10 Best Number One Rock Albums Of The 1980s
6. Synchronicity - The Police
Sticking with the UK now and a group fronted by a man who got his nickname because he used to dress like a bee.
Sting and friends (or, as they preferred to be called, The Police) were legitimate contenders for the biggest band in the world in 1983, having put out a string of albums that were a success both at home and abroad. They needed something to cement themselves as top dogs and, luckily, they had this up their sleeves.
Synchronicity was released in June, preceded a month earlier by the mega-smash Every Breath You Take. This ode to stalking did a great job in creating hype around the release, as it became their fourth UK number one and, crucially, their first in America.
The album spent a total of 17 weeks atop the US charts, only interrupted by Michael Jackson's Thriller, which is fair enough. Fans couldn't get enough of the group's blend of traditional rock, new romantic lyricism, and ska and reggae roots, with the album proving so successful that it would be the last they ever made.
If you're going to call it a day, then you may as well do it on a monster high.