"Demolition Man" is a song written by Sting and performed by

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of a 1981 single. Sting's band,

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

, later released their rendition of the song on their album ''

Ghost in the Machine The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the concept of the mind existing alongside and separate from the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part ...

''.

Background

The song was written by Sting in the Summer of 1980 while he was living in Peter O’Toole’s home in

Connemara, Ireland Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

. It was written for potential use on

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

’s ''

Zenyatta Mondatta ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' (stylised as ''Zenyattà Mondatta'' on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray. ''Zeny ...

'', but they never got around to recording it. A demo was sent to

when she requested a song from Sting. The lyric "I'm a three-line whip" is an allusion to the instructions issued to members of British parliament to cast their votes according to the party line. Sting explained in an interview, "Whatever

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

's in power in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, if it's a really important vote, you get a one-line whip. If it's incredibly important, you have a two-line whip, and something monumentally important is a three-line whip." According to Sting, he never guessed that his

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

British Constitution The constitution of the United Kingdom comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no official attempt has been made to c ...

would "bear fruit in a rock and roll lyric."

Grace Jones version

"Demolition Man" was released as the lead single from Grace Jones's 1981 album '' Nightclubbing''. She performed the song on her ''

A One Man Show ''A One Man Show'' is a long-form music video collection featuring Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released in 1982. The video mainly consists of music videos, with some concert footage filmed when Jones was touring with the eponymous tour. Backgroun ...

'' tour, featuring marching "Joneses" (stand-ins wearing Grace Jones masks), and it was included in the documentary film of the tour. A still picture from the video was later used for the cover of her 1982 singles " Nipple to the Bottle" and " The Apple Stretching".

Track listing

*7" single :A. "Demolition Man" – 3:31 :B. " Warm Leatherette" – 4:25 *12" single :A. "Demolition Man" – 4:56 :B. "Bullshit" – 5:18

The Police version

Soon after Jones released her version as a single,

recorded their own version for their 1981 album, ''

''. Guitarist

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

recalls: The Police recorded the song in a jazzy

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

style, featuring a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...

. Sting's roadie Danny Quatrochi played the bass.

Personnel

* Sting – vocals, saxophone *

– guitars *

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

– drums * Danny Quatrochi - bass (uncredited)

Use in popular culture and other media

* In

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, ...

's first novel Mysteries of Pittsburgh, the character named 'Cleveland' quotes from "Demolition Man" in Chapter Six, after shaking a door off its hingers. * "Demolition Man" was performed by Sting many times during his solo career and released in 1993 on an EP of the same name in support of the film '' Demolition Man''; this version of the song plays during the end credits. * In "True Crime", the 53rd episode of ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'', aired in 1993, the pair were watching Jones' video for "Demolition Man" within ''A One Man Show''. * A live version of "Demolition Man", performed by Sting and recorded at Irving Plaza in 2005, was featured in the game ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment and the sixth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was launched in North A ...

'' along with an in-game representation of Sting himself, which becomes an unlockable character upon completing the song in the bass career. This recording was later remixed and released on Sting's compilation '' The Best of 25 Years''. * An excerpt of Jones' performance of the song from ''A One Man Show'' was displayed as a part of the '' Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970–1990'' temporary exhibition at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in 2011 and 2012. * "Demolition Man" was included on the 1984 album ''Budapest Live'' by

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

, and previously on their 1983 studio album '' Somewhere in Afrika''.

References

{{Authority control 1981 singles Grace Jones songs The Police songs Songs about fictional male characters Songs written by Sting (musician) 1981 songs Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Alex Sadkin