Every Breath You Take

Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Template:EngvarB Template:Infobox song "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their fifth and final studio album Synchronicity (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest American and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks (the band's only Template:Thinspace hit on that chart), and the Canadian RPM chart for two weeks. Their fifth UK No. 1, "Every Breath You Take" topped the UK singles chart for four weeks. It also reached the top 10 in numerous other countries. In May 2019, the song was recognised by BMI as being the most played song in radio history.<ref name="BMI 2019">"BMI Announces Top Honors for its 67th Annual Pop Awards". BMI. Retrieved 9 June 2019</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref>

"Every Breath You Take" is the Police's and Sting's signature song, and in 2010, it was estimated to generate between a quarter and a third of Sting's music publishing income.<ref name=":2">According to Sting's former publisher Tom Bradley. "Writing a Super Hit" by David Hepworth, The Word No. 86, April 2010, p. 74</ref> At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, "Every Breath You Take" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Record of the Year, winning in the first two categories. For the song, Sting received the 1983 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).<ref name=":0">Lister, David, "Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion", The Independent, 28 May 1994</ref>

In the 1983 Rolling Stone critics' and readers' poll, "Every Breath You Take" was voted the "Song of the Year". In the United States, the song was the best-selling single of 1983 and the fifth-best-selling single of the decade. Billboard ranked it as the Template:Thinspace song for 1983.<ref name=":1">Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1983</ref> "Every Breath You Take" was ranked Template:Thinspace on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> It also ranked number 25 on BillboardTemplate:'s Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.<ref name="billboard1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2008, Q magazine named the song among the top 10 British Songs of the 1980s.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, "Every Breath You Take" was voted by the British public as The Nation's Favourite 1980s number one in a UK-wide poll for ITV.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref>

Origins and songwriting

To escape the public eye, Sting retreated to the Caribbean. He started writing the song at Ian Fleming's writing desk on the Goldeneye estate in Oracabessa Bay, Jamaica.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The lyrics are the words of a possessive lover who is watching "every breath you take; every move you make". Sting recalled:

When asked why he appears angry in the music video, Sting told BBC Radio 2, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite. Hence so."<ref>Template:Cite web (Spoken in the second Sting audio clip.)</ref> Gary T. Marx, sociologist and scholar of surveillance studies, wrote in 1988 that, while the song was "a love rather than a protest song", it "nicely captures elements of the new surveillance". He compared the lines to various new technologies of surveillance, including linking "every breath you take" to breath analysers, "every step you take" to ankle monitors, and "every vow you break" to voice stress analysis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the Phil Spector box-set book Back to Mono (1958–1969) (1991), "Every Breath You Take" is influenced by a Gene Pitney song titled "Every Breath I Take". The Hassles' 1967 song "Every Step I Take (Every Move I Make)," co-written by Billy Joel, also uses this rhyme. Led Zeppelin's song, "D'yer Mak'er" (1973), also contains the words "every breath I take; every move I make".

Recording

The demo of the song was recorded in an eight-track suite in North London's Utopia studios and featured Sting singing over a Hammond organ.<ref name="sos"/> A few months later, he presented the song to the other band members when they reconvened at George Martin's AIR Studios in Montserrat to work on the Synchronicity album. The band initially tried the song in a variety of different styles and arrangements, such as reggae.<ref name='Studio Sound'/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While recording, guitarist Andy Summers came up with a guitar part inspired by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók that would later become a trademark lick, and played it straight through in one take. He was asked to put guitar onto a simple backing track of bass guitar, drums, and a single vocal, with Sting offering no directive beyond "make it your own".<ref>Summers, Andy (2006). One Train Later: A Memoir, Thomas Dunne Books, pp. 323–324.</ref> Summers remembered:

The recording process was fraught with difficulties as personal tensions between the band members, particularly Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland, came to the fore.<ref name="sos"/> Producer Hugh Padgham claimed that by the time of the recording sessions, Sting and Copeland "hated each other", with verbal and physical fights in the studio common.<ref name="sos"/> The tensions almost led to the recording sessions being cancelled until a meeting involving the band and the group's manager, Miles Copeland (Stewart's brother), resulted in an agreement to continue.<ref name="sos"/>

The drum track was largely created through separate overdubs of each percussive instrument, with the kick drum coming from the box for the Oberheim DMX drum machine while the main backbeat was created by simultaneously playing a snare and a Tama gong drum.<ref name="sos" /> To give the song more liveliness, Padgham asked Copeland to record his drum part in the studio's dining room in order to achieve some "special sound effects". The room, however, was so hot that Copeland's drum sticks had to be taped to his hands to avoid slippage.<ref name="sos" />

Some piano accompaniment of a single repeating note was added to complete the song's bridge.<ref name="sos"/> Padgham remembered that the band had "agonized over that part for a long time" and that the song "never really had a proper bridge" in its demo form.<ref name='Jake Brown'>Template:Cite book</ref> He said that Sting entered the recording studio with a few piano ideas where he "bang[ed] away on the same note".<ref name="sos" /><ref name='Studio Sound'>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Padgham expressed his approval of the piano part, having been reminded of a single note guitar solo from his work producing XTC and encouraged Sting to use the idea on "Every Breath You Take".<ref name="sos" />

Cashbox described the song as "a subtly crafted minor key ballad" (although the song is actually in Ab major tuned to A=432 Hz) and commented on the effect of the "surprising, smokey smooth feel [of the vocal] above the band's patently insistent rhythmic drive."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Music video

File:The Police 'Every Breath You Take' music video.png

The Police in the black-and-white music video for "Every Breath You Take", with a silhouetted man washing a large window behind Stewart Copeland in the background. Cinematographer Daniel Pearl won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography in a Video with this music video.

The song had a music video (directed by duo Godley & Creme) loosely based on Gjon Mili's short film Jammin' the Blues (1944). Shot in black and white with a navy blue tint, the video depicts the band, accompanied by a pianist and string section, performing the song in a darkened ballroom as a man washes the floor-to-ceiling window behind them. Sting performs his part on double bass rather than bass guitar.

The video was praised for its cinematography; MTV (1999), Rolling Stone (1993), and VH1 (2001) named it one of the best music videos ever, placing it 16th, 61st, & 33rd in their respective top 100 lists. Daniel Pearl won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography in a Video for his work on the video.<ref name="fisher">Template:Cite web</ref> Released in the early days of MTV, "Every Breath You Take" was one of the earliest videos to enter heavy rotation, which significantly contributed to the song's popularity. American singer-songwriter Richard Marx remembers that "the first video I watched over and over was 'Every Breath You Take'. It was like seeing a Bergman film. Directors usually spelled out every word of the lyrics in a video, but this was the first video I knew that didn't do that. It was abstract." According to A&M Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services Jeff Ayeroff, "[The video for] 'Every Breath You Take' probably cost $75,000 to $100,000, and we sold over 5 million albums. With a good video, the return on your investment was phenomenal."<ref>Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of The Music Video Revolution, Dutton, New York, 2011</ref>

On 5 October 2022, Billboard officially released a statement confirming that the music video for "Every Breath You Take" surpassed one billion views on YouTube.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 3 years later, in October 2025, the video surpassed 1.5 billion views.

Commercial performance

"Every Breath You Take" was released as a single in 1983, with B-side "Murder by Numbers" – a composition by Summers and Sting that had been omitted from the vinyl release of Synchronicity in favour of Copeland's "Miss Gradenko" due to LP length limitations,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> only appearing as the final track on the CD and cassette. It reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Israel, Ireland, and South Africa. In Canada, it spent four weeks at No. 1 and an additional six weeks at No. 2. It also reached No. 2 in Spain, Sweden, Norway and Australia, while reaching the Top 10 in most other Western, Northern and Southern European countries.

In the 1983 Rolling Stone critics and readers poll, it was voted "Song of the Year". In the US, it was the best-selling single of 1983 and fifth-best-selling single of the decade. Billboard ranked it as the Template:Thinspace song for 1983.<ref name=":1" />

The single became the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks (the band's only Template:Thinspace hit on that chart). It also topped the Billboard Top Tracks chart for nine weeks.

At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, "Every Breath You Take" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Record of the Year, winning in the first two categories. Sting received the 1983 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).<ref name=":0" />

Legacy

Two cover versions charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1983: Rich Landers at number 68 and Mason Dixon at number 69.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1999, "Every Breath You Take" was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century by BMI.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2019, BMI updated the list and "Every Breath You Take" was recognised as the Most Performed Song in BMI's catalogue, a distinction previously held by "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'Template:-" by the Righteous Brothers.<ref name="BMI 2019" /> In 2003, VH1 ranked the song the No. 2 greatest breakup song. As of 2003, Sting was making an average of $2,000 per day in royalties for the song.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2001, The Sopranos episode "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" features a mashup combining "Every Breath You Take" with Henry Mancini's 1959 song "Peter Gunn".

In October 2007, Sting was awarded a Million-Air certificate for nine million airplays of "Every Breath You Take" at the BMI Awards show in London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

"Every Breath You Take" is the Police's and Sting's signature song, and in 2010 was estimated to generate between a quarter and a third of Sting's music publishing income.<ref name=":2" /> In May 2019, it was recognised by BMI as being the most played song in radio history.<ref name="BMI 2019" /><ref name=":3" /> With nearly 15 million radio plays, Sting received a BMI Award at a ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California to mark it being the Most Performed Song in BMI's catalogue. BMI President and CEO Mike O'Neill stated: "For the first time in 22 years, BMI has a new top song in our repertoire with Sting's timeless hit 'Every Breath You Take,' a remarkable achievement that solidifies its place in songwriting history."<ref name="BMI 2019" />

In 2004, "Every Breath You Take" was ranked Template:Thinspace on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, although it was moved down to Template:Thinspace in their 2021 update of the list.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.<ref name=":4" /> It also ranked number 25 on BillboardTemplate:'s Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.<ref name="billboard1" /> In 2008, Q magazine named "Every Breath You Take" among the top 10 British Songs of the 1980s.<ref name=":5" /> In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's favourite 1980s number one in a UK-wide poll for ITV.<ref name=":6" />

The song is sampled in Puff Daddy and Faith Evans's 1997 hit "I'll Be Missing You," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group; Sting ultimately participated in a performance of "I'll Be Missing You" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to Copeland in 2000:

The song made a comeback as it was featured in the Snow Ball dance scene in Netflix series Stranger Things season 2 which Eleven and Mike Wheeler dances to. Every Breath You Take became popular with Generation Z and it appeared in videos on TikTok.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The scene also won for MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Moment at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the same interview, Copeland said Summers should get songwriting credit for "Every Breath You Take." In October 2023, Summers revealed that despite contributing the guitar riff that "has become a kind of immortal guitar part that all guitar players have to learn", he is still pursuing a "contentious" battle with Sting over "Every Breath You Take" songwriting credits. He said that the song was originally "going in the trash until I played on it." He also hinted at a legal battle over the song's songwriting credits. "Watch the press; let's see what happens in the next year. That's all I can tell you."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2025, Copeland and Summers sued Sting and his publishing company Magnetic Publishing Limited for writing credits and lost royalties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades

"Every Breath You Take" is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the 50th anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, the song was ranked No. 25 on Billboard's "The All-Time Top 100 Songs" chart.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Track listing

7" single: A&M / AM 117

1. "Every Breath You Take" – 3:56
2. "Murder by Numbers" – 4:31

Two-disc 7" single: A&M / AM 117 Disc one

1. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:13
2. "Murder by Numbers" – 4:31

Disc two

1. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Remix) – 3:34
2. "Man in a Suitcase" (Live) – 2:18

Personnel

Credits from Richard Buskin and co-producer and engineer Hugh Padgham.<ref name="SoundOnSound">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Sting – lead, harmony, and backing vocals; bass guitars; piano; synthesisers; electric double bass
• Andy Summers – guitars, guitar synthesisers
• Stewart Copeland – drums, percussion, Oberheim DMX box

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

Weekly chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (1983–2015)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite book N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.</ref>	2
Canada (CHUM)<ref>Template:Cite web. CHUM.</ref>	1
Denmark (IFPI)Template:Citation needed	9
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	5
Israel (IBA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1
Italy (Musica e dischi)<ref>Template:Cite web Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Police" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".</ref>	3
Slovenia (SloTop50)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	18
South Africa (Springbok Radio Top 20)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1
Spain (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	2
US Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	26
US Cashbox Top 100<ref>Template:Cite web. Cashbox.</ref>	1

Template:Single chart

2021–2025 weekly chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (2021–2025)	Peak position
Bolivia (Monitor Latino)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	14
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	31
Greece International (IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	35
Israel International Airplay (Media Forest)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	16
Italy (FIMI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	74
Lithuania (AGATA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	47
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	71
Portugal (AFP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	57
Slovenia Airplay (Radiomonitor)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	16
Spain (Promusicae)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	76
UK Singles (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	88
US Rock Digital Songs (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	10

Year-end charts

Template:Single chart

1983 year-end chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (1983)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus83">Template:Cite web</ref>	10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	42
France (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	50
Germany (Official German Charts)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	38
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	42
Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	45
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	35
South Africa (Springbok)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	5
UK Singles (Official Single Charts)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	16
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source?	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	23
US Cashbox Top 100<ref>Template:Cite web. Cashbox.</ref>	2

2022 year-end chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (2022)	Rank
Global 200 (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	170

2023 year-end chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (2023)	Rank
Global 200 (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	155

2024 year-end chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (2024)	Rank
Global 200 (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	94
Portugal (AFP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	131

Decade-end charts

Decade-end chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (1980–1989)	Rank
US Billboard Hot 100<ref name=1980s>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5

All-time charts

All-time chart performance for "Every Breath You Take"

Chart (1958–2021)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	35

See also

• List of best-selling singles in Spain
• List of number-one singles of 1983 (Canada)
• List of number-one singles of 1983 (Ireland)
• List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1980s
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1983
• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s
• Monorhyme

External links

• Classic Tracks: The Police's 'Every Breath You Take'
• Template:Discogs master