Don't Stand So Close To Me (song)

From PoliceWiki
"Don't Stand So Close To Me"
Cover art of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" 7" single
Recorded by The Police
Released: 1980-09-19 (UK)

1980-10-21 (Japan)

Recorded: 1980-07-07 - 1980-08-07
Length: 4:04
Album(s): Zenyatta Mondatta
Label(s): A&M
Writer(s): Sting
Producer(s): The Police, Nigel Gray
Studio(s): Wisseloord Studios
Released as single? YES

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1980.

About the song

In an interview with "The Independent" from September 1993 Sting mentioned that the song was based on a guitar figure which he stole from the Buffalo Springfield song "Rock'n'Roll Woman".

Andy Summers remembers that Sting already messed around with the guitar riff in a hotel room while the band was on tour in Australia (mid-March 1980).

Sting recorded the demo for this song in Dublin in the summer of 1980. It's already very close to the LP version regarding lyrics, tempo and arrangement.

It also starts with the low Moog sound - and when the guitar kicks in Sting hums some harmonies. Verses and choruses are pretty much the same, with some additional keyboards.

The instrumental middle part doesn't feature any guitar synthesizer yet. Instead Sting plays a melody on a keyboard - while the 1st part of this keyboard melody would be ommitted its second part would be used on the LP version - with Sting humming it. In the demo Sting adds some additional harmonies by humming to the keyboard.

There are no "Please don't stand so close to me" vocals in the coda.

The song was re-recorded in July 1986: Don't Stand So Close To Me '86.

A live version from the 1983-1984 Synchronicity Tour was chosen as the B-Side for this. The bass parts of that live recording were partially re-recorded by Wishbone Ash's Martin Turner. His brother Kim Turner asked him to re-record a part of the bass track from the live recording. Martin did that in a studio that was under IRS offices - at 194-196 Kensington Park Road, just one block west of Portobello Road.

Sting’s bass parts were missing for a whole section of the song, and Martin filled the gap using a 1957 Precision bass that was in his collection. Although Martin felt that the sound didn’t match exactly the trick wasn't too noticeable when they did the mix.

Personnel

Release History

Albums

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" appears on the following album releases:

Cover art Album title Release date Release country
Police-album-zenyattamondatta.jpg Zenyatta Mondatta 1980-10-03 UK
Police-album-messageinaboxthecompleterecordings.jpg Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings 1993-MM-DD UK

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art Catalog no. Songs Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "Song"(s) YYYY-MM-DD Country

7" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song/B-side song Release date Release country
1982-dontstandsoclosetome.jpg AMS 7564 "Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Friends" 1980-MM-DD UK
Dontusa.jpg AM 2301 "Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"A Sermon" 1980-MM-DD USA
Police-dontstandsoclosetome-ams9001.gif AMS 9001 "Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Friends" 1980-MM-DD Italy
1982-dontstandsoclosetome.jpg PAMS 7564 F "Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Friends" 1980-MM-DD Portugal
45rpm.png AM 58.002 "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"Voices Inside My Head"/"Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Canary In A Coalmine" 1980-MM-DD Brazil

12" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song(s)/B-side song(s) Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "A-side song"/"B-side song" (add more songs as necessary) YYYY-MM-DD Country

Video

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country
Police-everybreathyoutakethevideo.jpg Every Breath You Take: The Videos 1986-MM-DD Country
Police-everybreathyoutakethedvd.jpg Every Breath You Take: The DVD 2003-04-07 Country

Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year Winner Award Category
1982 "Don't Stand So Close To Me" Grammy Award Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year Nominee Award Category
YYYY NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Lyrics

Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.

Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there's longing
This girl's an open page
Book marking - she's so close now
This girl is half his age

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staffroom
The accusations fly
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabokov

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Quotations and trivia

This section needs more information.

Alternative and cover versions

Alternative versions


Cover versions

A cover version of Don't Stand So Close To Me appears on the following album release:

Cover art Artist Album title Release date Release country
Vinyl.png Louchie Lou / Michie One Reggatta Mondatta Volume II 1998-06-30 ??
Vinyl.png music students incl. Stewart Copeland Rock School 2005-MM-DD USA

See also

External links

This section needs more information.

References

  • Police, The. Zenyatta Mondatta. (1980) [Audio recording], A&M Records.
  • ThePolice.com. UltraStar Entertainment LLC. 2 Jun 2008. <http://www.thepolice.com/discog/?v=so&a=2&id=124>
  • Melody Maker from August 30, 1980 mentions September 12 as the release date of the (yet untitled) single, whereas NME from the same day mentions September 19 with the song title --- the record was reviewed in September 20 editions, so the later release date seems to be the right one
  • 1992-04 Bass Player (use of the H van Zalinge Electric Stand-Up Bass)
  • Martin Turner (live version info)
  • 1987-02 Making Music (Andy remembering the mid-March 1980 fact)