Can't Stand Losing You
| Can't Stand Losing You | |
|---|---|
| The Police | |
| publication | Aug 14, 1978, June 1979 (republication) |
| length | 2:58 |
| Genre (s) | Reggae - rock , new wave |
| Author (s) | Sting |
| album | Outlandos d'Amour |
Can't Stand Losing You is a song by the English rock band The Police , which was released on August 14, 1978 and in June 1979 as a re-release of their debut album Outlandos d'Amour . It was the second single after Roxanne . After the re-release it reached number two on the UK charts.
Lead singer and bassist Sting wrote the piece. It's about suicide. The cover image of the single, which shows drummer Stewart Copeland hanging, was received controversially.
Emergence
The text of Can't Stand Losing You , which like the music comes from Sting , is about the suicide of a young person who, according to Sting, “always has a bit of a joke”. He said he wrote the text in just five minutes.
Publication and reception
The original single reached number 42 on the charts in late 1978. The new edition in June 1979 made it to number 2. The piece was also released in 1980 as part of the Six Pack Singles Compilation Set, consisting of six 7-inch vinyl singles, which climbed to number 17 on the British charts in June 1980 . In 1995 a live version of the song was released as a single and peaked at number 27 in the UK.
The B-side of the original single and many other issues featured Dead End Job , based on a riff that Copeland wrote in high school. The text is about Sting's job as a teacher before becoming a musician. The song was only available on vinyl until the 1993 release of Message in a Box . On some single releases, for example in Canada , No Time This Time was also the B-side.
Cover and controversy
The original version of the single with the picture of Stewart Copeland hanging on a melting block of ice was not played by the BBC because of the cover, which was also the case for several other songs by The Police. However, Stewart Copeland later admitted that on Can't Stand Losing You , the piece might just not have made it onto the station's playlist, but the band had made it “banned by the BBC”. The photo is from Peter Gravelle . It was subsequently also released with an alternative cover. Even so, or perhaps because of the added attention it received from the controversy, it became the group's first single to reach a high chart position. The piece also has a permanent place in the band's live set.
Music video
The Police played the song on the BBC2 television show The Old Gray Whistle Test in 1978 , the band's first television appearance. According to one anecdote, Sting wore oversized sunglasses because of a mishap with a can of hairspray during makeup that required a visit to the hospital. This resulted in a music video . In a second video the piece is performed against a red background. This version was shot on the same day as Roxanne's version , which was also performed against a red background.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 2, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19781015/7501/
- ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19790729/7501/
- ↑ Phil Sutcliffe: The B-sides and Other Obscure Releases . Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings, Box-Set-Booklet. A&M Records Ltd., 1993, pp. 57-59.
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Police-Cant-Stand-Losing-You/release/3531891
- ↑ http://www.scarlet.nl/~gugten/article11.html
- ↑ The Old Gray Whistle Test DVD, 2003
