Britain’s largest choir, The Rock Choir, with 31,000 members, will never sing “Every Breath You Take” again. The Police’s hit was an integral part of the choir’s repertoire for many years. But the singers have been discussing the central message of the text intensively for a long time.
The reason for this is the assessment that the lyrics are obviously about an abusive relationship in which the protagonist seems to be stalking someone.
Many people feel uncomfortable singing “Every Breath You Take.”
In a letter to all choir members, Rock Choir founder Caroline Redman Lusher explained the decision to cancel all future performances of the song. She indicated that she made her judgment after some members reported feeling uncomfortable with the content of the Police song.
The circular states specifically:
“Dear Rockies, after careful consideration and discussion with several members of the team, I have made the difficult decision to remove ‘Every Breath You Take’ from the repertoire. I’ve never removed a song before, but due to the impact the song’s narrative has on some Rockies, and the fear that this challenging sentiment may affect other members, I believe it would be wise to do so in the future to forego.”
As already mentioned, the Rock Choir is a true British institution. The choir has groups in over 400 communities across the UK; Redman Lusher was commissioned by King Charles III just a few days ago. honored for her contributions to music and her charity work.
What does the song mean?
The question remains whether the excitement is really justified. Sting, who wrote the song for The Police, has repeatedly pointed out that the stalker theory is just an interpretation. When the discussion about the content of the piece arose again in the 90s, the singer and bassist of the band said that he was more likely to be influenced by a political power entity like Big Brother (see the novel “1984” by George Orwell, note d. Red.) fantasized about a stalker.
But it’s also a fact: Sting wrote the song in 1982 after his divorce from his first wife, Frances Tomelty. At the time, he himself described the text as an expression of obsession and jealousy. The singer once called the song “creepy and evil” and said he finds it difficult how many misunderstand it as a love song.
“I woke up in the middle of the night with that line in my head, sat down at the piano and wrote it in half an hour,” Sting explained, also trying to suggest that the intention behind “Every Breath You Take” came from subconscious impulses could.
Sting and Sean “Diddy” Combs
The fact that the classic is even being discussed again has to do with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Last fall, Sting was forced to defend the song’s legacy after the numerous allegations against the rapper – also because “Every Breath You Take” hit the charts again. The reason for this was that Combs had sampled the song from 1997 for his mega-success “I’ll Be Missing You”.
When asked if he believes the song’s legacy has been tarnished by the fact that Combs is now facing sex trafficking and protection racket charges, Sting clarified: “No. I mean, I don’t know what [mit Diddy] was going on. But for me it has no influence on the song at all. It’s still my song.”