Nicknamed Sting due to a black and yellow shirt he favored in the early '70s, the blond singer was part of a Newcastle, England fusion-jazz quartet called Last Exit prior to joining with drummer Stewart Copeland to form the Police in early 1977. Following the release of a debut single featuring early guitarist Henri Padovani--whom Sting and Copeland replaced with renowned session guitarist Andy Summers--the Police began a lengthy relationship with A&M Records via the 1978 single "Roxanne," a colorful, reggae-tinged song about a prostitute written by Sting. Within a year, the song had cracked the top 40 and began a streak of nine top 40 hits for the Police between 1979-84, six of which made the top 10, including "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," "Don't Stand So Close To Me," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," the eight-week No. 1 single "Every Breath You Take," "King Of Pain," and "Wrapped Around Your Finger."

The band did not play by pop's traditional business rules of the time: They toured the U.S. before they'd released an album, and they signed a deal for a minimal advance that then guaranteed them high royalties. As a result, they acquired a very loyal early audience and became extremely wealthy: All six of their albums were certified gold, five going platinum or multi-platinum. Synchronicity, the trio's 1983 bestseller, was No. 1 for 17 weeks and certified quadruple platinum; it would have been the year's top album had it not been for Michael Jackson's phenomenal Thriller.