The Police File
PART ONE
VINYL
RARITIES
BY MARK BAKER
Taken from Record Collector #29 - Jan 1982.
NOTICE: The Pound Sterling symbol has been substituted by a sharp sign '#'.
When a small London independent label named Illegal put out its first single
in May 1977, no-one took much notice. Certainly, few could ever have imagined
that within three years the punk group who screamed their way through Stewart
Copeland's ``Fall Out'' would become the world's most successful band, with
chart-topping singles in almost every country, and a track record that has made
them Britain's most consistent sellers of singles and albums.
Individually, the members of the Police had found varyng degrees of success
in the music business before they joined their talents together, but
none of them could have been described as superstars. Now they fall
into the supertax bracket, recording in luxurious overseas locations,
touring all the rock markets of the world, including many which had
never been exposed to rock and roll before; and their most recent
releases suggest that they are now in the happy position of aving
an audience who are prepared to let them progress and follow new musical
directions without losing any of their popularity.
When they signed in A&M in 1978, the Police soon ran into problems
with the media. After their first couple of singles had received rave
reviews, they were denied a lot of radio and television airplay
because of censorship problems. Then the music press dubbed them
the New Wave band that everyone liked - which at the height of the punk
explosion came to be considered as the ultimate insult! Through dynamic
live performances, a strong visual image, and, most important of all,
commercial material, they overcame all the bad publicity and completely
captured the teenage audience. but they never seemed completely happy
about being teenage idols, and they actually seemed relieved when Adam
and the Ants took some of the pressure away from them at the start of last
year. Unlike many groups, who flop as soon as the teen audience loses interest
in them, the Police had managed to create a wide base of public support,
and have moved easily into the rock mainstream. Along the way, they've picked
up thousands of devoted fans, who have amounted to a huge market for the
variuos limited edition collector's items produced throughout the Police's
career. Many of these are still rising in value, and as the band's support
is still increasing, it's a fair bet that they represent a good investment
for the future.
ILLEGAL
The Police line-up that recorded that first single for Illegal wasn't the same
as the one we know today. Sting played bass and sang lead on the record,
and Stewart Copeland (who had the idea to set up the Illegal label) was
the drummer - and also added some guitar - but the main guitarist was
Henry Padovani. The A-side, Copeland's ``Fall Out'', was very much in the
punk mould, but the flip, ``Nothing Achieving'', written by Stewart with
his brother Ian, came nearer to heavy metal than New Wave, with Padovani
playing guitar riffs straight out of the early Seventies. It was the A-side
that undoubtedly sold the record. Only 10,000 were pressed at the time
(in two 5,000 batches), and all sold out very quickly. This first release
of ``Fall Out'' featured a picture sleeve, with the name of the group and
the record printed on a black background. These original copies now sell for
about #5, while promos of the release fetch about #12.
After the Police had enjoyed a couple of big hit singles, ``Fall Out'' was
reissued in December 1979. This time the same cover picture was used, but the
sleeve design was altered, and the picture appeared in front of a black and
green checked background. In addition, the lettering was changed, to
incorporate the established Police logo used on all their records after
``Outlandos D'Amour''. These copies are not at all scarce, as the single
was actually a hit the second time round, reaching the Top Fifty at the
end of 1979. Besides the green/black check design, some copies carry a sleeve
in purple and blue. These appear to be a slightly later issue than the
first re-release, and at the moment don't have any extra value - though
it's well worth bearing these variations in mind for the future, as these
are just the kind of itemswhich do become very collectable when copies are
no longer so easy to find.
In between the making of the Illegal single and the Police's signing with
A&M, the band's line-up changed. First of all, Andy Summers, a veteran
of the British music scene who had been in Zoot Money's Big Roll Band as
far back as 1964, became the group's second guitarist; and then Padovani
decided to leave, toying with a solo career before joining Wayne (later
Jayne) County's Electric Chairs. A&M signed up the new three-piece
Police at the start of 1978, on the strength of the material Sting in
particular had already written, and the group's obvious versatility on
their instruments - not always a feature of new bands. Summers in particular
was an excellent musician, who had played with the Animals, Mike Oldfield
and Kevin Ayers among many others; while Copeland (the former drummer with
Curved Air) was a powerhouse drummer, and Sting a melodic and inventive
bassist.
PEANUTS
Their first single for A&M was ``Roxanne'', issued in a picture sleeve
in April 1978. It was a Sting original, which highlighted the group's unusual
`white reggae' sound, their trademark for the first couple of albums.
The flip was Sting and Stewart's ``Peanuts'', and both numbers subsequently
appeared on the group's first LP later that year. Rather than the songs
themselves, it is the picture sleeve that now makes that first A&M single
a rarity. Both 7" and 12" versions were issued with the same picture sleeve
design, showing a red telephone with a girl's face in the dialling ring,
and the name `Roxanne' on the receiver. As the record wasn't a hit at the time
(hindered from getting the airplay it deserved by the fact that the song
referred to a prostitute), copies with the original sleeve are now very
collectable, and the 12" version in particular fetches a very good price in
Mint condition.
``Roxanne'' was followed in August 1978 by ``Can't Stand Losing You'', another
catchy, commercial song with the unmistakeable Sting trademark of an
unforgettable hook. Sadly, despite another picture sleeve as an added
attraction, ``Losing You'' didn't rise any higher than No. 42 in the
charts the first time round - thanks to more airplay restrictions. ``Losing
You'' refers at one point to suicide, and the mere mention of the word seemed
to be enough to deter many DJs from playing it. Original picture sleeve
copies are getting harder to find now, while demos of the first release of the
single (like those for the original ``Roxanne'') sell for about #7. One other
point worth noting about the single is that, like most of its successors,
it features a non-LP cut as the flip, the stormling rocker ``Dead End Job''
- another reason for searching the single out.
To coincide with the first LP release, A&M took a third single from the
album's track listing. ``So Lonely'' (which included a song later used on the
band's second album as the flipside) was actually slightly shorter on the
single than on the LP - as several of the vand's 45s have been. It too came
in a picture sleeve, but once again wasn't a hit. One oddity worth looking
out for here is that some original copies of the single (and some of the
1980 reissues as well) list the B-side as ``Time This Time'' - a trivial point
but one which is likely to provide a collector's item of the future. Rarer
still are copies of ``Can't Stand Losing You'' which have ``No Time This Time''
on the B-side instead od ``Dead End Job''. Few of these seem to have been
offered for sale, but we'd expectthem to go for at least #7 in Mint condition.
MEDLEY
The band's first album, ``Outlandos D'Amour'', contained eight Sting songs,
the ``Peanuts'' collaboration with Copeland, and a medley of Sting's
``Be My Girl'' ans Summers' ``Sally''. ``Sally'' was actually less of a song
and more of an ode to the variuos uses for inflatable plastic ladies, and
introduced the Police sense of humour that has surfaced regularly ever since.
Besides the singles, stand-out tracks were ``Truth Hits Everybody'' and
``Born In The 50's'', both Police stage favourites.
The normal release of the LP is still available, but one of the rarest Police
records these days is the limited edition blue vinyl issue of ``Outlandos''.
We've seen copies on offer for as much as #25, but #15 seems about the right
price - though it is noticeable that the price of this item is starting to rise
pretty quickly.
Although ``So Lonely'' didn't follow ``Can't Stand Losing You'' into the
charts, their early singles started to get more and more airplay after their
first album was released. Eventually, in April 1979, A&M decided to
re-promote ``Roxanne'', and issued 7" and 12" versions in a new picture
sleeve - plus several thousand copies in blue vinyl (again with picture
sleeves). The single soon entered the Top Fifty, peaking at No. 12 in May - the
real start of the Police's success story. 12" copies of the single in Mint
condition are getting harder to find, and blue vinyl copies sell for about #5.
Two months later, A&M followed up with a similar re-release af ``Can't
Stand Losing You''. Beside another picture sleeve, they helped to increase
sales by issuing limited quantities in various colored vinyls. If you search
round, you'll find ``Can't Stand Losing You'' in white, dark blue, light
blue, red, yellow and green vinyl! The red and light blue issues seem to be
the easiest to find (after the ordinary black issue, of course), while the
white and yellow discs are now the scarcest. From this point on, marketing
the Police took on new dimensions, and every new release arrived with at
least a limited edition picture sleeve, and more often than not some other
instant collector's items!
``Can't Stand Losing You'' reached No. 2 second time around, and prepared the
way for the band's first new material for almost a year. ``Message In A
Bottle'' was an unstoppable hit song which could have scored for just about
anyone; but coupled with the dramatic rise in interest in the Police, it made
them Britain's most popular band almost overnight. A week after release, it
was Britain's No. 1 single; and it repeated that pattern all over the world.
As an extra marketing ploy, A&M released a few thousand copies in green
vinyl, but for once that kind of bonus wasn't needed. You won't have any
problem finding normal picture sleeve copies of the single, but those green
discs will require slightly more effort - and money, as they now fetch about
#4 each.
REISSUE
The success of ``Message'' led to the reissue of their first Illegal single -
but for once this repackaging of the past couldn't be called exploitative,
as the Police were the ones who decided that ``Fall Out'' deserved another
airing. Although it didn't sound like the Police of 1979, it still hung around
the lower end of the chart for a month or so, complete with the new picture
sleeve we've already mentioned.
At the same time, A&M were publicising the Police's second album,
``Reggatta De Blanc''. It was an instant and massive success, and over the next
year dominated the album charts around the world - until dislodged by the
band's next LP! Besides ``Message'' and the follow-up, ``Walking On The Moon'',
the album also included several stage favourites (``Bring On The Night'' and
the title track), and a couple more numbers which displayed a certain sense of
humour (``Does Everyone Stare'' and ``On Any Other Day''). It also showed
that Sting was starting to find putting an album's worth of songs together a
considerable strain, as Stewart Copeland contributed three numbers, and three
more were band compositions - probably written in the studio. In fact, it was
later revealed that the band arrived in the studios without rehearsals or even
having decided what to record - a far cry from the ``Outlandos'' session
where the Police were in and out of the studio within a few days having spent
a paltry #4,000!
``Walking On The Moon'' was released just in time for Christmas 1979, and again
made the No. 1 spot - with the usual picture sleeve, and with added sales
coming from a limited edition 12" release, now worth about #5 in Mint
condition and getting harder to find.
Over the next year, the Police toured the world, visiting many countries
which had never seen a rock and roll show before, and generally spreading the
word about the group who were now Britain's most successful act overseas.
There was no prospect of any new Police material until the following autumn,
so A&M decided to re-promote ``So Lonely'', the band's only single so
far not to have made the charts. Although both sides were available an album,
it still leapt up the charts to No. 6, though not surprisingly it wasn't
as successful as its predecessors.
ACCUSATIONS
The Police's next release aroused a lot of controversy, and accusations that
they were ripping off their fans. In May 1980, A&M released a limited
edition `six-pack' singles' set, which included their five previuos A&M
45s, plus a new combination of live versions of ``Truth Hits Everybody'' and
``The Bed's Too Big Without You'', in a presentation pack - with all six
records pressed up on blue vinyl. Besides the question of whether it was right
to ask the fans to buy ten tracks they might already have to get hold of two
new live songs, there was also the problem of whether the pack should count
as an LP or a single in the charts. Although it actually cost more than
any LP, the BRMB decided it should count as a single (making it easily the most
expensive item ever to enter the 45s charts!) - and remarkably, after all
the bad publicity, and the prohibitive cover price, it reached the No. 17
position in the Top Fifty, though it only stayed in the charts for a month.
In any case, only 50,000 of the sets were pressed, a genuine limited edition,
which precluded a long chart run. For several months after it was first
released, you could still buy sets at about #6 each from record stores which
had stocked up when they had first appeared, but now you'll have to pay at
least #10 to get hold of one. There's also a very interesting promo item
available, which includes the A-sides of all the singles in the set
(with ``Bed's Too Big'' taken as the top side of the live one) on a 12"
single - current value about #12.
Another limited edition item which was easy to find at the time, but which is
now much scarcer, is the double 10" album pack of the ``Reggatta'' album, also
made available in the States. The U.K. pack sells for about #9, while the
American one (complete with a Police poster) sells for slightly more.
In September 1980 came the band's new single, a trailer for the ``Zenyatta
Mondatta'' LP recorded in Holland. ``Don't Stand So Close To Me'' (first
400,000 copies in picture sleeves, first few thousand with poster sleeves)
entered the charts at No. 1 at the end of September, and remained there for
four weeks - by which time it had been joined at the top of the charts by the
new LP. ``Zenyatta'' showed a much slicker production than the first two
albums, but also revealed an acute lack of material, highlighted by the
inclusion of two instrumentals on the very low-key send side. The first
side was excellent, however, and contained enough good material to make
certain that the LP was a massive seller all over the world. By Christmas,
A&M had released ``De Do Do Do'' as a follow-up (with a non-album
B-side, like their previous three 45s), and that made No. 5 - kept off the top
only by John Lennon and Adam and the Ants. ``De Do Do Do'' only appeared
after ``Canary In A Coalmine'' had been announced as the second single from the
LP, so it's quite possible that there are promotional copies of that track
around on U.K. A&M - if so, they'd certainly fetch a very good price!
FRANTIC
1981 was another year of frantic touring for the Police, including a final
effort at establishing themselves in the States, which paid off in time for
the latest batch of releases. Three singles have so far been pulled from what
is probably their best LP, ``Ghost In The Machine'', and all have been hits,
complete with picture sleeves. In addition, ``Spirits'', the latest release,
has been issued in a limited edition poster cover, with free badge, making
an item that will probably become another collector's item of the future!
Each of the three ``Ghost In The Machine'' singles also contains a non-LP
flipside, another reason for making sure you have copies in your
collection.
Finally this month, we should mention three of the most established Police
collector's items, the `badge' and `star' discs. The first Police `badge'
picture disc featured ``Roxanne'' and ``Can't Stand Losing You'', and
appeared originally in a limited edition of 500 in the States. Copies then
became available through the Police's own merchandising outlet, and now sell
for about #12. A second promotional picture disc, this time star-shaped,
went through the same procedure. This backed the studio cut of ``Message
In A Bottle'' with an otherwise unobtainable live version, and now sells
for about #9. Finally, a second `star' disc matches ``Don't Stand So Close
To Me'' with ``De Do Do Do'', and although it's easy to get hold of at the
moment (for about #8), it looks set to join the other Police collector's items
in the near future.
UNBROKEN
After four albums, and an unbroken run if hit singles, the Police are still
riding high today, unquestionably Britain's most successful band of the last
three years. They've widened their popularity over the last couple of years,
and seem to have moved out of the teenage-orientated bracket into a mainstream
rock one - a shift that shoud assure them of many years at the top. They've
managed to retain the basics of their old sound while progressing at the
same time - another very healthy sign - and it seems certain that their
popularity with fans and collectors alike will continue well into the future.
Next month, we'll look at some of the more obscure items connected with the
band which have become collector's items: overseas releases and promos;
compilation LPs featuring the band; Stewart Copeland's pseudonymous solo
releases; and the other records that contain contributions from Sting, Stewart
and Andy, including some extremely rare items from Sting's first two bands!
There's certainly plenty of rare Police material here to keep most collectors
happy for a long time; and both patience and a healthy bank balance will
probably be needed to track down everything we've mentioned here. As
we'll also see next month, the list of Police rarities is almost endless,
and represents one of the most interesting (and at times confusing) areas
of collecting to have opened up for a long time!
Complete Police UK Discography (Record Collector January/1982)
Adapted from a similar listing transcribed by Pete Ashdown
Cat No. Title 1982 Mint Value
SINGLES
Illegal IL 001 Fall Out/Nothing Achieving (May/77, black&white) #6
A&M AMS 7348 Roxanne/Peanuts (April/78, telephone picture sleeve) #4
A&M AMS 7348 Roxanne/Peanuts (April/78, 12", telephone sleeve) #10
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You/Dead End Job (August/78
picture sleeve, No. 42) #2.50
A&M AMS 7402 So Lonely/No Time This Time (October/78, picture slv)#1.50
A&M AMS 7348 Roxanne/Peanuts (April/79, reissue, pic sleeve #12) #2
A&M AMS 7348 Roxanne/Peanuts (April/79, reissue, pic sleeve, 12") #5
A&M AMS 7348 Roxanne/Peanuts (April/79, pic sleeve, blue vinyl) #5
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You/Dead End Job (June/79,
reissue, picture sleeve, no. 2) #1.50
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, dark
blue vinyl) #4.50
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, light
blue vinyl) #4
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, yellow
vinyl) #5
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, green
vinyl) #6
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, red
vinyl) #3.50
A&M AMS 7381 Can't Stand Losing You (June/79, pic sleeve, white
vinyl) #5
A&M AMS 7474 Message In A Bottle/Landlord (Sept/79, pic slv No. 1)#1.50
A&M AMS 7474 Message In A Bottle/Landlord (Sept/79, P/S, green vinyl)#4
Illegal IL 001 Fall Out/Nothing Achieving (December/79, green&black) #1
Illegal IL 001 Fall Out/Nothing Achieving (December/79, purple&blue) #1
A&M AMS 7494 Walking On The Moon/Visions of The Night (pic slv No. 1)#1.5
A&M AMS 7494 Walking On The Moon/Visions of The Night (P/S, 12") #5
A&M AMS 7402 So Lonely/No Time This Time (Feb/80, pic sleeve, No. 6) #1.5
A&M AMPP 6001 Police Pack (six single pack, including AMS 7348, AMS
7381, AMS 7402, AMS 7474, and AMS 7494, plus extra
single "Truth Hits Everybody"/"The Bed's Too Big Without
You". All singles in blue vinyl, in presentation pack.
May/80, No. 17) #9
A&M AMS 7564 Don't Stand So Close To Me/Friends (Sept/80 poster slv)#2.5
A&M AMS 7564 Don't Stand So Close To Me/Friends (Oct/80 P/S no. 1)#1.25
A&M AMS 7578 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da/A Sermon (Dec/80 picture
sleeve, No. 5) #1.25
A&M AMS 8164 Invisible Sun/Shamelle (Sept/81 pic sleeve, No. 2) #1
A&M AMS 8174 Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic/Flexible Strategies
(Oct/81, picture sleeve, No. 1) #1
A&M AMS 8194 Spirits/Low Life (November/81 poster sleeve) #1
LPs
A&M AMLH 68502 Outlandos D'Amour (October 1978) #4
A&M AMLN 68502 Outlandos D'Amour (blue vinyl) #15
A&M AMLH 64792 Reggatta De Blanc (October 1979) #4
A&M AMLH 64792 Reggatta De Blanc (2 10" LPs) #9
A&M AMLH 64831 Zenyatta Mondatta (October 1980) #4
A&M AMLK 63730 Ghost In The Machine (September 1981) #4
Click HERE for the Part Two of this article.