The punk band Sting said “paved the way” for The Police
When Sting relocated to London in 1977, his timing was impeccable, coinciding with the emergence of the punk scene. Feeling he had exhausted all possibilities in the northeast, Sting set his sights on the capital to pursue his dreams and explore the potential outcomes of his efforts.
Sting had yet to have a band upon making the move, but that soon changed. He already knew Stewart Copeland after an encounter in Newcastle, and on his first day in London, they reunited for a jam session that set the wheels in motion for a project. Henry Padovani completed their line-up shortly afterwards, although he was soon replaced by Andy Summers.
Despite appearing as an overnight success, The Police put in the hard yards for two years before they finally broke into the mainstream. In the beginning, they played anywhere that would have them. Even if only a handful of people were in the room, The Police would perform, which was a steep learning curve and provided them with vital experience.
At the same time as The Police were cutting their teeth in empty venues across the capital, the Sex Pistols were the band on everybody’s lips. The notorious hell-raisers may have only released one album, 1977’s Never Mind The Bollocks, but their impact on the musical landscape is undeniable, breaking down barriers for the next generations of talent.
Before the Sex Pistols, the 1970s had been the era of commercialised rock ‘n’ roll, which was at odds with the essence of what it should be. However, the Johnny Rotten-led group was the antidote to modern rock, and finally, the youth had a band that stood for the same principles as them and had a strong sense of relatability.
For Sting, as a young artist in an emerging band, the prominence of the Sex Pistols provided him a lifeline as it shook up the industry. While they later moved into pop-rock territory, The Police were heavily influenced by the punk movement during their formative early days, and Sting is hugely grateful for their forefathers.
During an interview with David Sheff, he reflected: “That was the year of punk, which was a kind of galvanising phenomenon for everybody. The rock industry had been dominated previously by dinosaur groups, faceless corporate rock. You couldn’t get in. Then the Sex Pistols kicked the doors down. They paved the way for The Police.”
Despite his band being partly responsible for the success of The Police, Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon was less than complimentary about Sting. It was recently announced he’d be reuniting the band in 2007, sparking Lydon to say during a radio interview, “Honestly, that’s like soggy old dead carcasses. You know, listening to Sting try to squeak through ‘Roxanne’ one more time, that’s not fun. It’s like letting air out of a balloon.”
While Lydon may not be the biggest fan of The Police, his comments take nothing away from the broader importance that the Sex Pistols had upon popular culture. They single-handedly changed the face of the rock, allowing exciting new acts to take the reins away from commercialised, unimaginative acts.
