The Police - Bring On The Night
The Police are definitely one of
the biggest bands of the 1980's, and are widely cited amongst musicians as a major influence. They were formed in 1977 in London, England by drummer Stewart Copeland. He discovered Sting performing in a jazz trio, and recruited him, and then rounded out the group by adding guitarist Andy Summers. Though they began in the punk scene, they were generally much more talented players than their contemporaries, and were initially derided as being 'fakes' by the music press. However, after a few years of work, and the re-release of three singles, the band finally began to get the recognition they deserved, and their fame just continued growing from then on, until their eventual break up in 1986.
Listen to Bring On The Night by The Police here.
This song was one of four singles
from the group's second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc, released in 1979. The album reached #1 in the charts (a first for the group), and had two #1 singles, which helped propel The Police into the light of the mainstream. There is much less of the punk/more aggressive rock on this album, instead incorporating more of the reggae/ska elements. Although the group is often cited as 'reggae', their songs are always much more complex than any single genre, and manage to fuse elements from across the musical spectrum. This song is a great example of that, as it has parts that are clearly reggae inspired, yet it manages to have its own sound, and stand apart from the genre as a whole.