Writers: The Police

Producers: The Police

Recorded: Early 1978 at Surrey Sound Studios, London

Released: October 1978

Players:	Sting — vocals, bass Andy Summers — guitar Stewart Copeland — drum
Album:	Outlandos D’Amour (A&M)

The Police formed in 1976 with singer-bassist Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland, and guitarist Henri Padovani. They released an independent single called “Fallout” in 1977 before signing with A&M Records.

Padovani left the group in August 1977 and Andy Summers, who had met the Police earlier that year, signed on.

The band’s debut album, Outlandos D’Amour, was recorded over a six-month stretch at the beginning of 1978.

“Next To You,” which opens the album, is a quick blast of punky energy marked by low-fi recording and an intense, brittle instrumental attack. It was in some ways an answer to the British punk scene, which had previously written the group off because of its members’ blonde good looks and instrumental skills. It also didn’t help that they had dyed their hair blonde to appear in a Wrigley’s chewing gum commercial in the U.K.

Outlandos D’Amour — which, by the way, doesn’t mean anything in particular — reached Number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually earned a platinum certification.

The album made it to Number Six on the U.K. chart thanks to the British success of the singles “So Lonely” and “Can’t Stand Losing You.”