Hugh Fielder is my uncle. Took me to see Genesis in '84 (I met Phil and Chester) and introduced me to so many bands including The police, echo and the bunnymen, lou reed, iggy pop, strawberry switchblade, kate bush, the velvet underground, howard jones, ian dury and so many more. I worked with him at sounds magazine for my work experience (best job ever). He's written and co-written books on Floyd, The Police, Genesis, blues legends and his record collection is a minor miracle. Thanks uncle Hugh! :)
The whole album is flawless 👍🏻 beds too big without you is brilliant and not just one of the best tracks on the album it's one of their best songs period .
@@trustinsynchronicity President Truman was promoting gigs for the Police up and down the M1 in 1977? Bloody Hell, they've got some connections, he'd been dead 5 years.
@@ManNoName-c9u I like the Police. They are like family, in a way . Any band that has both American and British people in it, you know they'll be climbing up the walls to reach the top of each other. The dominance contest between them makes it magical.
This is not on original take, but Stewart is one of the most recognizable drummers. He didn't just Ape reggae. He made something truly unique and creative with his drumming. I play nothing like him, yet he is one of my biggest influences/ inspirations as a drummer.
After all these years, the guitar riff from "Message in a Bottle still evokes strong, personal emotions. All of us have had our "Sending out an SOS" times in life.
reggatta is brilliant! Still one of my favorite Police albums! Rolling Stone love Dylan and Springsteen only. They panned Led Zeppelin 4! They must have been Coked out of their minds. Or burnt out from Weed. RS stinks. I liked Cream magazine and Trouser Press.
Sting needed Andy's guitar skills and needed Stewart's drumming ability to make unique beats , and they both needed sting for his song writting ability and amazying voice..
Actually in the beginning they didn’t realize Sting could write like that. It evolved because of the three of them and the magic they made musically. Also, you can listen to the songs Sting had with last exit and his demos and they were radically different because of Andy but especially Stewart..
I hear ya. When the world is running down, Canary in a Coalmine, Shadows in the Rain, The other way of Stopping, Driven to tears are really gorgeous compositions. Short but sweet. My fav LP is Ghost, but Regatta is 2nd but by a hair margin.
I recently had a conversation with Andy Summers. He claims Zenyatta is his favorite album. I can understand why since it's the only album that had no weak spots and was consistent all the way through. However, I personally find Regatta their best ever because the powerful songs are just so bloody powerful!
What fascinates me about "Message" is how it reverses the "reggae verse rock chorus" formula. The verses are straight backbeat four-on-the-floor and the chorus brings in the spacious reggae thing.
@@vatican2397 my dad liked them also , because of him I was introduced to them when I was only about 11 years old . And I really liked them and still do 👍🏻
The Police created amazing music inspite of infighting, jealousy and immature behavior. Copeland admitted he was insanely jealous of Sting because he was the groupies favorite and Stings amazing songwriting and performing skills. Thank God they were able to stay together to create the amazing music we enjoy today.
Stings songs were nothing without Andy and Stewart. Go listen to his demo before the police. Go listen to his last exit songs. It was Stewart in particular who created their signature sound along with Andy otherwise Sting wasn’t going anywhere.
@@artisaprimus6306 His first Grammy award he had nothing to do with. It was written by Sting and Andy, and he refused to play on it. But he got up there on stage and excepted the award. Don’t be so defensive. Learn to understand how these things work. For example, Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac didn’t want Stevie Nicks they wanted Lindsey Buckingham. But he said I don’t join without her. She goes on to be much bigger. But without Lindsey Buckingham that doesn’t happen. Sting probably would’ve done something down the road but will never know. He wouldn’t have been as big as he is today. Had it not been for Stewart Copeland and the police. Don’t get butt hurt because you don’t understand how these things work. And you’re looking at this in reverse. It’s one thing to say someone would’ve been great after they’re already great. Go listen to Sting songs before he met Stewart and Andy. Those would never have been hits. Sting needed those guys to help him evolve.
@@nedhill1242 All artist have an origin story. I just don't like people trying to disparage his accomplishments. Even Stewart Copeland admitted he was jealous of Sting because he was the primary singer / song writer. In addition, if you look at his Grammys ,most of them were after the Police.
@@artisaprimus6306 You just made my point. Most of his Grammys were after the police. It took being with Andy and Stewart for sting to evolve. Go watch the other documentaries. Go read the other books. Roxanne was written as a bossa nova. It wasn’t a great song until Andy and Stewart helped him craft it. I’m not taking anything away from staying. I’m pointing out the fact that if he doesn’t meet Stewart Copeland, his life is liable to be very very different. And you cannot say otherwise. History has proven this. For every successful artist, there are thousands of people just as talented if not more, that simply didn’t get their break. Right place right time etc. It has been well established by the guys themselves. If you’ve actually done your homework, that thing didn’t even know he could write like this until he started playing with Andy and Stewart. That’s when his songwriting skills really came out. Yes, Stewart was jealous of that but Stewart wrote some good songs as well and when he met thing he didn’t know could write songs like that. You can’t see the forest for the trees because you love staying so much. Just be objective. Understand history.
To agree. But Andy was a far superior guitar player. He said Andy wasn’t really better. Andy was way way better! Sting and Stewart immediately saw the potential with Andy that wasn’t there with Henry. But Andy didn’t want to play in a band with two guitarist. So Stewart fired Henry.
@@nedhill1242 Yes I agree completely and am a huge fan of Andy's. However in the beginning Sting and Stuart were reluctant to let him go as he was their ticket to Punk credibility and the 20 pounds a night they were earning before Andy. Stuart evern recounted that he would have Henri over and teach him new chords terrified that Sting would find out how much of a novice Henri really was.
@@markbrooks4471 Where are you getting that information from? I have actually seen interviews with Stewart and Andy where they both said it was magical the very first time they played together and they realize that they could do a lot more with Andy. It wasn’t much longer after that that Stewart ran into Andy again , and they said this is clearly meant to be an Andy said again that he wouldn’t join as long as Henry was still there and Stewart immediately called Henry and fired him. They knew they weren’t punk. They weren’t fitting in even with Henry. I think the funniest thing about all of this is the more you learn about punk the more you realize how ridiculous it was because the punk had all these rules that if you didn’t meet all these different ridiculous qualifications, you weren’t authentically punk when the whole concept, the punk was supposed to be no rules and anarchy when it was the exact opposite. Interesting that sounds familiar doesn’t it? The Democrats everything they say is confession by projection. Everything they say Trump would do everything they say Republicans would do is exactly what they are doing and have been doing for years. We have to destroy democracy to save democracy! Interesting times! Reminds me of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Biggest propaganda campaign since Covid. Everything about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War that we are taught is an absolute lie.
@nedhill1242 Read Stings book Broken Music for more insights into the early days of the Police when Henri was their guitarist.Henri wasn't immediately fired as you claim as both Stuart and Sting saw him as their only real Punk credibility. After the Stronium 90 concerts it was decided that they try to continue as a 4 piece with Andy Summers as the new member. The 4 piece Police lasted a couple of months before Henri and the band ultimately parted ways.
@@markbrooks4471 I don’t need to read Sting’s book. I have read Stewart’s book and Andy‘s book and I have seen their documentaries and I’ve seen more than a dozen interviews with both of them. Andy and Stewart are pretty much on the same page about this. I’m sure whatever staying says is the way staying remembers it, but Andy and Stewart remember it the same way. I’m confident that that is accurate. They knew they weren’t punk and they didn’t really want to be punk. They just thought that was a foot in the door, but what they were doing was much more advanced, and far superior to anything that was punk. And as soon as thing and Stewart played with Andy, they knew that was the way to go. it was only a matter of time which wasn’t very long before Stewart because he was the founder of the band and named the band, so he fired Henry.
Great to see this video. For my taste, Regatta de Blanc is perfect from start to finish, and the best album The Police ever did. I'm not sure which are the "3 great" albums that the commentator at the end of the video is referring to. I assume he means Regatta, Ghost, and Synchronicity. To me, Outlandos was a great start with the punky vibe, Regatta was their masterpiece of reggae-rock, Zenyatta was a disappointment, Ghost was an excellent return to form that updated the band's sound in a new wave/science fiction way. And Synchronicity, while a great album if that's your taste, was essentially a Sting solo album with Stewart and Andy as side-men. Clearly Synchronicity was a great musical achievement, but in terms what I like, I prefer Regatta, Ghost, and Outlandos - in that order.
Sting didn't want to share the spotlight with anybody. Another great songwriter who wanted it all and broke it up in the height of popularity. Just like Paul Weller did with the Jam as well.
Absolutely. Not only did Rockpalast get great bands to perform, often when they were just starting to be popular, but it was so well filmed. American and British "live" videos up to that time often weren't really live (lip synched or live vocals over recorded instruments). And when they really were performing live, the video too often just showed the lead singer's face, with frequent views of the audience even while the song was being performed. Rockpalast was more from a musician's point of view, showing every instrument as it was being played and mostly leaving views of audience to breaks between songs. Although there are bootlegs of Rockpalast performances, and a few officially released videos of these, I feel that all of the videos (or at least of the most popular bands) should be officially released for sale to the public. Musik Laden also is quite similar to Rockpalast, and I'd like to see those officially released as well. It's surprising to me as an American that the best live videos of American and British bands from the 1970's and 1980's were actually filmed for German television, but that's definitely the case from all I've seen.
Henry continues to work as a musician. He also worked for Miles Copeland’s IRS Records label for more than 15 years. I read his book, “Secret Police Man.” It’s an interesting and entertaining look at his life and the rock world of that era. My favorite part was the story of him playing a couple of shows during the Police reunion tour.
Very often, in a family, it's the older sibling that discovers something, invents something or breaks into some new area but it's often the younger sibling that picks it up and takes it where no one ever expected, standing on the shoulders of the older sibling who "planted the seed" and "put down the roots". Ideally this should all be part of a love relationship. The whole history of rock/Western music is about human roots and their extended development, by family. Somebody knows what I'm talking about.
Henry Padovani has a great attitude, and a lot of objectivity, about all this, considering he was kind of the Pete Best of the Police. He seems like a real grown up, which seems to be pretty rare among musicians !
But he is wrong about one thing. Andy was a far superior guitarist and Sting and Stewart immediately realized they could go in places musically with Andy that they never would with Henry.
It's partly to do with the fact that it's _ALL_ rhythm ; driving bass/drum rhythm section and rhythmic space-chords coupled with rhythmic song structure.
No mention of Ghost in the Machine, to me their best album??? Sting is the perfect example of a great musician who was brilliant in the band he was in and quickly deteriorated into self-indulgence and non-interesting material without the dynamic of the band that he had been in 🤔 A pity really 😭 Henri Padovano seems a fascinating guy 😎
Another bass play who is a phenomenal singer as well as bass player, to me, is Johnette Napolitano. The Police and Concrete Blonde are both fantastic bands.
Wanted to see them on that first "van tour" of the U.S. but a friend had tickets for some other show that night and insisted I go. I think it was Pat Travers Band in Detroit.
Regatta De Blanc, this vinyl was such a blazing milestone of my musical life! Especially the title song (Regatta De Blanc) and The Bed's Too Big Without You, they where special, the others where just fantastic... This vinyl album is in my top 5 milestones alongside: Tom Waits - Rain Dogs Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene Fugees - The Score Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
I couldn’t disagree more with the opinions about Zenyatta Mondatta. Some of my favorite “not played on radio” songs by any band, not just Police songs are Canary In A Coalmine, Man In A Suitcase, and Driven to Tears. Voices Inside My Head is a total jam as well. I know as someone who looked at The Police as being “my Beatles”, I always thought each album they released was better than the previous one.
Way too much is made over the Police “taking from” reggae. They had their own sound completely. Rhythm/time signatures are inherent in nature. Jamaica popularized certain types. I’ve never ever once thought about Bob Marley when listening to the Police. And I grew up loving them both in that time period. Same goes for the English Beat, Specials and Madness. Marley had an organic, earthy vibe completely unique even among reggae artists.
It would have been a completely different band. I feel bad for him. There's only been four members of the band. The other three are multi millionaires. That's tough.
For me, before The Police there was no music .. Sorry to say. Uniqness, professionalism, quality meaningfull songs, , just living legends. They made brilliant music in a unique style.
The remarks about the rocky road to chart success for both Roxanne and Cant' Stand Losin' You misses out the crucial fact of them both being banned by the BBC for a period of time on release.
Maybe more recent remasters have turned up the bottom end a bit, but the production of the original tracks differed from what you hear today and even from the 90s on in how the treble end of the mix was emphasized.
Way to skilled guitarist drummer and singer to be considered punk in America at the time, I remember them being promoted as the English new wave invasion they were however as popular with the single buying public as they were with the album buying audience in America. Andy's style was unique and very personal sad o much so that you really couldn't Nick much of it without sounding like a clone. I love the outro part of the Van Halen song ,"one foot out the door" for its obvious Andy Summers stylings
@@dancarter482Exactly. There’s also John McGeoch, who, when he joined Siouxsie & The Banshees, insisted they get Nigel Gray to produce their next album (Juju) because he wanted to replicate Andy’s guitar sound.
Yeah, that'd be down to the producer. Just illustrates the difference between great bands with a signature sound and groups that rely entirely on the producer to try and give them a hit by copying great bands. When the planets align you get a great producer working with a great band and they make magic! @@melrupinski88
Great album, Bring on the night is amazing, but I prefer Outlandos, Roxanne and So Lonely especially, Peanuts too, and Fallout, ah I’m off to Spotify 😊
"Fallout or whatever..." as if Henry would _ever_ forget one of the two songs he recorded with The Police. According to Henry, the band went to hell right after they fired him.
that bitterness is still there like an old rust when he mentioned Andy playing didnt bring any specials when he joined the group...kinda suck making such negative comments Andy was already in session with many artist before he joined the Police.
Henry Padovani is not bitter but isn’t he the Pete Best of the Police? He got kicked out before the fame and fortune. Did he get paid anything from the early years? I doubt it.
You talk about Stewart Copeland plays reggae because of sting wrong. He has been in and all around the world listening drumming and balia etc. you only half right about the band .
I bought ZM when it first came out (already having heard Outlandos and Regatta), and I was quite disappointed. It does have some decent songs and good snippets of songs. Don't Stand So Close was good but a bit Sting-indulgent, since it was apparently based on his time as a teacher. Da doo doo da (or whatever it is) was initially catchy but ultimately sounds lame to me. Canary in a Coal Mine is where Sting is singing so high that he actually gets annoying (like The Chipmunks). And Man in a Suitcase is just a mess, a mishmash of various ideas (some are good) that never really gel as a whole. And the rest of the songs I've pretty much forgotten.
@@andrewfurst5711 agree completely , don't stand so close to me , when the world is running down , canary in a coal mine and driven to tears are really the only tracks I like ! Zenyatta pales in comparison to Regetta de Blanc and Outlandos D'mour .
The Sting tag still makes me laugh like a drain. Now read the copyright tag, you know, the money goes to? G.M. Sumner. That's right. It's ALL a business, and the Song is the Product. Move units!
It’s just a nickname. You know how he got it, don’t you? Others called him that because of this sweater he often wore with bold black horizontal stripes that made him resemble a bee.
@@bassiejazz Because he was in the band and they obviously couldn't get the other three. He has a pretty unique perspective being a member of the band even if it was briefly. What did he say that came off as bitter?
It is a bit weird that this album is hold in such a high regard if you disregard it having that new sound. The Police would only go on playing like 5 songs out of 11 on the following tour and then go down to 4 and during their last tours only 2. And it was so rushed that Stewarts kind of forgettable songs had to act as filler. Zenyatta also has some filler as well but not so much. The mixing and recording was VERY rushed though even though Sting had produced one song more. Even if Synchronicity is the most comercially sounding one it produced the most lasting songs.
What Henry meant was that Andy didn't bring anything to them in terms of a punk sound. They were trying to be punk at that point. And obviously Henry was defending his own punk playing, saying that they didn't need two punk guitarists. Later, Henry greatly compliments Andy for what he brought to the band - once they'd moved away from punk.
Yeah but Stewart did things with the guitar way more original then anyone in the clash or the late 70's 80's punk scene ever did and he us d reggae as just another flavor for his unique style that you couldn't steal without sounding like Stewart. Which reminds me of the song one foot out the door with its very Stewart Copeland sounding guitar outright, which demonstrated Ed's skills as a cover guitarist
@@shinybald36 Stewart Copeland is a great drummer but so is Topper Headon and there isn’t a better white reggae song than White Man (In Hammersmith Palais). The Police got more interesting when they evolved away from reggae.
@@jonteunon2977 actually I got the names mixed up I ment Andy Summers and I think his version of reggae owes more to his highly original style and I just think he's above a lot of pop guitarist he definitely is in my top 25 guitarist and while I think the clashes version of pressure drop isa phenom I love the guitar in the very beginning which isn't even something that would be defined as reggae that first lick sounds like add omething Keith would play in his hey days and the licks he uses in song like that are what got me to notice the song in the first place and I kinda of wish they would have gone from there into a different direction then what they ended up doing. But ever one has their own taste.
At the time, we asked our French teacher at school and she said that too, that regatta meant a boat race. A firned of mine, who couldn't speak a word of French, told me it meant white reggae. He must have read it in a music magazine.
They put several of Sting songs as composed by Summers and Copeland hahaha, like Message in The Bottle, I Cant Stand Losing You, So Lonely, Peanuts, among others, that everybody knows are Sting compositions. Bad documentary, very bad. Sting was and is Police. .
Hugh Fielder is my uncle. Took me to see Genesis in '84 (I met Phil and Chester) and introduced me to so many bands including The police, echo and the bunnymen, lou reed, iggy pop, strawberry switchblade, kate bush, the velvet underground, howard jones, ian dury and so many more. I worked with him at sounds magazine for my work experience (best job ever). He's written and co-written books on Floyd, The Police, Genesis, blues legends and his record collection is a minor miracle. Thanks uncle Hugh! :)
These three guys made some of the best music still around today.
Underrated band
Seriously
Bed's too big without you is a whole trip, what a masterpiece.
The whole album is flawless 👍🏻 beds too big without you is brilliant and not just one of the best tracks on the album it's one of their best songs period .
I can’t even begin to fathom the influence the Police had on my life. Sting deserves a chapter in the book of humanity.
Yes indeed!
@@trustinsynchronicity President Truman was promoting gigs for the Police up and down the M1 in 1977? Bloody Hell, they've got some connections, he'd been dead 5 years.
@@ManNoName-c9u I like the Police. They are like family, in a way . Any band that has both American and British people in it, you know they'll be climbing up the walls to reach the top of each other. The dominance contest between them makes it magical.
This is not on original take, but Stewart is one of the most recognizable drummers. He didn't just Ape reggae. He made something truly unique and creative with his drumming. I play nothing like him, yet he is one of my biggest influences/ inspirations as a drummer.
After all these years, the guitar riff from "Message in a Bottle still evokes strong, personal emotions. All of us have had our "Sending out an SOS" times in life.
Real
Message in a Bottle is Andy becoming indespenible to the band
Immortal trio! Alchemy!!! What a band & energy!!!
This is their most important record. Always bring it out to play for my gigs. So many great sounding songs.
The Beds too Big Without You - one of the finest love songs ever written.
Bed's So Big Without You, Bring On The Night, Deathwish, No Time This Time - so underrated, underplayed masterpieces.
Add Does Everyone Stare ? Regetta de Blanc is flawless ❤
For the last 33+ years this album has always been in my personal top10 albums of all time. What does Rolling Stone know?
reggatta is brilliant! Still one of my favorite Police albums!
Rolling Stone love Dylan and Springsteen only. They panned Led Zeppelin 4! They must have been Coked out of their minds. Or burnt out from Weed. RS stinks.
I liked Cream magazine and Trouser Press.
Love love love love love love this band!
They were kick ass good 👍🏻
Sting needed Andy's guitar skills and needed Stewart's drumming ability to make unique beats , and they both needed sting for his song writting ability and amazying voice..
I think they lost sight of what they were about ! Such a shame because these 3 guys had it all .
They are all huge egos far too big to be with each other.
I've never seen someone misspell amazing before. Congratulations!
@@johnnyd63 Now its your first time, isn't that exciting and "amazying" to know❤️😂
Actually in the beginning they didn’t realize Sting could write like that. It evolved because of the three of them and the magic they made musically. Also, you can listen to the songs Sting had with last exit and his demos and they were radically different because of Andy but especially Stewart..
I love regatta but zenyatta Mondatta is my favourite strangely… man in a suitcase and driven to tears great tracks!
I hear ya. When the world is running down, Canary in a Coalmine, Shadows in the Rain, The other way of Stopping, Driven to tears are really gorgeous compositions. Short but sweet. My fav LP is Ghost, but Regatta is 2nd but by a hair margin.
I recently had a conversation with Andy Summers. He claims Zenyatta is his favorite album. I can understand why since it's the only album that had no weak spots and was consistent all the way through. However, I personally find Regatta their best ever because the powerful songs are just so bloody powerful!
@Julius Paul howd u get to talk to him? He's getting on up in the years, so I wish I could speak to him. Just read his autobiography.
@@ImYourHuckleberry_29 We went back and forth on the net discussing music.
When the world is running down 👍🏻 very cool record , this and Don't stand so close to me are the best tracks on Zenyatta .
Brilliant songwriting, brilliant guitars, brilliant drums, brilliant harmony’s, great bassplaying (not on fretless...), great singing.
Rock on!
"Not on fretless" lol
What fascinates me about "Message" is how it reverses the "reggae verse rock chorus" formula. The verses are straight backbeat four-on-the-floor and the chorus brings in the spacious reggae thing.
Regatta De Blanc is by FAR AND AWAY THE BEST POLICE ALBUM.....
Henry Padovani is a way better man than I would be if I was ousted for another guitar player on one of the biggest bands of all time.
He did plenty good on his own, as a musician and in the music biz. And stayed friends with the boys.
Sting's compositions, Stewart's drumming and Andy's distinctive guitar sound is nothing liked any bands of that era
Or any era?
Amen
Of any era imo
I’m 40 plus. My dad used to say, if my memory doesn‘t play tricks on me, The Police are the best Rock band. 🎉❤🎉
@@vatican2397 my dad liked them also , because of him I was introduced to them when I was only about 11 years old . And I really liked them and still do 👍🏻
Match made in heaven ... Musically; Brothers are always fighting ...
They were kick ass good .
The Police created amazing music inspite of infighting, jealousy and immature behavior. Copeland admitted he was insanely jealous of Sting because he was the groupies favorite and Stings amazing songwriting and performing skills. Thank God they were able to stay together to create the amazing music we enjoy today.
Stings songs were nothing without Andy and Stewart. Go listen to his demo before the police. Go listen to his last exit songs. It was Stewart in particular who created their signature sound along with Andy otherwise Sting wasn’t going anywhere.
@@nedhill1242 What a joke! Sting earned 22 Grammy nominations and has won 17 Grammys with and without the Police. Yu Hi!
@@artisaprimus6306
His first Grammy award he had nothing to do with. It was written by Sting and Andy, and he refused to play on it. But he got up there on stage and excepted the award.
Don’t be so defensive. Learn to understand how these things work.
For example, Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac didn’t want Stevie Nicks they wanted Lindsey Buckingham. But he said I don’t join without her. She goes on to be much bigger. But without Lindsey Buckingham that doesn’t happen.
Sting probably would’ve done something down the road but will never know. He wouldn’t have been as big as he is today. Had it not been for Stewart Copeland and the police. Don’t get butt hurt because you don’t understand how these things work. And you’re looking at this in reverse. It’s one thing to say someone would’ve been great after they’re already great.
Go listen to Sting songs before he met Stewart and Andy. Those would never have been hits. Sting needed those guys to help him evolve.
@@nedhill1242 All artist have an origin story. I just don't like people trying to disparage his accomplishments. Even Stewart Copeland admitted he was jealous of Sting because he was the primary singer / song writer. In addition, if you look at his Grammys ,most of them were after the Police.
@@artisaprimus6306
You just made my point. Most of his Grammys were after the police. It took being with Andy and Stewart for sting to evolve. Go watch the other documentaries. Go read the other books. Roxanne was written as a bossa nova. It wasn’t a great song until Andy and Stewart helped him craft it.
I’m not taking anything away from staying. I’m pointing out the fact that if he doesn’t meet Stewart Copeland, his life is liable to be very very different. And you cannot say otherwise. History has proven this. For every successful artist, there are thousands of people just as talented if not more, that simply didn’t get their break. Right place right time etc.
It has been well established by the guys themselves. If you’ve actually done your homework, that thing didn’t even know he could write like this until he started playing with Andy and Stewart. That’s when his songwriting skills really came out. Yes, Stewart was jealous of that but Stewart wrote some good songs as well and when he met thing he didn’t know could write songs like that. You can’t see the forest for the trees because you love staying so much. Just be objective. Understand history.
Terrific to get Henri's perspective on the whole Police story. Very refreshing to hear him speak so objectively about his fellow band members.
To agree. But Andy was a far superior guitar player. He said Andy wasn’t really better. Andy was way way better! Sting and Stewart immediately saw the potential with Andy that wasn’t there with Henry. But Andy didn’t want to play in a band with two guitarist. So Stewart fired Henry.
@@nedhill1242 Yes I agree completely and am a huge fan of Andy's. However in the beginning Sting and Stuart were reluctant to let him go as he was their ticket to Punk credibility and the 20 pounds a night they were earning before Andy. Stuart evern recounted that he would have Henri over and teach him new chords terrified that Sting would find out how much of a novice Henri really was.
@@markbrooks4471
Where are you getting that information from? I have actually seen interviews with Stewart and Andy where they both said it was magical the very first time they played together and they realize that they could do a lot more with Andy. It wasn’t much longer after that that Stewart ran into Andy again , and they said this is clearly meant to be an Andy said again that he wouldn’t join as long as Henry was still there and Stewart immediately called Henry and fired him. They knew they weren’t punk. They weren’t fitting in even with Henry.
I think the funniest thing about all of this is the more you learn about punk the more you realize how ridiculous it was because the punk had all these rules that if you didn’t meet all these different ridiculous qualifications, you weren’t authentically punk when the whole concept, the punk was supposed to be no rules and anarchy when it was the exact opposite. Interesting that sounds familiar doesn’t it? The Democrats everything they say is confession by projection. Everything they say Trump would do everything they say Republicans would do is exactly what they are doing and have been doing for years. We have to destroy democracy to save democracy! Interesting times! Reminds me of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Biggest propaganda campaign since Covid. Everything about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War that we are taught is an absolute lie.
@nedhill1242 Read Stings book Broken Music for more insights into the early days of the Police when Henri was their guitarist.Henri wasn't immediately
fired as you claim as both Stuart and Sting saw him as their only real Punk credibility. After the Stronium 90 concerts it was decided that they try to continue as a 4 piece with Andy Summers as the new member. The 4 piece Police lasted a couple of months before Henri and the band ultimately parted ways.
@@markbrooks4471
I don’t need to read Sting’s book. I have read Stewart’s book and Andy‘s book and I have seen their documentaries and I’ve seen more than a dozen interviews with both of them. Andy and Stewart are pretty much on the same page about this. I’m sure whatever staying says is the way staying remembers it, but Andy and Stewart remember it the same way. I’m confident that that is accurate. They knew they weren’t punk and they didn’t really want to be punk. They just thought that was a foot in the door, but what they were doing was much more advanced, and far superior to anything that was punk. And as soon as thing and Stewart played with Andy, they knew that was the way to go. it was only a matter of time which wasn’t very long before Stewart because he was the founder of the band and named the band, so he fired Henry.
Great to see this video. For my taste, Regatta de Blanc is perfect from start to finish, and the best album The Police ever did. I'm not sure which are the "3 great" albums that the commentator at the end of the video is referring to. I assume he means Regatta, Ghost, and Synchronicity.
To me, Outlandos was a great start with the punky vibe, Regatta was their masterpiece of reggae-rock, Zenyatta was a disappointment, Ghost was an excellent return to form that updated the band's sound in a new wave/science fiction way. And Synchronicity, while a great album if that's your taste, was essentially a Sting solo album with Stewart and Andy as side-men. Clearly Synchronicity was a great musical achievement, but in terms what I like, I prefer Regatta, Ghost, and Outlandos - in that order.
Regetta de Blanc is flawless ❤ a master class in musical prowess and brilliant song writing 👍🏻
I saw this years ago and couldn't find it again. 45,000 views in less then two months. 👍
Sting didn't want to share the spotlight with anybody. Another great songwriter who wanted it all and broke it up in the height of popularity. Just like Paul Weller did with the Jam as well.
Nice recap. Good band.
Glad you enjoyed it
Rock Palast was the best , all the best bands performed there
Absolutely. Not only did Rockpalast get great bands to perform, often when they were just starting to be popular, but it was so well filmed. American and British "live" videos up to that time often weren't really live (lip synched or live vocals over recorded instruments).
And when they really were performing live, the video too often just showed the lead singer's face, with frequent views of the audience even while the song was being performed. Rockpalast was more from a musician's point of view, showing every instrument as it was being played and mostly leaving views of audience to breaks between songs.
Although there are bootlegs of Rockpalast performances, and a few officially released videos of these, I feel that all of the videos (or at least of the most popular bands) should be officially released for sale to the public. Musik Laden also is quite similar to Rockpalast, and I'd like to see those officially released as well. It's surprising to me as an American that the best live videos of American and British bands from the 1970's and 1980's were actually filmed for German television, but that's definitely the case from all I've seen.
@@andrewfurst5711 i agree with you
Henry continues to work as a musician. He also worked for Miles Copeland’s IRS Records label for more than 15 years. I read his book, “Secret Police Man.” It’s an interesting and entertaining look at his life and the rock world of that era. My favorite part was the story of him playing a couple of shows during the Police reunion tour.
Thanks for sharing!
Very often, in a family, it's the older sibling that discovers something, invents something or breaks into some new area but it's often the younger sibling that picks it up and takes it where no one ever expected, standing on the shoulders of the older sibling who "planted the seed" and "put down the roots". Ideally this should all be part of a love relationship. The whole history of rock/Western music is about human roots and their extended development, by family. Somebody knows what I'm talking about.
The best thing about this documentary is the footage of the band. The commentary doesn’t add much.
Henry Padovani has a great attitude, and a lot of objectivity, about all this, considering he was kind of the Pete Best of the Police.
He seems like a real grown up, which seems to be pretty rare among musicians !
agreed.
But he is wrong about one thing. Andy was a far superior guitarist and Sting and Stewart immediately realized they could go in places musically with Andy that they never would with Henry.
does everyone stare is my fav of regatta de blanc. Amazing song.
Won't Get Fooled!!! 💛💛
Their music is infectious.
Must be the reggae influence that have me forever captivated. 🇨🇦♨️
It's partly to do with the fact that it's _ALL_ rhythm ; driving bass/drum rhythm section and rhythmic space-chords coupled with rhythmic song structure.
@@dancarter482 🎆🎇✨🌠💯🙏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🇨🇦
great@ what amplifier and speaker did Andy Summer use to record Message in a Bottle in the studio?
No mention of Ghost in the Machine, to me their best album??? Sting is the perfect example of a great musician who was brilliant in the band he was in and quickly deteriorated into self-indulgence and non-interesting material without the dynamic of the band that he had been in 🤔 A pity really 😭 Henri Padovano seems a fascinating guy 😎
Another bass play who is a phenomenal singer as well as bass player, to me, is Johnette Napolitano. The Police and Concrete Blonde are both fantastic bands.
Wanted to see them on that first "van tour" of the U.S. but a friend had tickets for some other show that night and insisted I go. I think it was Pat Travers Band in Detroit.
Regatta De Blanc, this vinyl was such a blazing milestone of my musical life!
Especially the title song (Regatta De Blanc) and The Bed's Too Big Without You, they where special, the others where just fantastic...
This vinyl album is in my top 5 milestones alongside:
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene
Fugees - The Score
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
I couldn’t disagree more with the opinions about Zenyatta Mondatta. Some of my favorite “not played on radio” songs by any band, not just Police songs are Canary In A Coalmine, Man In A Suitcase, and Driven to Tears. Voices Inside My Head is a total jam as well. I know as someone who looked at The Police as being “my Beatles”, I always thought each album they released was better than the previous one.
Way too much is made over the Police “taking from” reggae. They had their own sound completely. Rhythm/time signatures are inherent in nature. Jamaica popularized certain types. I’ve never ever once thought about Bob Marley when listening to the Police. And I grew up loving them both in that time period. Same goes for the English Beat, Specials and Madness. Marley had an organic, earthy vibe completely unique even among reggae artists.
Punk , New wave, Reggae fusion .
Lee Scratch P. had a massive effect on Marley's music - he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
The world is too afraid of change all the time and so misses out on great things. Good thing The Police got through.
I love Henry. I wish they would have kept him in the band.
It would have been a completely different band. I feel bad for him. There's only been four members of the band. The other three are multi millionaires. That's tough.
I wonder if Andy influenced The Edge with the delay. Hmmm
Padovani really knows the early history well.
For me, before The Police there was no music .. Sorry to say. Uniqness, professionalism, quality meaningfull songs, , just living legends. They made brilliant music in a unique style.
Give the Police 30 more years , and they will all realize how special and creative this band was...
I was 10-11 when this was out. I loved the Police from the start. Just an awesome band!
Me too , my Dad bought me Outlandos D'mour when I was 11 and then every album after that 👍🏻
Is that middle finger subliminal by Henry around 2:20 ?
My band covers Bring on the Night and Message in a Bottle. Some of my originals inspired by The Police.
Missed out on three more albums
The remarks about the rocky road to chart success for both Roxanne and Cant' Stand Losin' You misses out the crucial fact of them both being banned by the BBC for a period of time on release.
Why did BBC ban the songs?
Maybe more recent remasters have turned up the bottom end a bit, but the production of the original tracks differed from what you hear today and even from the 90s on in how the treble end of the mix was emphasized.
I didn't know Henry was as jealous as he appears to be but I would be too..I guess he's sorta the Pest Best of that band.
Way to skilled guitarist drummer and singer to be considered punk in America at the time, I remember them being promoted as the English new wave invasion they were however as popular with the single buying public as they were with the album buying audience in America. Andy's style was unique and very personal sad o much so that you really couldn't Nick much of it without sounding like a clone. I love the outro part of the Van Halen song ,"one foot out the door" for its obvious Andy Summers stylings
Good call. The Cure's 'A Forest' has a total Police-guitar sound too which is the only reason I started listening to The Cure.
@@dancarter482Exactly. There’s also John McGeoch, who, when he joined Siouxsie & The Banshees, insisted they get Nigel Gray to produce their next album (Juju) because he wanted to replicate Andy’s guitar sound.
Another song with, as you say, “obvious Andy Summers stylings” is Hysteria by Def Leppard. It’s even more blatant.
Yeah, that'd be down to the producer. Just illustrates the difference between great bands with a signature sound and groups that rely entirely on the producer to try and give them a hit by copying great bands. When the planets align you get a great producer working with a great band and they make magic! @@melrupinski88
Bob Marley meets Rock and Roll...Eternal.....yet Stings voice is easily distinguishable from The mighty Marley!
best 3 pieces ever.........................
I remember those Turbosound boxes. they were pretty popular in the late 80's and 90's. The new stuff is cool. Not my fave though.
42:00 established them as the biggest band in the world?! What, lol? It barely cracked the top forty in the US.
It didn't need to , the rest of the world loved it ❤
All the best music video ( jazz, rock, classical, whatever) comes from Europe.
Wonder where those dogs are from? They look delicious. Best band ever!!
Great album, Bring on the night is amazing, but I prefer Outlandos, Roxanne and So Lonely especially, Peanuts too, and Fallout, ah I’m off to Spotify 😊
_Next_ _To_ _You_ !
Lol, the clash started this band with there song "Police and thieves" If that isn't irony, I don't know what is.
The Police started as a Punk band with chops. This is Punk Reggae before anyone knew what to call it.
THE MAEQUEE AND 100 CLUB USED TO BE THE PLACES TO GO TO
I assumed the "regatta" part was about boats.
singing bassists - thin on the ground in RnR - Bloody hard to do so give the boy his due. The Police was Gordon's band ...
Gordon's band? Do you personally know him, because no one else calls him that
The only other one that stands out for me was Phil Lynott , another good looking , great sounding front man , RIP 🌹
Geddy Lee?? Chris Squire not a bad singer either - albeit not quite on the Jon Anderson level 😮
@@christopherwright8811Geddy great bassist lees so as a singer
Still stands up.
A truly sensational band The Police were, won't see their like again 🤷
"Fallout or whatever..." as if Henry would _ever_ forget one of the two songs he recorded with The Police. According to Henry, the band went to hell right after they fired him.
Why did Andy not get more credit. Surely his riffs and runs were major parts of the songs?
Who's the Gollem? The shaven one?
Not sure when Padovani left the band ….
OmegaMen !!!!
saw them 2 times, and it looks like summers wrote most of the songs
Henry was bitter because he was kicked out
that bitterness is still there like an old rust when he mentioned Andy playing didnt bring any specials when he joined the group...kinda suck making such negative comments Andy was already in session with many artist before he joined the Police.
Henry Padovani is not bitter but isn’t he the Pete Best of the Police? He got kicked out before the fame and fortune. Did he get paid anything from the early years? I doubt it.
Stewart Copeland was known as Clark Kent prior to joining the Police. His video is on UA-cam.
KLARK KENT
The Police were already a band when he did Klark Kent.
You may want to remove that ignorant comment.
You talk about Stewart Copeland plays reggae because of sting wrong. He has been in and all around the world listening drumming and balia etc. you only half right about the band .
ZM was rushed - good tunes, but never the depth of Regatta...
I bought ZM when it first came out (already having heard Outlandos and Regatta), and I was quite disappointed. It does have some decent songs and good snippets of songs. Don't Stand So Close was good but a bit Sting-indulgent, since it was apparently based on his time as a teacher. Da doo doo da (or whatever it is) was initially catchy but ultimately sounds lame to me. Canary in a Coal Mine is where Sting is singing so high that he actually gets annoying (like The Chipmunks). And Man in a Suitcase is just a mess, a mishmash of various ideas (some are good) that never really gel as a whole. And the rest of the songs I've pretty much forgotten.
@@andrewfurst5711 agree completely , don't stand so close to me , when the world is running down , canary in a coal mine and driven to tears are really the only tracks I like ! Zenyatta pales in comparison to Regetta de Blanc and Outlandos D'mour .
3.27. "He’s never really been out of Newcastle before he came down to London at Stewart’s behest?" - what a load of absolute nonsense
The Sting tag still makes me laugh like a drain. Now read the copyright tag, you know, the money goes to? G.M. Sumner. That's right. It's ALL a business, and the Song is the Product. Move units!
It’s just a nickname. You know how he got it, don’t you? Others called him that because of this sweater he often wore with bold black horizontal stripes that made him resemble a bee.
Sting turns 71 this year and the ex-members of the Police will celebrate by making their customers milkshakes extra frothy….
Henry should have kissed Sting's ass...big mistake...next
This guy Henry is just sour grapes at the worst. Here’s a suggestion call Pete best and form a new band!
I know. Why did he get so much camera time? I'd never even heard of him. What a downer.
@@bassiejazz Because he was in the band and they obviously couldn't get the other three. He has a pretty unique perspective being a member of the band even if it was briefly. What did he say that came off as bitter?
It is a bit weird that this album is hold in such a high regard if you disregard it having that new sound. The Police would only go on playing like 5 songs out of 11 on the following tour and then go down to 4 and during their last tours only 2. And it was so rushed that Stewarts kind of forgettable songs had to act as filler. Zenyatta also has some filler as well but not so much. The mixing and recording was VERY rushed though even though Sting had produced one song more. Even if Synchronicity is the most comercially sounding one it produced the most lasting songs.
“Regatta de blanc” doesn’t translate to white reggae, it literally means white boat race. 🤷♂️
So much better when sting made his new band!
I might be wrong but I suspect that statement might be bollocks
so sad, that sting went crasy in 85😢🤪🤨
"Andy didn't bring anything......." except the key to making millions and millions of $ for the next five years. Bye Henri.
What Henry meant was that Andy didn't bring anything to them in terms of a punk sound. They were trying to be punk at that point. And obviously Henry was defending his own punk playing, saying that they didn't need two punk guitarists. Later, Henry greatly compliments Andy for what he brought to the band - once they'd moved away from punk.
@@andrewfurst5711 Exactly.
worst non explanation for a name band
so why were they called the police ?
the other ones are complete bullshit.
Personality wrecked this band
Who cares what Bob Marley may have thought or not thought? Hugely overrated for simplistic music.
Great band but they admitted to ripping off the clash with reggae
Yeah but Stewart did things with the guitar way more original then anyone in the clash or the late 70's 80's punk scene ever did and he us d reggae as just another flavor for his unique style that you couldn't steal without sounding like Stewart. Which reminds me of the song one foot out the door with its very Stewart Copeland sounding guitar outright, which demonstrated Ed's skills as a cover guitarist
@@shinybald36 Stewart Copeland is a great drummer but so is Topper Headon and there isn’t a better white reggae song than White Man (In Hammersmith Palais). The Police got more interesting when they evolved away from reggae.
so what? lol where the fvck did the clash rip reggae from? 🤣😂 every style of music is free to be taken and ran with..
I love the Clash, but to say they ripped from them is like saying the Clash came up with the genre. Police sound is totally unique.
@@jonteunon2977 actually I got the names mixed up I ment Andy Summers and I think his version of reggae owes more to his highly original style and I just think he's above a lot of pop guitarist he definitely is in my top 25 guitarist and while I think the clashes version of pressure drop isa phenom I love the guitar in the very beginning which isn't even something that would be defined as reggae that first lick sounds like add omething Keith would play in his hey days and the licks he uses in song like that are what got me to notice the song in the first place and I kinda of wish they would have gone from there into a different direction then what they ended up doing. But ever one has their own taste.
And here, I always thought Regatta de Blanc meant “White Yacht Race”. 🛥 🤷♂️
At the time, we asked our French teacher at school and she said that too, that regatta meant a boat race. A firned of mine, who couldn't speak a word of French, told me it meant white reggae. He must have read it in a music magazine.
They put several of Sting songs as composed by Summers and Copeland hahaha, like Message in The Bottle, I Cant Stand Losing You, So Lonely, Peanuts, among others, that everybody knows are Sting compositions. Bad documentary, very bad. Sting was and is Police. .
These three guys made some of the best music still around today.