room" - had to share, once you hear that - you never forget it.

[@eatmoremusic3650]

Walking round, walking round the rooom

[@mightyV444]

In Munich, apparently 😊

[@cbeserra]

It’s an odd song. Unique to my ears.

[@jalphabet5]

I've been drunk lots of times and never devised anything this brilliant!

[@Nyquest]

The ‘Walking back from your house’ lyric was in reference to a thought about Stings previous girlfriend in Newcastle. He said in 2003 Deborah Anderson was my first real girlfriend...walking back from Deborah's house in those early days would eventually become a song, for being in love is to be relieved of gravity.

[@dawudabdullaah6977]

Man, that song is one of my favorite jams. Once I was riding in my car blasting "Walking On The Moon", and after it ended my little cousin, who is seven, said "I like that song."

[@Notelvispresleymyself]

as a 2011, 13 year old, this music is a lot better than whatever pop music is being produced right now.

[@psh6654]

I would bicycle through the tunnel of the Rijsmuseum in Amsterdam yelling out Police chants "E-Oh E-Oh Yo Yo" in 1980. Great reverb tunnel.

[@achenarmyst2156]

E-Oh E-Oh E-Yo-Yo……. 😊

[@achenarmyst2156]

Yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo YEAAAAAAAH 🎉🎉🎉

[@callingchristiano]

Steinberger stick bass ?

[@VINZBROWN]

RIIIGHT!!!!😂😂❤❤❤

[@sobrien112]

Still fresh, 45 years down the road. Amazing.

[@JulienMARY]

That's the genius of Sting. His production doesn't age.

[@isabel1983]

The bass on Walking on the Moon is just sublime, the drumming as well. Incredibly composed to say the least.

[@robertp457]

It was the second song I learned on bass and it's one of my favorites.

[@demian900]

And the great Sting with his great and unique voice

[@isabel1983]

@@demian900 of course! 😉🙌🏼

[@raycathode1997]

I had to figure out the baseline too… on the piano

[@micv5149]

Thank the maker you have brought this series back, my god the internet has been a wasteland without this series.

[@alxra]

The music from the Police is literally timeless.

[@BassByTheBay]

The most reggae song they did was "The Bed's Too Big Without You" from the same album. I'll never forget the first time I heard "Walking". I had convinced my mom to give me some money to buy Regatta de Blanc, and I was excitedly listening to it on the turntable. Before the first measure of Walking even finished, I was transfixed. It's so deeply mysterious, melodic, and rhythmic, I was just instantly hooked.

[@jimmoore8951]

White reggae at its best

[@ichi5974]

@@jimmoore8951you ain’t lied

[@martycusack270]

When I first heard this song I was 22 yrs. old. Of course I was at a party in 79, I looked around the group of people I was with and nobody reacted to this great song! I told myself I have to find some new friends. Thank You.

[@colinjames2469]

good call.

[@brucecall1595]

Regatta de blanc is a masterpiece. Every song.

[@chriscampbell9191]

Exactly.

[@Enigma8750]

Me and my daughter would sing together to this song when we were driving home from her gymnastics practice. I get tears in my eyes when I listen to this song because we had so much fun singing together with it.

[@P-L-J_]

This is some of the best quality content online. Please more of this, Rick.

[@johnhoran9840]

For me, it's the best drumming of Stewart's career. He does so much with so little.

[@terrybartholomew7311]

so little? - he's playing 32nds.....(well the echo makes it sound like that...)

[@indigofruit8710]

What makes Rick great is his ability to discuss music in an interesting way

[@blueberryrazz8637]

When a band influences Rush, you know they're something special :)

[@AngelHadzi]

They influenced everyone! from U2 to Soda Stereo

[@TheCheffer76]

But blueberry is saying they influenced the greatest LIVE band ever. And before you say U2, tell me, has U2 ever roasted 100’s of chickens as their backdrop and then gave the chickens to homeless shelters in every city they played?

[@Antonivs]

@@AngelHadzi and Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Incubus, Pearl Jam, even Van Halen (dirty water dog, Eddie himself told it)

[@RCAvhstape]

Rush was a few years old as a band when the Police came around, but Alex Lifeson always pays attention to newer bands, and he was a huge Police fan.

[@melrupinski88]

@@RCAvhstapeI don’t know if you could truly say anyone influenced Neil Peart at that point, but I know he definitely took an interest in Stewart’s approach to drumming. It’s so amazingly cool that those two became such close friends later in life. The videos of them jamming at Stewart’s home studio are pure gold.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

Thank God for the return to "what makes this song great"!!!! I learn so much when these songs are taken apart and analyzed.

I was 12 and it was the first 45 rpm I have ever bought. Since then, I have never stopped listening to these great musicians

[@murphyphillipsmusic]

The drums on this song are so cool.

[@freefallin6871]

The creativity of that band was off the charts to the extent that they were really their own genre in that it was a fusion of so many. In 50 years time, their music will still hold up.

[@VINZBROWN]

YESSSSS... to all that you said

[@AlerieHightower]

So glad to see this series back! Hearing Stewart Copeland isolated makes my entire week. 🥁

[@alexkatsanos8475]

One of the best lines from an 80's song "walking home from your house....walking on the moon" I see him coming back from her house and you really like her and she really likes you and it's so early in your relationship...there is so much hesitation in the song that creates that sustained tension...he met Trudy walking down the street...and lived literally right next to her in 77...

[@RobDircks]

probably my favorite lyric ever. It brings me back to my youth every time, captures that moment of young love like no other lyric

[@wisemoon40]

Man, every song on every album The Police made…amazing. And to end their run at the high point with Synchronicity? Perfect. One of my favorite bands.

[@benlarcombe4591]

This album has the quality of time transportation. I remember where I was, what I was doing, who I was doing it with and just being pleased that I could dance with a big smile on my face, lost in the song …… Thank you Police.😊

[@Lexy-O]

"When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" from Zenyatta Mondatta has brilliant production too.

[@dancarter482]

_CHOON!_ For my money that was their last great LP. All went a bit sideways after that.

[@Lexy-O]

I like Ghosts in the Machine but not Synchronicity

[@Ozymandi_as]

It sounds as fresh, and as original, as it did in 1979, with each band member making his own distinctive contribution. Although relatively simple in its arrangement and production, it could only The Police. Rick's interviews were fascinating, often hilarious and very revealing of how on band struggled to contain so much talent.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

“What’s amazing is that there is so much space in the arrangement.” Yes. I’m so glad to see this series come back, and this is a great song to kick-start it with. Thanks, Rick.

[@boardbraker1]

Bring it back! Don't ever stop making these!!!

[@timmytuneuptooker3543]

It's my favorite POLICE song! And I'm so glad that you highlighted it! It's perfect absolutely freaking perfect. And nobody writes songs like this anymore which is a sad sad sad but you know when the police hit the stage I saw them at the tower theater. I've never seen anything like that in my life. They were a bright flame and that burns fast. I mean the Taurus pedals the echo all that stuff man it was bananas. And I was listening to return to forever and weather report and Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke and all that stuff prior to the police hitting the stage. In high school we played Spain by Chick Corea so it took a lot to really shake me up. But that was the song for me. Thank you so much Rick Beato

[@jeffreywolfe1]

45 years after Regatta came out -- it's still absolutely perfect. Everything about it. Stuart's drumming on Walking On The Moon -- Foundational, generational......I run out of adjectives. My 16 year old self remains speechless and grateful beyond words. Thank you, Mr. Beato, for interviewing all three.

[@alainsuero65]

That album is a masterpiece, and that song elevates simplicity to an artform.

[@yonitznkc]

One of my fav’ jam tunes by The Police: “Voices Inside My Head.” Soloing over it is fun, practicing sneaking in modalities. But I’ll even dance to it, over-and-over. I’ll even pass cars on the highway to it. It’s infectious!

[@hux2000]

Same with "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around", right after it. Zenyatta Mondatta is a great jamming album and "Voices..." is for sure one of the best tracks on it!

[@achenarmyst2156]

Tschak……

[@jdecamp100]

This wonderfully plaintive, haunting, otherworldly reggae tune is my favorite song of theirs. I could listen to it 100 times in a row and it would be fresh and exquisite every time!

[@Frank-Lee-Speeking]

Until Rick explained why in this episode, it had never once occurred to me that this song was influenced by reggae.

[@ramonrojasalmuzara290]

I cherish the memories of the day I saw The Police live. Not only that one but the ones that went from getting the tickets until the very evening of the concert, the anticipation. It was october 1983 and also Sting's birthday, there was a cake Andy pulled on stage and all the audience sang happy birthday to our idol. Memorable night

[@maryvallas772]

And there was 7 year old me in 1979, just thinking... "This song is cool!" Not having any idea how revolutionary it was or that I would still love it and The Police so much, 45 years later!

[@dwh8310]

...and there was 18 year old me wondering if your legs could actually break walking on the moon, and also thinking what the heck is that guy doing on his drum set?

[@voskresene]

One of my favorite Police songs of all time.

[@betamax-vhs-super8978]

I dreamed of videos like this when I was a 15 year old listening to this on headphones, trying to figure out what The Police were doing to create this magic. Thank you, Rick!

[@charlesabboud1613]

I’ve been listening to this song for 45 years, but what an education, thank you Rick!!

[@doug1e1]

1st record ever purchased...never get bored of listening to it....40years later ❤

[@robber_h]

This is the song that got me 'into' The Police. I remember hearing it on the radio one night in 1979 and thinking, "Man, that's great!". Since then, The Police have been one of my favourite bands. Brilliant.

[@marcogme]

Wow, all these years hearing this song and never noticed that synth. Beato, you are the best.

[@jasonremy1627]

Please keep bringing this series back! I miss it so much!

[@OZRIC1985]

I was hooked on this song from the first time I heard it on the radio back then. I was already a huge Police fan by then, and I bought all 5 studio albums each time they were released. What an incredibly talented and innovative band they were.

[@gib59er56]

Stu is the glue that holds them together. Amazing drummer.

[@ComDocH]

This is songwriting at its best. Andy, Sting and Stewart bring their A games. It’s astonishingly simple, but no other band but The Police could have created it.

[@lordstanley34]

Think about all the times you listened to this song back in the day, grinning ear to ear, singing (or playing) along, enjoying every minute of it. And then fast-forward to today where Rick explains why you were so happy. Greatest Tuesday ever...

[@renatosantosneto]

It's one of my favorite albums of all time. Message In A Bottle, Regatta de Blanc, Bring On The Night, Walking On The Moon and The Bed's Too Big Without You

[@wattage2007]

To my 9 year old ears at the time, it was the strange distant sound of the voice and the unusual rim side-stick sound which totally turned me onto this song, and to a career in music. Thanks guys!

[@glennmartin4232]

As time moves on their music is becoming more and more special. One of the great bands.

[@leftwrite]

During the 'Synchronicity' tour stop in Austin, the Police played a now gone outdoor amphitheater called the South Park Meadows. I'll never forget that night. There were 30,000 people in attendance. During their set the weather turned and a very strong wind popped up and started blowing everything around. As the Policed started playing "Walking on the Moon" a large full moon rose above the top of the amphitheater highlighting the swirling dust caused by the wind - it was other worldly. With that song playing as the moon rose in the wind, it was beyond perfect. If only iPhones had been around then to capture the image.

[@mc400cricket2]

I was at that show and remember that cold front blowing through during their set!

[@patrickwashburn4501]

I was there also; I remember the band took off in a helicopter after the show. I was playing in a ska band at the time and we had a few Police covers in our set.

[@mightyV444]

You don't need an iPhone if your mind still remembers it all perfectly like it seems to! 😉

[@georgie3]

A big reason that the 1970s and this record were great is that there were no iPhones.

[@kadiummusic]

75 -85... the greatest decade in pop music. 😎

[@mirrorblue100]

Yes!

[@rubicon-oh9km]

Nah. 67-77.

[@neilfitzsimmons1800]

Totally agree. So many genres.

[@Jack_Plisken]

That chord you played at the beginning, first made me think of A Hard Days Night - The Beatles

[@carlskinner9376]

It's the exact same chord, note for note

[@BenPinecone]

There it is. I was wondering if anyone else was hearing that.

[@allenshively6374]

Me too!

[@Rawsz-jk2rn]

Great ears hear alike 😂

[@Sloozen1]

In my area this tune was never played on the radio and I'd consider a deep cut. I always loved it and as a young guy I alway thought of it as I walked at night, high. Beautiful.

[@jamesmccusker1433]

The best bands ever growing up. Boston, the Police and Tears for fears. 61 still listening to all of them.

[@darkneal]

I fell in love with the Police after Rick did ‘every little thing she does is magic’ all the way back at the beginning of his Channel. Haven’t stopped listening to them since…so glad this is back

[@jimgorycki4013]

How I loved the Police was when I picked up "Ghost in the Machine" album, then saw them in concert that year. Blown away. I started listening to all of the albums of the three playing before Sting went solo. Reggatta de Blanc is one of my favorite albums.

[@relativetimeworx8459]

The production on this song/album was obviously a big inspiration for a band a few years later: The Fixx.

[@Fdurey]

Nailed it! He uses virtually the same sus chords on many of their songs - Facing The Wind comes to mind specifically.

[@zachary963]

The Fixx is a forgotten legend imo

[@mcclendonreport]

The intro chord to Hard Day's Night resonates with Walking on the Moon.

[@fnjesusfreak]

I knew I couldn't be the only one who noticed that...

[@mcclendonreport]

@@fnjesusfreak Right on!

[@allenshively6374]

I had to search the comments just to see if anyone else thought of this! Hearing that chord all by itself instantly took me there.

[@duggl]

I also hear the beginning of Roxanne.

[@mcclendonreport]

@@duggl not precisely but yes in spirit.

[@russc.9618]

Somewhere in the mid 1990’s I went on a trip with my then girlfriend to Ouchita state park in Arkansas. One night we were camping on the top of a mountain. It was late and we were relaxing around our campfire. There was a thunderstorm kind of circling the mountain with a great lightning and thunder show in the distance, a cool breeze but not raining. This song came on at the perfect moment during all that and it was one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s a great great song. Miss you J.D.

[@idonthavealoginname]

What a track, still sounds fresh in 2024 !

[@greentg9709]

Such is the power of this song, I can still vividly remember the first time I heard it. I was nearly 19 and in work early , it was about 07:30 am and my boss and I were working away with the radio on. The DJ announced that this was the new Police single, which was being played on UK radio for the first time and the minute we heard it, my boss and I looked at each other and said, "this is effing brilliant". We were both heavily into our music and were blown away by the track. Even to this day, every time I hear it, I'm taken back to that morning and how I felt the first time I heard it.

[@andyyouell5037]

This song represents a very, very special moment in contemporary music. Nothing quite like it before, or since.....

[@Gn_Arnold]

Listening to this as I'm driving from a Sting show in The Czech Republic ❤

[@wilhelmrogue1]

Sold out!

[@zegermanscientist2667]

When I travelled internationally a lot back in the day, this was my song to hear as soon as we were above the clouds. Still can't think of a better one.

[@etamommy]

He said one of the most reggae songs the Police did and I would also add to that The Beds too big without you. They had amazing dubby bass lines that hooked ya for the whole song and they wove magic all around those riffs to boot! I really don't think anyone sounded like them. Exotic, Cool, Precise yet rockin and musically sophisticated sounding (at least for rock and roll). Melodies, vocals and lyrics were also usually quite great.

[@TheGunnarRoxen]

The brilliance of leaving space in the recording and drumming for a song called "Walking on the Moon" is so perfect 😀

[@saxonwarrior388]

This brings back a flood of memories, 17 yrs old watching this song on MTV in my grandma's living room, wow. Life was so much more simple then, and I didn't quite realize how special the music was in the 70's and 80's. I always enjoyed The Police, Copeland's drumming was original and crazy good, Sting was one of the best vocalists ever, and Andy was an inspiration in my own playing.

[@howertingsyaboya3789]

Looking back to when this song came out, with cold and hot wars going on all over the world and killing and bombings every week in Northern Ireland along with almost everyone in my country (Republic of Ireland) being very poor, things were quite grim on the whole. But all this bad stuff washed over me as a 15 year old kid with all this amazing music coming out weekly but we just took it for granted at the time that this was just the way things were. Now I realise how lucky we were in many ways.

[@jimyeomans6373]

Thank goodness this is back

[@brucemacmillan9581]

Regatta de Blanc is my fave Police album. Lots of raw energy, but a certain level of polish as well. And great songs from start to finish. ALL KILLER. NO FILLER.

[@philipmarsh3522]

Those guys made some great music together. I think the percussion on this song is one of the best performances I’ve ever heard.