Fulham

After giving the recording studio another try, The Police had better luck. Despite an extremely low budget and barely enough time to record a few quality tracks, let alone an entire album, they managed to get their sound on vinyl in a way that pleased everyone. Roxanne was released as a single in early 1978. Can’t Stand Losing You, So Lonely and their first album, Outlandos d’Amour, followed later that year. Through a deal brokered by Stewart Copeland’s brother, Miles, A&M Records signed The Police to a recording contract and released Outlandos d’Amour in the USA.

In 1979, the band toured the USA to support their newly released singles and the first album. Almost immediately, they stood out from the crowd and the press loved them. They were educated, intelligent, well spoken, polite and always seemed sober. Most New Music bands were so outrageous that the mainstream press shied away from direct quotes and played down their drug and alcohol use. When it came to The Police, just the opposite was true. Reporters had to try and make them look wild and rebellious. A good example was how reporters portrayed the band during that first USA tour. The press loved to describe them as three guys from England with bleached blond hair playing rocked up Jamaican Rebel Music driving around the USA in a cannibalized, overdue rental van filled with stolen instruments.