3/100 Video - "Wrapped Around Your Finger" - The Police (1983)

As a young teen I'd always been mesmerized by "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police. I still am decades later. 

So mellow, yet so hypnotic. And Sting was so damn cool bouncing amid a labyrinth of candles.

Directed by Godley and Creme, the video was shot in slow motion while Sting lip-synced in time with the music - something that required an unusual performance.

The magic of Sting's melodic and lyrical prowess, Andy Summer's sparse effective guitar and Steward Coupland's intricate drum work all reach new heights on this textured tune.

From the lighting of that first candle, the video has always entranced me. 

The obscure literary references in the verses made me flip through the encyclopedias as Sting found a creative way to weave in such words as apprentice, Charibdes, Mephistopholes, tuition, fruition, and from the iconic bridge, alabaster.

And what a bridge! 

It never fails to give goosebumps. Both lyrically and musically, the tune picks up the tempo when the tables are turned on the master and servant relationship dynamics in question as "You'll be wrapped around my finger". Captivating stuff.  

The simple "I'll be wrapped around your finger" chorus shimmered. The synths are hauntingly beautiful.

And I'd love to chat with the folks who lit all the candles, what a job!

Those candles will burn forever in my mind, save for those that Sting knocks down at the end.

Fave lyric: "Devil and the deep blue sea behind me".

1983 - "Wrapped Around Your Finger" - The Police

As a young teen I'd always been mesmerized by "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police. I still am, decades later on headphones. Hypnotic.

The magic of Sting's melodic and lyrical prowess, Andy Summer's sparse guitar and Steward Coupland's intricate drum work all reach new heights on this textured tune.

From the lighting of the first candle, the video had always entranced me. 

The obscure literary references in the verses made me flip through the encyclopedias as Sting found a creative way to weave in such words as apprentice, Charibdes, Mephistopholes, tuition, fruition, and from the iconic bridge, alabaster.

And what a bridge! It never fails to give goosebumps. Both lyrically and musically, the tune picks up the tempo when the tables are turned on the master and servant relationship dynamics in question as "You'll be wrapped around my finger". Captivating stuff.  

The simple "I'll be wrapped around your finger" chorus shimmered. The synths are hauntingly beautiful.

Decades later, I still dream of knocking all those candles down at the end of the video like Sting did when he channeled the 'boy inside the man'. 

Fave lyric: "Devil and the deep blue sea behind me".

Other favourites from 1983: 

"Major Tom (Coming Home)" – Peter Schilling

"Blue Monday" – New Order

"In A Big Country" - Big Country

#6. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" - The Police (1983)

As a young teen I'd always been mesmerized by "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police. I still am, 36 years later on headphones. So mellow, yet so hypnotic.

The magic of Sting's melodic and lyrical prowess, Andy Summer's sparse effective guitar and Steward Coupland's intricate drum work all reach new heights on this textured tune.

From the lighting of the first candle, the video had always entranced me. 

The obscure literary references in the verses made me flip through the encyclopedias as Sting found a creative way to weave in such words as apprentice, Charibdes, Mephistopholes, tuition, fruition, and from the iconic bridge, alabaster.

And what a bridge! It never fails to give goosebumps. Both lyrically and musically, the tune picks up the tempo when the tables are turned on the master and servant relationship dynamics in question as "You'll be wrapped around my finger". Captivating stuff.  

The simple "I'll be wrapped around your finger" chorus shimmered. The synths are hauntingly beautiful.

Decades later, I still dream of knocking all those candles down at the end of the video like Sting did when he channeled the 'boy inside the man'. 

Fave lyric: "Devil and the deep blue sea behind me".

#36. "Don’t Stand So Close To Me" - The Police (1980)

I suppose listening to the The Police could be  defined as 'rebellious' for an 11-year-old with access to a clock radio and two radio stations. 

Hearing "Don’t Stand So Close To Me" on the radio inspired my first album purchase: Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police. I still vividly recall playing the record from start to finish on my parent's hi-fi unit while studying the photos and lyrics of the tactile inner lining. I can still hear the pops and crackles from playing the vinyl.

The magnificent trio to open the album, "Don’t Stand, "Driven to Tears" and one of the longest titles ever made, "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" made me a life-long fan of The Police. 

Up until then I'd been content with lapping up the soft 70s pop and classic rock stuff (April Wine, Harlequin etc.) that CJCH and C100 offered up. Remember that in 1980 it would still be a couple years before music videos became mainstream and almost 15 years before the internet.

"Don’t Stand So Close To Me" starts with that almost sinister synth before the verse begins infectious reggae-rock  with just an amazing chorus. It had the familiar guitars, but also had some synth, a sign of where my tastes were heading. Since Sting was a teacher in a previous lifetime I've always wondered if the lyrics were autobiographical.

#75. "Synchronicity II" - The Police (1983)

"Synchronicity II" is a tune where the guys let loose and rock. 

It also star's Sting on the soapbox to share an important message.

While teetering and swinging amid a futuristic apocalyptic garbage heap, an especially  intense Sting describes in the verses how our so-called modern society, in the pursuit of material possessions and hellish suburban commutes, ultimately destroys our relationships and the natural world.

One of my fave lyrics of all time, "packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes", really drives the message home. By the end of the clip, a Loch Ness monster has been awakened "many miles away" and apparently on its way to settle the score.

I used to think a lot about "Synchronicity II" when I moved back to Clare from Halifax in spring 2003. My alternative interpretation of the lyrics made me appreciate the serene lake view that symbolized the Scottish loch “many miles away” from soul-sapping suburbia. 

Not to be confused with Synchronicity the album, "Synchronicity I" the song is another high energy offering from a group that ended up disbanding soon after, arguably still in their prime years.