The Police song that Andy Summers still loves to play: “Best song he ever wrote”
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Police proved themselves to be a well-oiled hit-making machine. It all started with ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ in 1978, a reggae-inspired rock track that immediately shot Sting and his bandmates to chart success. From there, they became a staple in the top ten, unveiling a string of tracks that would soon become signature songs, from ‘Roxanne’ to ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’ to ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’
Sting’s writing style endeared itself to audiences through catchy choruses and slightly off-kilter choices. ‘Roxanne’ placed reggae influences alongside sparse guitars and percussion, captivating audiences with each drawn-out declaration of the title name, while ‘Every Breath You Take’ won audiences over with its strangeness, the creepy character Sting took on, the eerie story that lay within its lyrics, and the soft new wave soundscape.
There is no doubting Sting’s talent for writing hits, but there is one song that his Police bandmate Andy Summers believed to be the greatest example of his talent with a pen. In 1979, just a couple of years into their spree of hits, the band put out a track called ‘Message in a Bottle’ that would give them their first chart-topping position.
‘Message in a Bottle’ was an expertly written track which found Sting stuck on a deserted island, desperately trying to call for help. “I’ll send an S.O.S. to the world,” he sings in the chorus, “I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle.” It’s frantic and fun, and it couldn’t have been written by anyone other than Sting.
When the band unveiled the track in the autumn of 1979, audiences immediately fell in love with it and even sent it to number one. Sting’s bandmate, Summers, also fell in love with the track, later describing it as the “best song he ever wrote,” during an interview with Rick Beato. In fact, Summers still loves the song so much that he incorporated it into his own live set.
“I love playing that song,” he stated, “I still love it,” before acknowledging that he now includes it in the encore to his solo sets. After playing a couple of other tracks from his days in the Police, namely ‘Spirits in the Material World’ and ‘Bring On the Night’, Summers likes to tease audiences by departing from the stage. When they cheer for an encore, he gives them exactly what they want to hear: ‘Message in a Bottle’.
“I go out and do ‘Message in a Bottle’, which is a great way to end it,” he stated, adding, “You can’t beat that.” You certainly can’t. Decades after it was first released, ‘Message in a Bottle’ still remains just as engaging and entertaining as it was upon first release, one of the finest examples of Sting’s ability to write a stellar pop song.
It’s a song that hasn’t just remained in the hearts of the most devoted Police fans, 1980s kids, or more recent converts. It has also remained close to one of the Police himself, who still takes it out on stage every now and then. “Thanks, Sting, for writing that song,” Summers concluded, “and I’m very happy I’ve played on it.”
