| "Don't Stand So Close to Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1980 single cover | ||||
| Single bythe Police | ||||
| from the albumZenyatta Mondatta | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 19 September 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02[1] | |||
| Label | A&M (AMS 7564) | |||
| Songwriter | Sting | |||
| Producers | ||||
| The Police singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 American single picture sleeve | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Don't Stand So Close to Me" onYouTube | ||||
| "Don't Stand So Close To Me (Christmas Version)" onYouTube | ||||
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a hit song by the Englishrock bandthe Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third studio albumZenyatta Mondatta. It concerns a teacher who has sexual fantasies about a student.
The band's thirdNo. 1 on theUK Singles Chart, it was thebest-selling single of 1980 in the UK, selling 808,000 copies in that year alone.[2][3] The song also charted in the top ten in Australia, Canada, and the USBillboard Hot 100. The Police won the 1982Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the24th Annual Grammy Awards for this song.[4]Record World praised the song's "ingenious percussion,arrangement andhook".[5]
The music and lyric of the song were written by the lead vocalist of the Police,Sting. It deals with the mixed feelings of lust, fear and guilt that a schoolteacher has for a student and the fallout when the inappropriate relationship is discovered by other adults. The line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" alludes toVladimir Nabokov's novelLolita (1955), which covers similar issues.[6] The line was criticised for rhyming "shake and cough" with Nabokov.[7] Sting replied, "I've used that terrible, terrible rhyme technique a few times."[7]
Before joining the Police, Sting had worked as an English teacher. He referred to the song's story progression as "the teacher, the open page, the virgin, the rape in the car, getting the sack".[7]
Sting has been inconsistent on sources of inspiration for the song. In a 1981 interview, he stated, "I'd done teaching practice at secondary schools and been through the business of having 15-year-old girls fancying me - and me really fancying them! How I kept my hands off them I don't know... Then there was my love forLolita which I think is a brilliant novel."[7]
Yet he spoke somewhat differently in a series of 1993 interviews, saying, "You have to remember we were blond bombshells at the time and most of our fans were young girls, so I started roleplaying a bit. Let's exploit that."[7] He further distanced himself, citing business reasons: "To be frank, it was right in our market. A lot of teenage girls were buying our records. So the idea was, let's write a Lolita story." In a 2001 interview for the concert DVD...All This Time, Sting again denied the song being autobiographical.[full citation needed]
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" appeared on the Police albumZenyatta Mondatta (A&M), and became a No. 1 single on theUK Singles Chart,[8] with a corresponding music video. In the US, it reached the top 10 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10. In the UK, the track was confirmed by the end of 1980 to have been thebiggest-selling single of that year.[citation needed]
The B-side, "Friends", was written by Andy Summers and is inspired byStranger in a Strange Land, a science fiction novel byRobert A. Heinlein.[7] Summers described the track as "Very quirky. A touch ofLong John Silver on Acid."[7]
Sting was asked to perform onDire Straits’ "Money for Nothing" as he was inMontserrat at the time. The song reused the melody from "Don't Stand So Close to Me" in the counterpoint line "I want myMTV." It was only after this story was relayed to reporters during promotions for theBrothers in Arms album that lawyers for Sting became involved, and later copies of the album co-credit the song to Sting. The initial pressings list onlyMark Knopfler.[9]
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" features Sting on lead vocals. Like many Police songs, the verses are more subdued, while the chorus is bolder and louder. The song also bears areggae style, another common trait in Police songs.
The track features aguitar synthesiser in the middle of the song, used by guitaristAndy Summers. Summers said, "After Sting had put the vocals on 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' we looked for something to lift the middle of the song. I came up with a guitar synthesiser. It was the first time we'd used it. I felt it worked really well."[7] The verses and choruses do not feature this effect.[7]
The verses are in the key ofG minor, and the chorus is inD major.[10]
7-inch – A&M / AMS 7564 (UK)
7-inch – A&M / AMS 2301 (US)
2003 Stereo Remastered Version
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France | — | 250,000[36] |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[39] | Gold | 1,000,000[38] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Don't Stand So Close To Me" quickly ascended toNo. 1 in its first week of release on 27 September 1980,[40] confirming their status as one of the UK's leading contemporary groups. It was also their third UK chart-topper in 12 months—in tandem with theNo. 1 success of their new albumZenyatta Mondatta.
The band's four-week run atNo. 1 was the most for any single in the UK in 1980. Having held off considerable competition fromOttawan with "D.I.S.C.O." and "Baggy Trousers" byMadness, the Police fell toNo. 3 (being replaced atNo. 1 by "Woman in Love" byBarbra Streisand). "Don't Stand So Close To Me" spent a total of 8 weeks inside the UK top 40, dropping out on 22 November. Three weeks later, their follow-up hit "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" charted atNo. 9, eventually peaking atNo. 5.
"Don't Stand So Close To Me" broke into theBillboard Hot 100 Top 40 on 21 February 1981 atNo. 39.[41] By 25 April, it reached a peak position ofNo. 10, matching their previous US hit "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". It dropped out of the top 40 on 23 May after a 13-week run.
The song was heard in the 1994season one episode "The One Where Underdog Gets Away" of theNBC sitcomFriends.
During the2020 COVID-19 pandemic, "Don't Stand So Close To Me" took on a very different meaning in the context ofCOVID-19, as people worldwide practiced social distancing.[42][43]
| "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Police | ||||
| from the albumEvery Breath You Take: The Singles | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Live) | |||
| Released | 29 September 1986 (1986-09-29)[44] | |||
| Recorded | July 1986 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:51[45] | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter | Sting | |||
| Producers | ||||
| The Police singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" by the Police onYouTube | ||||
The song was re-recorded in 1986 with a new, brooding arrangement, a different chorus and a more opulent production. The new version appeared as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on the albumEvery Breath You Take: The Singles, and was released as a single, reachingNo. 24 in the British charts.[8] It also reachedNo. 11 on theIrish Singles Chart,No. 14 in New Zealand,No. 19 on the Netherlands MegaCharts Singles Chart (number 20 on Dutch Top 40),No. 27 in Canada[46] andNo. 46 onBillboard Hot 100 (No. 10 on theBillboardMainstream Rock chart).
A slight lyric change is found in the line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" (the word 'famous' was added). A new music video was produced for the reworked song byGodley and Creme, notable for its early use of animatedcomputer graphics. The version of the song used on the music video was subtly different to the version released as the single. It was approximately 6 seconds shorter, with a longer atmospheric break before the first lyric, but part of the chorus edited out towards the end. This version is only available on the music video; it has never been separately released as an audio recording.
Because drummerStewart Copeland had broken his collarbone and was unable to drum, he opted to use hisFairlight CMI to program the drum track for the single, while singer/bassist Sting pushed to use the drums on hisSynclavier instead. The group's engineer found the Synclavier's programming interface difficult; it ended up taking him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming and claimed that the Fairlight's then-legendary "Page R" (the device's sequencing page) saved him and put him on the map as a composer.
As the Police had already disbanded by the time the 1986 single was released, this, aside from the then-unreleased "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86," was the last recording before the band's reunion and the most recent studio recording the band has released.
7-inch – A&M / AM 354 (UK)
12-inch – A&M / AMY 354 (UK)
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] | 32 |
| Spain (Los 40 Principales) | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 19 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[47] | 13 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 11 |
| UK Singles Chart | 24 |
| USBillboard Hot 100 | 46 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 27 |
| "Don't Stand So Close to Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byGlee cast | ||||
| from the albumGlee: The Music, Volume 2 | ||||
| B-side | "Young Girl" | |||
| Released | 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Sting | |||
| Producers | Ryan Murphy,Adam Anders | |||
| Glee cast singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was covered in thefirst season episode "Ballad" of the American television seriesGlee in 2009. It was performed by the characterWill Schuester (played byMatthew Morrison) as a musicalmashup with "Young Girl" byGary Puckett & the Union Gap. It was included on thesecond soundtrack album from the series.
The single version charted atNo. 67 inCanada,No. 64 in the United States andNo. 50 in Ireland.
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