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The Police

THE POLICE
 
 
The Police  were an English rock band formed in London in 1977.  For the majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting (vocalist, bassist and principal songwriter), Andy Summers (guitarist) and Stewart Copeland (drummer).  The Police became globally popular in the late 1970's and are generally regarded as one of the first new wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.  Their 1983 album Synchronicity was number one in both the UK and the US.  The Police have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.  Four of their five studio albums appeared on Rolling Stone '​s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.   (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
When it became clear that Sting would not be returning to the fold, the two remaining members of the Police, Stewart Copeland and, briefly, Andy Summers formed a band in 1987 with Deborah Holland and virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke that was initially called Rush Hour; after Summers exited the group, the name was changed to Animal Logic.  Holland, however, supplied nearly all of the songwriting for the band.
 
(January 2010)
 
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The band was formed in 1978 and was originally called the Misfits, with Belinda Carlisle (lead vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards), Margot Olavarria (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums).  Gina Schock replaced Bello on drums in 1979; after Olavarria became ill and could no longer perform, Kathy Valentine took her position in the band.  Jane Wiedlin thought up the name "the Go-Go's".  The band was signed to I.R.S. Records in early 1981 and started a lucrative tour with the Police, before returning shortly thereafter with their own headlining tour. 

 

(November 2013)

 
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In seemingly no time, the music scene was crowded with top bands and artists whose work has held up well over the decades since, among them Patti Smith Group (whose debut album, Horses came out before Ramones, in December 1975), Television, Richard Hell, the Heartbreakers (the punk band not Tom Petty’s group, though he was a part of the scene as well), Talking Heads, the Dead Boys, Blondie, the Clash, the Cars, Elvis Costello, Pat Benatar, Joy Division, the Specials, the Go-Go's, the Police, etc., etc., etc. There were so many that rock critics and others began distinguishing bands in the safety-pin set as “punk” and others that were less confrontational as “new wave”.  
(December 2016)