Sting really was a teacher and apparently this song is based on his personal experience. The shirt he is wearing is 'The Beat' an English Ska band from the early 80s. You could check out 'Save it for Later' and 'Mirror in the Bathroom'.
Sting has always maintained that the song is not about anything he experienced as a teacher. He did say that it’s a reflection of young fans when they were at the peak of their popularity.
Sting actually was an English teacher before becoming famous. Some of his students had crushes on him and he had to resist temptation. It's not about him being the agressor. It's him saying 'Don't stand so close to me'...not the student telling him to back off, lol.
@@ckobo84 Haha, yep. I read he sings something like, "She's only 53..' these days, since his fans are now in that age bracket, lol. Not sure if he really acknowledges the core issue or not, but so many similar songs going back before the 80s. Sixteen and seventeen seem to be the magic ages in songs. Definitely reflected some of their personal lives, as we saw w/Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steven Tyler and safe to say many, many more.
I've taught Nabokov's novel LOLITA (1955), to which this song alludes, in university literature classes. It's very well written, and it can be used to teach a whole lot about the modern novel. The controversial subject matter brings out a lot of discussion.
I never thought of the police as new wave, they were a sort of pop rock band on slightly lower order than U2, when I think of new wave, flock a seagulls or Duran Duran comes to mind
@@joycegibbs5267 Absolutely, my friend. The world will witness many marvelous and wondrous things, but it will never again witness a decade that equals the '80s. We were a blessed generation.
Sting was actually a school teacher for a while. Also, the t-shirt was The Beat (aka The English Beat) who were a huge Ska band at the time. Check out The Beat's "Mirror in the Bathroom" .
Little known fact: Sting has grown up to be a great dad to his kids, requiring that each of them earn a living for themselves and not letting them assume they can glom off of him.
This is the same example that Sir Paul McCartney used in raising his children, which resulted in bringing up children who were told to stand on their own feet! Compared with the Kardashian’s who brought up children who don’t even know how to cut up a cucumber
The Police were punk originally but fused into Ska. The tribal rhythms by the drummer, Stewart Copeland make it unmistakable. They have a tune written by Andy Summers about a blowup doll.
The Police might have been The Band of early 80s. Had they stayed together, they surely would be considered one of the great all time bands. So much talent, and sensational song writing.
They became one of the biggest bands ever- their reunion tour became the 3rd highest grossing tour ever till that time. Their Synchronicity tour was the biggest tour ever till the 80s and before that.
the Police. All three of these guys were fearless. (and apparently Sting was known for taking off his shirt every chance he got) Love your reaction, kids.
This reference of the book by Nabokov is titled "Lolita". Also, the title of the movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. It was very taboo back in the 60's. So much so that my cousin hosted a private showing of the movie. Kids from the entire neighborhood were bunched up in one room where total chaos ensued when my uncle came home early from work. Yeah, my cousin really caught the belt that evening.
This song is from the Zenyatta Mondatta album, but the entire Synchronicity album (1983) was an absolute banger. It was also their last album, but what a way to go out.
This played out in my high school lol. Teacher was 27, student was 16. At the end of the year we had like a senior "show" where people would do skits and they dressed as the teacher and her and played this song. Dude couldn't sink lower in his chair and I think would have unalived himself if he could.
I knew this was gonna be a gooder! My eyes were fixed on T's face for the entire beginning cos I wanted to see his reaction when he realized what the song was about, lol! Hilarious! 😀
@@TheAdventuresofTNT if you liked it that much, you might be interested to know they band got together long enough to re-record it in 1986. It's a different arrangement, tempo, practically a whole new song. You might also be interested in following up this original version with a reaction on the new version and draw comparisons, debate which version you & Tasha like better, etc. It was on their Greatest Hits compilation and is simply known as "Don't Stand So Close To Me `86" . Cheers!
Back in 1990, I was a senior in High School. My male math teacher had a thing for me. (I was a shy 17 year old girl). He was obvious about it and would write me long notes filling up the entire back of my graded assignment. Unfortunately, he looked nothing like Sting. 🤣😭. I just kept my boundaries with him. I did get an "A" in that class and I'm not that great at math. 😂 I never even told my parents until years later. It was different times back then. I had grit and wasn't afraid of him. I kept my boundaries. But I cannot even imagine if that happened these days. 😮
The T-shirt Sting is wearing is actually another band of the era - The Beat aka The English Beat. Their song "Mirror in the Bathroom" is worth your time.
Oddly enough, it was common knowledge at the time that Sting had written this about his own career as a teacher after whom some of his young students lusted. He'd probably get in trouble for this song, now.
When I was in high school in the 70’s nobody talked about student teacher stuff but it was going on. Any male teacher who was accused of being inappropriate with a student was usually quietly fired and encouraged to move on down the road. But the female teachers were often ignored. We had one teacher in my high school that would pick a favorite kid every year and that was her special helper for the year. The leadership in town knew what she was doing but they chose to ignore it under the idea “Oh, what a lucky boy to get that kind of attention.” This went on until she retired a known but ignored issue. And like I said we had a couple of examples that showed it was a complete different view if it was a guy teacher with a student.
Understand that in the 80's, 16 y/o girls were trying to look 26, and with the big hair, clothes, and makeup alot of them could just about pull it off, making it just that much more tempting. You could get into big legal trouble if you weren't careful. True story - friend of mine couple of years behind me had a classmate who dated a girl when he was 21 and she was 16. Except, she had a top notch fake ID that would even get her into bars. Dad found out and was friends with the judge who sent him to prison for 2 years, even though she had illegally portrayed herself as 21. He wasn't the first guy to get tricked into statutory back in the day.
Now that’s interesting. I’ve been listening to this song since it came out, and I always pictured it as him not giving in to temptation (trying to keep her away). But, I’d never considered what you said at the very end of this video, that he was asking her not to stand so close as to not give away what they had already been doing! Love the new twist! ✌️
The Police are AWESOME! Sooo many great hits. Also, the lead singer, Sting, has an INCREDIBLE solo career also. Please react to The Police "Wrapped around my finger" and Sting "DESERT ROSE" and "FRAGILE" (original videos). 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The shirt was for The English Beat (named changed) & their Mirror in the Bathroom is amazing. I miss the 80s. Sting was a teacher, can’t imagine having a young Sting as my teacher, major crush time. He did resist & quit teaching.
I know it is not one of their hit songs but check out The Police- Sally, Be My Girl. It is worth it just for the inevitable comical reaction when the reveal of what the song is about happens. It is on their 1st album
I love seeing couples that "Look Alike" (and are on the same vibe) when they are attracted to each other and actually marry. I Love You Guys! Keep up the great work!💖
Guys 70-80’s were super wild times. I remember my teacher women on MS were dressed with tight jeans and the blouse were so open. Maybe they had rules and ethics you know, but I lived and grew in a tropical Spanish country. Where the teachers( men/ women) were playing the pray- hunt games. Were different times when everything was NORMAL Good reaction Keep it up
This song is based on two things, Sting's experience as a english teacher and the book "Lolita" about a school girl lusting after an older man... and vice versa.
The Police had cracking music. Intelligent lyrics, and incredibly difficult drum beats as they were all superb musicians. Sting then went on to have a massively long solo career - also worth listening to. Sting was an English teacher to begin with prior to his musician days… there’s been much discussion as u can imagine! And yeah, we all drooled over Sring lol. We had the best music in the 80s
Great band The Police .Their music is so different and unique and always has a reggae vibe to it , Message In A Bottle Every Little Thing She Does r 2 you might Check out .. Every one of their songs are brilliant .Thanks For bringing these guys to your channel THANKS jOHN
STING WENT ON TO MASSIVE FAME SOLO!!! BUT HE ACTED, TOO! HE'S IN FIRST "DUNE" MOVIE, "LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS" HE AND WIFE, TRUDY STYLER ARE HUGE IN CHARITY EVENTS, PRODUCE OTHER ACTS, ETC. "POWER COUPLE" DRFINED👍👍👍👍👍❤❤❤❤❤
I was in HS 78 - 82 and there was always gossip about a girl student and a teacher or student teacher….and sometimes it was true. We really didn’t think anything about it. Times have changed for sure! We also rode our bikes to the next town and roamed all over with our parents having no idea where we were. So, there’s that. 😂
This situation was common place in UK schools , imagine Sting at your school 🥰 commence eyelash fluttering and the shortest school skirt you could get away with 😊
The song is about a teacher (which Sting actually was before musical stardom beckoned) who realizes one of his female students has a crush on him and his attempts to keep a discreet distance between them lest anyone think any kind of hanky panky is going on. That rug beater probably was used on a few butts in some classroom back in the day LOL.
There’s a line “Like that old man in that book by Nabakov” refers to Vladimir Nabokov’s book “Lolita” which is a story of a man -Humbert, is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores
One of things to remember about 80s music, was that a lot was written specifically to be presented on a MTV music video. Sometimes the bands would get very artistic, since video music was a new medium. Other bands would release the song, and then if it became popular, would make a video. In the 60-70s there were tv appearances and filmed rock concerts, but there really wasn't much in the way of videos.
The t shirt Sting is wearing says “The Beat” an early 80’s British ska/blue beat,white reggae band. The 2-tone movement was very big in the UK at the time with the beat and The Specials leading the way.
The very first album I ever bought was “Regatta de blanc” from the Police. Sting’s playing and tone is what spurred my interest in bass playing. I didn’t act on it for years because I know my parents wouldn’t have been supported but I’ve been playing for 25 years now 😃.
If you like that you'll love this "CLAIR - Gilbert O'Sullivan (Lyrics on screen)" Uncle Ray is Gilberts real name and the giggle at the end of the song is Clair herself
I will never forget him. His name was Mr. Wilde and he taught English class, lol. He had hair like a heavy metal star and he was very good looking. Every girl had a crush on him. He was NEVER inappropriate with any of us, but we all daydreamed about him. Thank you so much for the reaction, it brought back alot of memories from the 80's.
I'm Dutch and was 5 years in Mexico. The second year I was a teacher at an institute in the city of Puebla for 5 month. And indeed latin girls are hot and didn't have problems to cut corners if you give them the chance. If your not prepared it will surprise you!
"The Beat" T-shirt is from the band The English Beat....I was Lucky enough to meet them & their opening The Specials in the Early 80's ...I had GREAT 80's met LOTS of Bands by making stage clothes & friends in bands...Biggest 80's highlight.... 83? 84?...Got to sit in a studio for a little bit with a few other friends while Friend Rob Hyman ( from Philly Pa. band The Hooters) worked on song "Time After Time" with a then unknown Cyndi Lauper.. ❤...like I said....I had a Great 80's...😁
One of my favorite The Police songs! Such a fantastic band! And Sting is a legend - such a deep rabbit hole to go down. I love how the song's instruments are a bit creepy - it's unsettling.