"Andy went, 'Guys, hello? We're a guitar band?'": Sting's solo demo for The Police's Every Breath You Take officially revealed after 42 years

Andy Summers has never made a secret of what he believes he brought to The Police's gargantuan hit Every Breathe You Take, but the band has never officially released Sting's initial solo vision for it in demo form… until now. 

It's certainly… different. Devoid of Summers' legendary arpeggios, we have keys and a decidedly sunnier feel on the demo, laid down by Sting at Utopia Studios in North London late one night in 1982.

Every Breath You Take (Demo) - YouTube

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"That song was going to be thrown out," Andy Summers reflected to Guitarist magazine in 2022. "Sting and Stewart could not agree on how the bass and drums were going to go... It was crap until I played on it."

That's possibly harsh but we see his point – it proves how much a part can offer a song in the right hands. All the melody is there, but Summers takes it to a whole other level with his.

“And I did it in one take," added Summers after Sting laid down the gauntlet for the guitarist to "make it your own". "They all stood up and clapped. And, of course, the f*****g 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."

The Police - Every Breath You Take (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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For Summers, removing the keys part was about the Police's identity as a band, as well as the song.

"The demo was obviously a hit, but it was nothing like the current version, as Sting was singing the chords over a Hammond organ," recalled his bandmate Stewart Copeland to Classic Pop in 2018. "Andy went, 'Guys, hello? We're a guitar band?' Andy is truly clever with harmony and worked out the song's arpeggiated guitar figure."

The demo's release is part of the Synronocity 6CD boxset , released on 6 July and featuring b-sides, alternate takes and demos, live recordings and a 64-page book.

• The story behind Every Breath You Take