Walking on the Moon

Infobox Single
Name = Walking on the Moon


Artist = The Police
from Album = Reggatta de Blanc
Released = 1979
Format = vinyl record (7")
Recorded = 1979
Genre = New Wave
Length = 4:08 (7" single edit)
5:03 (Full-length album version)
Label = A&M - AMS 7494
Writer = Sting
Producer = Stewart Copeland,
Sting,
Andy Summers
Chart position =

• #1 (UK)
• #9 (Australia)

NoReviews = Yes
Last single = "Message in a Bottle" (1979)
This single = "Walking on the Moon" (1979)
Next single = "So Lonely" (1980)Extra album cover
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Background = khaki


Lower caption = French 7-inch single coverAudiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = Walking on the Moon by The Police.ogg"Walking on the Moon" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, "Reggatta de Blanc". The song was The Police's second number one hit single in the United Kingdom after "Message in a Bottle", but didn't chart in the United States. According to Sting the song is about the feeling of being in love.

Sting said that he wrote the song when he was drunk: [cite book |first=Hugh |last=Fielder |coauthors=Phil Sutcliffe |title=The Police l'historia bandido |publisher=Proteus |location=North Bellmore, N.Y |year=1981 |isbn=0-906071-77-1]

In his autobiography, Sting alludes that the song was partially inspired by an early girlfriend: [cite book |author=Sting |title=Broken music: a memoir |publisher=Dial Press |location=New York |year=2003 |isbn=0-385-33678-0]

The video for the song was filmed at Kennedy Space Center on October 23, 1979. It features the band members pantomiming to the song amidst spacecraft displays, interspersed with NASA footage. Both Sting and Andy Summers strum guitars (not bass) in the video, and Stewart Copeland strikes his drumsticks on a Saturn V moon rocket.

Covers

The British soul/funk band Hot Chocolate recorded a cover version of this song for their album "Everyone's A Winner". Musician Jimmy Nail (also from Sting's hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne) released a cover version of "Walking on the Moon" in 2001. German techno group Scooter sampled The Police original in the song "Privileged To Witness" from the 2005 album "Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?". During Feeder's second gig of 2006 at the Hammersmith Apollo, frontman Grant Nicholas sung the first few lines of the song in between their own song "Pilgrim Soul". Cas Haley runner up for America's Got Talent does a reggae cover of the song on his self title debut released on February 14, 2008

Personnel

*Sting - Lead vocals, fretless bass guitar, guitar
*Andy Summers - Lead guitar
*Stewart Copeland - Drums

Track listing

7": A&M / AMS 7494 (UK)

# "Walking on the Moon" (Edit) - 3:59
# "Visions of the Night" - 3:05

12": A&M / AMSP 7494 (UK)

# "Walking on the Moon" - 4:59
# "Visions of the Night" - 3:05

References