Why The Police Really Broke Up: The Toxicity Behind Synchronicity

At the height of their fame in 1983, The Police were the biggest band in the world—but behind the scenes, they couldn't stand to be in the same room. This episode of the It’s 1 Louder Podcast,  PJ Pat gets into the explosive friction that defined the recording of Synchronicity and the eventual collapse of one of rock’s greatest trios.

Explore the shifting power dynamics that turned a democracy into a monarchy, the physical altercations that left members with cracked ribs, and the "separate room" recording strategy used to keep the band from killing each other. We also look at the failed 1986 reunion attempt, the massive 2007 world tour, and why Sting eventually called the reunion an "exercise in nostalgia" that left him feeling empty.

Whether you're a die-hard fan or a student of rock history, this is the definitive look at the tension that created timeless music but ultimately tore the band apart.

Timestamps

[00:00] 1983: The peak of The Police [01:22] The story of the breakup begins [02:00] Shifting dynamics and royalty friction [02:48] The violent Synchronicity sessions [03:12] The "separate room" recording strategy [04:16] Why "Every Breath You Take" is the perfect pop song [05:08] The failed 1986 reunion attempt [06:50] Why they actually broke up: The creative tax [07:49] The 2007 Reunion Tour and the "ghosts" of the past [08:23] Stewart Copeland's brutally honest blog posts [10:00] The final show and the "Looney Tunes" exit [11:45] The business of rock: How tour money is split [13:30] Final thoughts on a legendary trio

Intro Music by Witch of November.

Transcript

[00:00:00] I read this article a couple years ago about how they scientifically analyzed a bunch of songs and they tried to figure out what would make a perfect pop song. And so they studied theory behind it, and guess what? Every breath you take out of all the songs they analyzed was determined as the perfect pop song.

So go back. If you look at it, I mean, it's all concise. There's a hook. The bridge is probably one of the best parts of the song when it comes in, and it's kind of surprises you. There's dynamics in it. The lyrics are amazing, the delivery. Anyways, take a listen to it again. I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times, but that was voted the ultimate pop song ever.

So they actually were able, believe it or not, to finish the tour in 1984 and went their separate ways, but the contract said they owed the label one more music album. Okay. So believe it or not, they actually managed to finish a [00:01:00] tour in 1984. They probably dragged, or their manager or agents probably dragged them across the finish line, but they did go their separate ways. But the contract said that they owed the label more music. So in 1986, they tried one last time to record together.

They met at a studio in London. This was a moment that would seal the coffin. Unfortunately, Stewart Copeland arrived at the studio with a broken collar bone. He'd fallen off a horse the day before, so he couldn't even play drums. A normal band would wait. A normal band would say, you know what, Stewart, it's all good.

Get well and we'll record when you feel better. But Sting did not wait. He pulled that Synclavier, which is a high end digital sampler and drum machine, and he told Stewart, we don't need you to play. We can just program it. Yeah.

Surprise, surprise, stink. Did not wanna wait. He just pulled out a Synclavier, which is a high-end digital sampler and drum machine, and he told Stewart, we don't need you to play. We'll [00:02:00] just program it, buddy. Take that. What a huge slap in the face.

It was definitely the ultimate breakup album. The song they recorded was a remake of their old hit. Don't stand so close to me. Listen to the 1986 version specifically. It's very sterile. It's mechanical. It's a sound of a band that has been replaced by computer because of humans.

Couldn't get along. Can you believe that? So I wouldn't recommend it. Definitely stick to the original. Stewart later said that that was the moment he knew it was over. He wasn't a musician to sting anymore. He was a problem to be solved with technology. You know, a small parenthesis.

Speaking of a song that's kind of a record of a band breaking up, I remember reading an article about slash when he was saying how those last years when GNR was pretty much about to break up, he was saying that, you know, if you do wanna listen to band breaking up, go check out their cover version of the Rolling Stone song, sympathy for the [00:03:00] Devil.

And that's it right there. That's pretty much the last song that GNR did, and they were pretty much a broken band by then. Anyways.

So in conclusion. So what can we take from all this? The police didn't break up because they ran outta money. Obviously, they didn't break up because they stopped being popular. In fact, they were pretty much at their absolute peak of their earning and peak of popularity. When they broke up, they broke up because the cost of the creative tax, quote unquote, became way too high financially ing realize.

He could hire world class musicians who would play his songs exactly how he wanted without the fighting, without the crack ribs, and without sharing of the publishing. And Stewart. And Andy, well unfortunately they got shut outta the money part. But you know what? They gained their sanity back.

So right from the get go, the police were a three-way tug of war. For seven years, that tension created some of the best pop music this world has seen. But eventually that rope was [00:04:00] way too tight and ready to snap. And when that rope finally snapped, the police, they didn't just walk away from each other. They stayed away from each other for 20 years because some tapes are way too painful to rewind.

Now having said all that, thankfully for the police fans and a lot of the Rock fans, they actually came back together for Union Tour back in 2007. Some of you may remember the 2007 Grimy Award stink shouting, we are the police and we are back. So 21 years after their mechanical split, the blonde trio stood on a stage again.

Yes, they were older, grayer, and on the surface a little friendlier. But as the 152 show world tour kicked off in Vancouver, the Old Ghost came back. They just didn't haunt the backstage. They started writing blog posts.

Literally. Okay. Literally, Stuart Copeland [00:05:00] created a digital blog post after their second show in Vancouver. He went to his personal website and posted a review of his own band that was so brutally honest. It nearly broke the internet.

Okay.

So I don't know if this was his plan all along to reunite, just to get back to Sting with doing this kind of stuff. But some of the stuff he said, like for example, he wrote The Mighty Sting momentarily, looks like a petulant pansy instead of a rock, God of rock. And we are the mighty police and we are totally at sea.

He also wrote, Andy and Sting are on stage playing avant-garde 12 tone hodgepodge. Lost. Lost, and lost. I mean, this was the ultimate Copeland move. He was airing the dirty laundry in real time. The friction hand gone away. It had just moved to the comment section of his online blog. Isn't that crazy?

But despite Copeland's attitude, one can't deny the success of this [00:06:00] tour. It was definitely a juggernaut. That tour grows 300 and. $60 million. It became the third highest grossing tour in history at that time. So they were the world's highest earning musicians in 2008, precisely because they couldn't stand each other.

Still those ghosts were hard to chase away. People weren't just paying for the music they were paying to see if the volcano would finally erupt. 'cause. Their fans knew how volatile their relationship was. I guess part of it was curiosity. Where are they really? You know, have they really slayed the past and laid all those troubles to bed?

Or is someone gonna punch someone on stage? 

for the final show in Madison Square Garden, August 7th, 2008, the band brought out the NYPD marching band to open a set. It was a victory lap, but the tapes from that night show a band desperate for the exit.

Unfortunately, it was a theatrical goodbye. When they finished their last song, they didn't walk off to a Grand Rock anthem. They walked [00:07:00] off to the Looney Tunes theme song, believe it or not, A giant image of Porky Pig appeared on the screen saying, that's all folks.

So outside of the money, outside of the $360 million, and I'm not sure how they split that up to be honest, because sting was the only active member. At the time making music. I think maybe Andy, I'm not sure if Andy Summers or Stewart were making some stuff they could be, but nothing as popular and as well known as what Sting was doing solo.

So that 360 million, I'm pretty sure it was not divided equally. It was definitely divided heavily favoring sting for sure. 'cause he's the one that was keeping the name going.

This actually reminds me of the story about the Eagles when they got back together and Glen Fry and Don Henley were kind of planning the reunion tour. They obviously Glen Fry and Don Henley, they had their own solo efforts and they had a couple of hits in the rock Pop World, I should say.

And so they were the ones kind of still keeping the Eagle's name [00:08:00] going and that was justification for them to divvy up the percentage of payments for the tour unequally. It was heavily towards Don and Glen and there were some, you know, frustrations with the other members of the band. Some understood that and some didn't.

Yeah, but at the end of the day, Glenn Fry put his foot down and he was like, Hey, this is a percentage of how we're gonna divvy up the money. If you're not gonna be a part of this, we're gonna find someone else. So everyone did agree at the end of the day, but yeah, you know, music is a business and it is what it is, you know, so I'm sure Sting contributing to a big part of the legacy before they reunited.

Got a big part of that. And also, a lot of the, I'm just talking about the, the tour money, right? The ticket and tour percentage money that they got for the tour itself. I'm not talking about the music publishing and all that stuff. Even that's not spread out equally. A lot of people may think that, hey, you know, banquettes together, if there's four members, it split four ways, all the money from the tour.

But [00:09:00] nah, it doesn't really work that way. In 2021, sting actually admitted that he would not have done the reunion tour if he'd known how he would feel. At the end of the day, he called it an exercise in nostalgia that left him empty.

How unfortunate. You know, obviously Stink did not need the money. I'm sure Stewart and Andy needed it much more than he did. I don't know if he felt like. He was trying to help him out financially for that, or I, I'm not sure. But, um, you know, that's, that's too damn bad, 'cause the amount of amazing music that could have come outta that band.

We'll never know. We'll never know. I.

Since then, sting has obviously remained a global superstar. Stewart Copeland has become a kind of a documentarian. He directed, this movie called Everyone's Stares, which pretty much documents the derailment of the band. And he summers, he does a lot of, uh, solo guitar work and is into photography, believe it or not.

So unfortunately. [00:10:00] For us, the police fans, I mean, they've become pretty much a frozen entity. They share a manager and a legacy, and that's pretty much about it. One thing that's clear is that they said that the tug of war is over, the rope is finally cut for good. So unfortunately, any inkling or wish for a the police reunion is not gonna happen.

At least we have their music. What amazing musicians, what a band. They're definitely in my books, one of the best trios ever in rock. And uh, I mean, their talent is undeniable. And let's keep on enjoying their music. It is timeless. Every breath you take, if you really listen to that song, it is an amazing song.

And, um, like that article said earlier, it is perfect. It is absolutely perfect. Hope you enjoyed that. Stay tuned for the next one. Rock on One Ladder and be safe.