The Police – Roxanne

The Police – Roxanne
Released: 7 April 1978
Recorded: January 1978
Format: 7-inch single
B-side: “Peanuts”
Songwriter – Sting
The song was released in April 1978 as a single from their debut album “Outlandos d’Amour”.

This song is about a man who falls in love with a prostitute and gets all Pretty Woman on her, telling her she deserves better and should find a more decent profession. Sting got the idea after walking through the red-light district of Paris when the band was in town to play a club called The Nashville, where he saw prostitutes for the first time. He imagined what it would be like to fall in love with one of them, figuring some of them must have boyfriends.

This was the first major-label release by The Police, who were struggling at the time. A year earlier, they released the single “Fall Out” on an independent label owned by Stewart Copeland’s brother (and the band’s manager), Miles. It was a flop, and the group felt a lot of pressure to produce something that would keep them off the dole.

When they convened at Surrey Sound Studios outside of London in January 1978, it was with a new guitarist, Andy Summers, as original member Henry Padovani quit the band. They recorded “Roxanne” with producer Nigel Gray, who owned the studio. Sting liked the song but didn’t think it would be a hit, as it was far more brooding than their other material. Miles Copeland thought differently – he was far more impressed with “Roxanne” than with anything else they recorded at those sessions, and insisted it be the single. Miles got a distribution deal for the song with A&M Records, getting no advance, only royalties from sales.

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03:03

The intro to the song contains one of the great happy accidents in rock history. There was an upright piano in the studio, which Sting sat on thinking the lid was closed. Tape was rolling for his vocal, so the sound of his butt hitting the piano and his subsequent laughter were recorded. These sounds were mixed into the intro, providing a unique texture.

Sting chose the name Roxanne because it has a rich history behind it. Roxanne was the name of Alexander The Great’s wife and Cyrano de Bergerac’s girlfriend.

The Police (1977-1986)
Sting – (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter),
Andy Summers – (guitar)
Stewart Copeland – (drums, percussion)

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