When youre as good as The Police, its hard not to develop an ego. For years, they were the greatest band in the world, selling out arenas and releasing platinum albums like nobodys business. By the time of their 1983 landmark, Synchronicity, though, Sting felt he had outgrown the band and decided to go solo. According to drummer Stewart Copeland, the straw that broke the Police's back came during an argument he had with Sting over what drum machine to use. Not allowing band members to play their own instruments in the way they want to is a sure sign of an ego running rampant. Stings ego is further apparent in the title of a later-released compilation, The Best of Sting & The Police, featuring songs both from Stings tenure with the band and as a solo artist, essentially treating Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers as backup musicians. Since the groups 1986 breakup there have been several collaborations and reunions, including at Stings wedding, but its clear that Copeland, Sting and Summers will never fully move on: in 2008, Sting said, There will be no new album, no big new tour; once were done with our reunion tour, thats it for the Police.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
