The Police's “Every Breath You Take,” the minor key ballad from 1983’s Synchonicity, their final album, is the band's signature song. It's a Song Of The Year Grammy winner, the Police’s only US Hot 100 #1, and the best selling single of 1983. BMI has recognized it as “the most played song in radio history.” Guitarist Andy Summers came up with its iconic Béla Bartók-inspired arpeggiated riff, but Sting wrote the chord progression on organ, along with the lyrics, at Ian Fleming's GoldenEye estate in Jamaica in 1982, and the singer/bassist retained sole writing credit.
The question over credit came up in a public way in 1997 when Puff Daddy sampled Summers' lick and utilized Sting's vocal melody, for his Notorious B.I.G. tribute "I'll Be Missing You," also a #1 hit; Sting took every cent it made. The Police's track been licensed for many movies and TV shows over the years, including The Sopranos and Stranger Things, and is now enjoying a resurgence thanks to TikTok. It's also a popular wedding song despite being about a stalker's possessiveness over an ex-lover.
Now, over 42 years after it was released as a single, Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland are taking legal action against their ex-bandmate over “substantial” damages due to lost royalties, People reports. In a High Court writ issued in London, Sting (real name Gordon Sumner) and his publishing company Magnetic Publishing Limited are listed as defendants.
The move they made was not unexpected. “'Every Breath You Take' was going in the trash until I played on it,” Summers told podcaster Jeremy White in 2023. “It's a very contentious [topic] – it's very much alive at the moment," he added, hinting at a legal battle. "Watch the press — let's see what happens in the next year."
He made similar comments to Guitar World the year prior:
"That song was going to be thrown out. Sting and Stewart could not agree on how the bass and drums were going to go. We were in the middle of Synchronicity and Sting says, ‘Well, go on then, go in there and make it your own.’
“And I did it in one take. They all stood up and clapped. And, of course, the fucking thing went right round the world, straight to No 1 in America. And the riff has become a kind of immortal guitar part that all guitar players have to learn.”
Sting's demo for "Every Breath You Take" was officially released for the first time on the Synchronicity 40th anniversary super deluxe edition last summer. You can hear how different it is from what they ended up releasing:
Writing for The Word in 2010, David Hepworth estimated "Every Breath You Take" was responsible for "between a quarter and a third of Sting's music publishing income." In 2022 Sting sold his catalog, from the Police through his solo career, to Universal Music Publishing Group. The Sun claims that these days the song earns £550,000 a year.
The Police were initially active from 1977 to 1984, going out as one of the biggest bands in the world. They reunited in 1986 to re-record some of their hits and play a few shows for Amnesty International, and again in 2007/2008 for a full-scale reunion tour. In their first reunion of sorts since then, Sting and Summers play on a cover of "Murder By Numbers" from Christian McBride's new album that's out this week. I'm assuming they recorded their parts separately.
Sting has not yet commented on the lawsuit. The Police's best song, incidentally, is "Wrapped Around Your Finger."
