| "Demolition Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGrace Jones | ||||
| from the albumNightclubbing | ||||
| B-side | "Warm Leatherette", "Bullshit" | |||
| Released | 6 February 1981[1] | |||
| Studio | Compass Point Studios (Nassau, Bahamas)[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:04 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter | Sting | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Demolition Man" onYouTube | ||||
"Demolition Man" is a song written bySting and performed byGrace Jones as theA-side of a 1981 single. Sting's band,the Police, later released their rendition of the song on their albumGhost in the Machine.
The song was written bySting in the Summer of 1980 while he was living inPeter O’Toole’s home inConnemara, Ireland. It was written for potential use onThe Police’sZenyatta Mondatta, but they never got around to recording it.[3][4] A demo was sent toGrace Jones when she requested a song from Sting.[4]
The lyric "I'm a three-line whip" is an allusion to theinstructions issued to members of British parliament to cast their votes according to theparty line. Sting explained in an interview, "Whateverparty's in power inParliament, if it's a really important vote, you get a one-line whip. If it's incredibly important, you have a two-line whip, and something monumentally important is a three-line whip."[5] According to Sting, he never guessed that hisA-level inBritish Constitution would "bear fruit in a rock and roll lyric."[4]
"Demolition Man" was released as the lead single from Grace Jones's 1981 albumNightclubbing. She performed the song on herA One Man Show tour, featuring marching "Joneses" (stand-ins wearing Grace Jones masks), and it was included in the documentary film of the tour. A still picture from the video was later used for the cover of her 1982 singles "Nipple to the Bottle" and "The Apple Stretching".
| "Demolition Man" | |
|---|---|
| Song byThe Police | |
| from the albumGhost in the Machine | |
| Released | 2 October 1981 (1981-10-02) |
| Recorded | June 1981 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:57 |
| Label | A&M |
| Songwriter | Sting |
| Producer | The Police |
| Music video | |
| "Demolition Man" onYouTube | |
Soon after Jones released her version as a single,the Police recorded their own version for their 1981 album,Ghost in the Machine. GuitaristAndy Summers recalls:
"He [Sting] did haveDemolition Man previously, mind you – he'd already given that to Grace Jones to put on herNightclubbing album. In fact, that was the song we recorded first. You have to break the ice with something, and that was an easy one to do. It’s a very simple song. We all listened to the Grace Jones version and thought 'Shit, we can do itmuch better thanthat.' It was a one-take job. To me, our version is more ballsy, which is what you’d expect from Grace Jones."[6]
The Police recorded the song in ajazzyhard rock style, featuring aguitar solo byAndy Summers. Sting's roadie Danny Quatrochi played the bass.[7]
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
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