Bring On the POLL - ILM Artist Poll #116 - THE POLICE - (Results Thread)

Oh for sure, as a young Police fan I totally thought of them and Sting in particular as being political. Sting played at those Secret Policemen's Ball shows, did Amnesty International work, he was definitely high up on the '80s do-gooder rocker lists.

Love "Bed's Too Big" and voted for it, such a slinky groove.

"Bed's" an amazing production, with some of Sting's best bass playing.

I believe that *Sting* is political and the band did political stuff. I was talking specifically about the songs, which are by and large *not* political, especially compared to a band like the Clash. No judgement, just saying.

I like this from the Secret Policeman's Other Ball film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo1GRM4FhcI

for a self-avowed not-a-reggae-band, this is an incredible reggae tune

sting’s bass pushed “bed” into my top 5, it’s a groove i could listen to for hours

Do we need a Spotify for this, anyone want to start one?

"The Bed’s Too Big Without You" got 16 votes, 16! It was like a lot of people picked this song as their 19th or 20th selection (guessing as I didn't actually research this).The vote total won't get up this high until song number 17.

https://i.imgur.com/grteOC2.jpg

29. Man in a Suitcase
From: Zenyattà Mondatta
Released: October 3. 1980
200 Points, 7 Votes

This feels like a single, I'm actually shocked it wasn't one.

https://i.imgur.com/zU3SPtu.jpg

28. Demolition Man
From: Ghost in the Machine
Released: October 2, 1981
209 Points, 6 Votes

Demolition Man	209	6	
Man in a Suitcase	200	7	
The Bed’s Too Big Without You	192	16	
I Burn for You	183	5	1
Tea in the Sahara	176	6	
Bombs Away	174	6
Does Everyone Stare	170	6
Contact	165	6
Murder by Numbers	149	5
Shadows in the Rain	148	5
Too Much Information	143	5
Rehumanize Yourself	119	4
Mother	110	4

28	209	6		Demolition Man
29	200	7		Man in a Suitcase
30	192	16		The Bed’s Too Big Without You
31	183	5	1	I Burn for You
32	176	6		Tea in the Sahara
33	174	6		Bombs Away
34	170	6		Does Everyone Stare
35	165	6		Contact
36	149	5		Murder by Numbers
37	148	5		Shadows in the Rain
38	143	5		Too Much Information
39	119	4		Rehumanize Yourself
40	110	4		Mother

I didn't vote for any of these! #hivemind

during 79-80, there is shit tons of footage of this band working it out, due to shooting Police around the world, playing parts of the world that the rock touring market didn't typically fuck with, and them being extraordinarily available for all manner of promo…but when the GitM cycle got going, it was a weird fallow period in terms of live footage: MTV was in its infancy, they were the biggest band on Earth and thus were all of a sudden not so keen to do every tv show (and this band really was HUGE all over the world, in ways that many of their peers were not)…

so there's this: I never heard of this festival until stumbling onto this s while back, which they headlined towards the end of the GitM tour: but it shows the somewhat obscure M.O. midway between 79-80 and 83-84, when they were inescapable. and one matter that maybe you guys can help me out with: during "Invisible Sun," somebody else plays bass while Sting fucks with his keybs…I can't figure out who this was! (you can also watch the band at the first US festival, but there's time coding marring the image, unwatchable)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgE6F-Aj1PY

Wow -- I've never seen Sting playing synth live.

I voted for six of these! (Including my #3.)

xxp - Danny Quatrochi?

(Wikipedia claims he played bass on Demolition Man.)

I was disappointed to see "Mother" at #40, for two reasons:
1. I voted for it.
2. If it hadn't charted at all, it would have been a frighteningly plausible joke #1.

SlimandSlam? You're wanted on the telephone.

It's your mother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCybuUNblW0

I forgot how brilliant this version was
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlHiX8-33Jw

^^^ YES

"Demolition Man" was my #3. I love the way the drums, bassline, saxes and vocals chase each other around the beat, with the guitar soloing nonstop throughout. It's as if everyone in the band is suddenly unleashed.

such a sick bassline too. when I was growing up for some reason I assumed it was a cover. like "nah the Police don't write songs like this"

xp Sting's greatest movie roll
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b1b3f7ad191b6d4805c37115d6e0d4e9/bfde977741689307-fb/s400x600/176b60f9b9266f11700d9c0d7ba05ecac3a3144d.gif

Actually just that one scene

idk if it'll place but Omegaman has like the gnarliest riff. even Fripp didn't bend his notes that far.

I hope so. It's my #1.

one thing I've noticed about Ghost is it really does nerf Stewart's impact on the sound. he still has a lot of cool drum parts but he's not driving the songs anymore. there's a lot of straightforward bashing and when he twiddles the hi-hats it's almost like he's doing it out of boredom. but I think it kinda pays off anyway, they don't sound like a 3 piece band on this record

I think my biggest take away from today is not knowing that "The Bed’s Too Big Without You" was a single. It's a good song but never associated that song as a Police single. I didn't vote for it for total transparency.

I have no explanation for the way everybody voted "Bed's Too Big" but placed it low.

does a lot well but it doesn't do anything TOO well

I kinda think it's a great song? I expected it to place higher.

I was the #1 vote for "I Burn For You." Floating mystery dream menace is maybe my favorite genre of music.

This, plus "Voices Inside My Head" and "Tea in the Sahara" all held prominent places of my Dream Music mixtapes in the '80s, with short, abstract Andy Summers solo tracks like "How Can I Forget" and "Guide" as transitions.

like, the makers of the movie clearly thought they were the most popular act that would the flick

― sleeve, Wednesday, December 7, 2022 6:48 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

that would *sell* the flick

when in reality, in my experience, people went to see the Cramps/DKs/Gang Of Four/Numan/etc

― sleeve, Wednesday, December 7, 2022 6:49 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

The film was partially financed by the Copeland's, hence the heavy Police involvement and early IRS acts on the bill.

“Bombs Away” is delightful. That and “Contact” (a total jam with some great Andy textures) remind me how Sting sings Stew songs with a playfulness and lightness he rarely brings to his own material – given the odd way the vocals on those songs are mixed I wonder if it’s because he’s singing over Stew’s guide vocal (he almost certainly is on “Does Everyone Stare”).

“Tea in the Sahara” feels like Sting had gotten a head-start on Dream of the Blue Turtles.

I finally figured out the flaw, I was wondering how did "The Bed’s Too Big Without You" getting 16 votes but only ended up at number 30. It turns out some people named this song "Beds too Big" so instead of modifying the spreadsheet I manually add those points and votes to the total. So it did not only get 192 points it actually got 392, 492, 592, 692 points, something like that. It was only the first number that I mistyped. I will recalculate the results and it will now show up again in this rollout. I do believe this will be a one-time correction.

Sorry!

no worries, good catch! really enjoying this although I am not able to keep up with the relistening

It turns out some people named this song "Beds too Big"

this was me; meant to fill it out before i submitted -- sorry

at the risk of being Captain Obvious, but since Grace Jones's cover of "Demolition Man" was posted: "The Bed's Too Big Without You" also charted in the UK (in 1981) in a cover version by Sheila Hylton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USeqDNeovNs

the extended version

Theres also a super loose and dubby version of it by Julie Roberts that came out in 1980 that I really like but can't link to on this dumb phone

le voilà:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1hHZ-Mz-M

Ah thanks, that's the one! tail-end of that goes super deep, love it

also these instrumental versions by Sly & Robbie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTjAq8hOvM

Underwater Dub! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTzJsez_VA

Ooh, i like those a lot! I think sly & Robbie are playing on that Sheila hylton version too? Or they're involved with it somehow anyway. And they play on the Grace Jones 'demolition man' as well obviously

yup, it's Sly & Robbie. i'm an uber fan of the Sheila Hylton version and used to forget it's a cover. If i had voted in this the OG would have been in my top 5 Police songs.

The Julie Roberts version is so similar to the Hylton; i've never been sure which came first.

Would be logical if the UK production came first I suppose, just due to geographical proximity

Time to reset those numbers

https://i.imgur.com/HROLYpd.jpg

28. No Time This Time
From: Reggatta de Blanc
Released: October 2, 1979
245 Points, 8 Votes, 1 Number One