5 Top songs from The Police according to Spotify

The Police celebrate the 45th anniversary of their debut album, Outlandos d'Amour. The album would receive mixed reviews upon its initial release but would become one of the strongest debut albums.

British rock band The Police formed in 1977 in London. The band has been fortunate to consist of the same lineup throughout its career with Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar), and Stewart Copeland(drums, percussion). The height of the band's popularity came in the late '70s to the mid-'80s, during the British new wave scene.

Outlandos d'Amour peaked at No. 6 on the UK Charts and No. 23 on the Billboard 200. The album released three singles, the first being "Roxanne," a song the band is well known for. Additional singles released from this album include "Can't Stand Losing You" and the reggae-influenced "So Lonely."

The Police's top songs on Spotify

1. "Every Breath You Take"

Released in 1983, "Every Breath You Take," the band's signature song, was featured on the fifth and final album, Synchronicity. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and would be the band's only single to hit No. 1 on that chart. During the 26th Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Record of the Year, of which they won the first two categories.

2. "Roxanne"

As mentioned above, "Roxanne" was the first single released from the band's debut album, written by Sting, from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute. The song would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and ranked 388 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Hits of All Time.

3. "Message In A Bottle"

"Message In A Bottle" would be the lead single from the second album released by the band in 1979, Reggatta de Blanc. The song is in the reggae rock/new wave style the band played in the early years. This song tells of a castaway looking for love. He sends a message in a bottle, and he gets no reply. He eventually sees "a hundred billion bottles" on the shore, discovering many people in the world just like him. During the song, Sting mentions an SOS thirty-one times.

4. "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

From the band's fourth album, Ghost in the Machine, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a unique song for The Police as it features piano and synthesizers, an uncommon element to their songs. The song would reach No. 1 on the UK charts and No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100. The song wasn't recorded until 1981, but Sting wrote it in 1977, before the formation of the band.

5. "Don't Stand So Close To Me"

"Don't Stand So Close to Me," the first single from Zenyatta Mondatte, the third studio album released by The Police, tells of a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student and is then found out. This would be the third No. 1 hit for the band in the UK, and the song would hit the top ten in Australia, Canada, and the US. The song references the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955), telling a similar tale.