Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, is one of the most talented musicians of our time. He is a complete genius with an incredible 1st tenor voice. They became one of the biggest bands in the world! And of course Sting went on to be one of the greatest soloists ever. He is the man - trust me, he is an exceptional talent - one of a kind!!!! We don't get too many of these talented people in this life.
Angela, one thing I have to say about you….you are genuine. In a world of phony reaction videos, you are a bright shining star….an honest person. Nobody could fake those reactions. Anyway, Roxanne actually is their signature song from their debut album.
Quote: "Sting wrote the song, inspired by the prostitutes he saw near the band's seedy hotel while in Paris, France in October 1977 to perform at the Nashville Club. The title of the song comes from the name of the character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac, an old poster of which was hanging in the hotel foyer." Try Message in a Bottle for another good Police vibe...
If I remember the story correctly, Sting was walking alone around Paris one night at that time because Stuart Copeland and Andy Summers went out to see this new movie called Star Wars but Sting wasn't interested in seeing it.
The Police have written about a man in love with a prostitute (Roxanne) a stalker (Every Breath You Take) and a school girl infatuated with her teacher and him being attracted to her and their eventual "liaison". (Don't Stand So Close To Me) So as you can see their song subjects were a little different from most, but all are great tunes.
To my knowledge though the lyrics of 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' are somewhat ambiguous it never outright says that the teacher acts on his desire even though he is clearly tempted to "it's no use, he sees her, he starts to shake and cough, just like the old man in that book by Nabukov". The song points to the girl talking about her desire for him to friends which prompts gossip which gets back to the faculty - resulting in accusations towards him and what we would assume to be his dismissal.
The Police played during the punk / new wave era, and reggae was often used by bands of that era. The Police were one of the major bands to do so. They were a great influence on many bands. VERY big in their day.
The Police/Sting have a really unique sound. The tone of Sting’s voice and the unusual blend of notes-no one sounds like them at all. I would suggest Don’t Stand So Close To Me.
Like Brian Said before, I too loved watching you piecing the parts together and having your Eureka!!! moment lol. Such a classic song, but you are not alone, most people, the first couple of times do not realize what is going on in the song.
I'm not sure anyone's mentioned yet, but during recording, right at the beginning, the lead singer (Sting) accidentally sat on a keyboard. The resulting dissonant chord (and his laughing about it) are audible in the final track at 0:37 in this video. He was credited in the album as having done "butt piano."
Sting fronted the Police and then went solo. His most hauntingly beautiful song is called 'Fields of Gold'. Sting had the best of the best musicians in his band and paid them well. Miles Davis, RIP, was one of the greatest in the field of jazz, spanning, and at the center of, the jazz world from the 1940s to 1980s. In the last phase of Miles' career, he invented a style of jazz called fusion which mixed jazz (traditionally horns, drums, piano and string bass) with electric guitar and a driving beat (rock and roll). Why am I talking about Miles Davis? In Miles' autobiography, he talks of Sting 'stealing' musicians from his regular band because Sting had become one of the best selling artists on the planet and could pay the best musicians more money than Miles could.
the police was another great 3 man band with amazing & talented & gifted musicians & singers. They mixed ska & reagge sounds . Voices inside my head" is my favorite.
That was awesome watching you come to the realization of the meaning of the song. I was a very young man when I saw them play in two concerts. The whole stadium lit up RED, during the song Roxanne and it was truly a great time. Loved your reaction.
I have watched a good many reactions and let me just say I enjoy yours… Does me good to see the younger generation be exposed to the classics.. Good job !
Angela, I just subscribed love your reactions! Definitely genuine haha.. Love my older relatives for getting me into the 80s artist when I was a kid. New subscriber request 😁.. Can you do a reaction to Every Little Thing She Does is Magic? The song and video have good energy and positive vibes, I think you will enjoy the unique reggae-rock fusion they were known for, as they were inspired by the popularity of UK based Trojan Records, a record label that produced ska reggae and really got it out to the world from the island of Jamaica in the late 60s to 70s. I like documentaries about music.. Can you tell? 😂
Love your reaction so much, I'm going to watch it again! Wrapped Around Your Finger is another great Police song. And for a song just by Sting, Fields of Gold is super.
I just found your channel yesterday. It's going to be fun to watch you react to a whole new world of music. if you like Roxanne, you might like a different angle. "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me" by Linda Ronstadt is a classic.
When I was in the navy, a fellow squid was engaged to a waitress by the name of Roxanne. On her birthday one year he and her coworkers played this song and thoroughly embarrassed her. :)
Yes I remember one of the members said in a documentary that they were inspired by reggae. They would go home and practice reggae riffs. Great reaction by the way 👍🏾🇯🇲🇺🇸
"Red Light" means "The Red Light District" in many countries where their are areas that prostitution is legal. Hence; "You don't have to put the red light." because "red light" in general sense means stop as the reference is always the traffic light which in this case is the opposite when the man inlove with Roxanne is telling her to turn off the red light. Sting is the lead vocalist for the band Police. He also has a successful single career.
One of their first albums was called Regatta De Blanc - White Reggae. The Police were one of a number of UK bands that took reggae firmly into their rock toolkit.
This song has two meanings regarding the time and relationships. Today the guy would either be a Simp allowing his girl to go out be with other guys for money. NOW! The Darker Meaning of the Song in regard to the time and place of this song. This was first released in the UK when they had a problem called The Yorkshire Ripper who targeted Prostitutes. Many Prostitutes actually used Red Lights in their houses and men would come calling. The Yorkshire Ripper was kind of the UK's Ted Bundy. The police came so close to catching him but seemed to just keep missing him for a long time until he was finally caught. This song is a sad warning to both men and women about the consequences of choices.
Sting wrote the song about the prostitutes he used to see near the band’s seedy hotel in Paris,France in 1977 when they were performing at the Nashville club.
HEY, did you know George Michael did a big band jazzy 1930s rendition of this song? Had a whole orchestra and everything. Probably lots of footage of him doing it live, as that album did well in Europe and South America, but not North America -- "Songs from the Last Century" and he covered songs from every decade and made them all sound like big brassy 1930s standards. It's BEAUTIFUL. Roxanne was popular from that album.
Love your reactions! One thing is your mic is considerably louder than the music. Try to equalize them out! Keep it up, I just put like 30 of your videos on a playlist. Can't wait to see more!
Roxanne was inspired by the prostitutes the band used to see on the streets of Belgium while touring. Sting wonder what it would be like to be in love with one of these ladies and the song was born. All memebers of the band were once police officers, obviously the bands name, so encountered ladies of the night on a regular basis
Funny when you finally listen to the lyrics of a song the light 💡 bulb turns on in your brain and you get what they are singing about hence the story!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 So says Austin Texas!!!!!! 😎🍸
Ja, das "Red Light" ist referring to das Amsterdam Red Light canals. I have many friends there. :-) Great song. Have a fun day. Auf Wiedersehen aus Wiesbaden :-)
You were a bit slow but you got there in the end! Don’t worry, we all have our moments. Great to see young’ns appreciating the music we grew up with. Check out can’t stand loosing you - another great early police number.
When the Police were in Europe, Denmark I believe, if I recollect correctly, they found housing in an empty room in a house shared by prostitutes. In seeing there plight Sting made a fictitious song about Roxanne hoping it would resonate with the women in their vicinity! I too loved it when it became apparent. (I hit the subscribe button at that point!)
You should love Canary in a Coalmine or When the World is Running Down. You are great and refreshing to watch. As the reaction channels become more popular, personality will separate the good from the rest. You are on your way. And your looks and enthusiasm don't hurt either. Good Luck.
Nice reaction. It took a moment but you got there. When I first realized I thought WOW she must of been really good, he fell in love with her. Reminds me of the movie Harlem Nights. "Sunshine" If you haven't seen that movie, Stop what your doing and go watch it. And then you'll understand "it's me, yea I ain't ever coming home". Would of been funnier if Sunshine's real name was Roxanne.
The reason they call it the red light is back in the day when the train stopped to get serviced so did the crew of the trains and the Conductor would hang the red lantern outside what room he was in with a prostitute. That is how they found him when train was ready to leave!
