Don't Stand So Close to Me

"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
1980 single cover
Single by The Police
from the album Zenyattà Mondatta
B-side	"Friends" "A Sermon" (U.S. 7")
Released	19 September 1980 January 1981 (U.S.)
Format	vinyl record (7")
Recorded	1980
Genre	New Wave, rock, reggae
Length	4:03
Label	A&M - AMS 7564
Writer(s)	Sting
Producer	Nigel Gray, Stewart Copeland, Sting, Andy Summers
Certification	Gold (BPI)
The Police singles chronology
"Six Pack" (1980) "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (1980) "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (1980) Alternative Covers U.S. 7–inch cover

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" (also called "Don't Stand So Close" or "Don't Stand") is a 1980 song and hit single by the British rock band The Police. It concerns a schoolgirl's crush on her young teacher and the teacher's nervousness about the situation. The Police won the 1982 "Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" for this song. A re-recorded version of the song was released in 1986 as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86".

Background

The song deals with the mixed feelings of lust, fear and guilt that a female student has for a school teacher and vice versa, and inappropriateness leading to confrontation. The music and lyrics of the song were written by the lead singer of The Police, Sting, who had previously worked as an English teacher. In a 2001 interview for the concert DVD ...All This Time, Sting denied that the song is autobiographical. The line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" alludes to Vladimir Nabokov's famous novel Lolita which covers somewhat similar issues.^[1]

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" appeared on The Police's album Zenyattà Mondatta (A&M), and became a hit 'No.1' UK single^[2] along with a corresponding music video. In the US, it reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #10. In the UK, the track was confirmed by the end of 1980 to have been the biggest selling single of that year.

The B side, "Friends", was written by Andy Summers and is inspired by Stranger in a Strange Land, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein.

Sting was asked to perform on Mark Knopfler's "Money for Nothing" as he was in Montserrat at the time, and reused the melody from the chorus of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" in the counterpoint lyric 'I want my MTV'. It was only after this story was related to reporters during promotions for the Brothers in Arms album that lawyers for Sting became involved, and later copies of the album co-credit the song to Sting. The initial pressings list only Mark Knopfler. It is one of only two shared songwriting credits on any Dire Straits album.

Personnel

• Sting - Lead vocals, backing vocals, bass guitar
• Andy Summers - Guitars, guitar synthesizer, spoken word on "Friends"
• Stewart Copeland - Drums

Track listing

7" - A&M / AMS 7564 (UK)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" - 4:03
2. "Friends" - 3:37

7" - A&M / AMS 2301 (US)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" - 4:03
2. "A Sermon" - 2:34

1986 single release

"Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"
Single by The Police
from the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles
B-side	"Don't Stand So Close To Me" (Live)
Released	October 1986 (1986-10)
Format	7" / CD single
Recorded	1986
Genre	Rock, pop, new wave
Length	4:40
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Sting
Producer	Stewart Copeland, Sting, Andy Summers, Laurie Latham
The Police singles chronology
"King of Pain" (1984) "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (1986) "Can't Stand Losing You (live)" (1995)

The song was re-recorded in 1986 in a new, brooding arrangement with a different chorus and a more opulent production. The new version appeared as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles, and was released as a single, reaching number 24 in the British charts.^[2] It also reached number 11 in Ireland, number 14 in New Zealand, number 19 in Netherlands MegaCharts Singles Chart (number 20 on Dutch Top 40), number 27 in Canada^[3] and number 46 on Billboard Hot 100 (number 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks). This single was reportedly one of the first commercial CD singles ever produced.

Likely because of the decrease in tempo, a slight lyric change is found in the line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" (the word 'famous' was added). A new music video was produced for the reworked song by Godley and Creme, notable for its early use of animated computer graphics.

Because drummer Stewart Copeland broke his collarbone and was unable to play the drums, Copeland opted to use his Fairlight CMI to program the drum track for the single. While singer/bassist Sting pushed to utilize the drums on his Synclavier instead, the group's engineer found the Synclavier's programming interface difficult—and took him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming very quickly and claimed that the Fairlight's then-legendary "Page R" (the device's sequencing page) saved his life and put him on the map as a composer. In a Qantas inflight radio program named "Reeling In The Years", Copeland was quoted as saying that the argument over Synclavier versus Fairlight drums was "the straw that broke the camel's back", and led to the group's unraveling.

As The Police had already disbanded by the time the 1986 single was released, this was the last recording before the band's reunion and the most recent studio recording the band has released to the present day.

Track listing

7" - A&M / AM 354 (UK)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" - 4:47
2. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Live) - 3:40

12" - A&M / AMY 354 (UK)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (Dance Mix) - 6:32
2. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" - 4:47
3. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Original Version) - 4:03
4. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Live) - 3:40

Glee cover

"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
Single by Glee cast
from the album Glee: The Music, Volume 2
B-side	"Young Girl"
Released	2009
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2009
Genre	Pop
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Sting
Producer	Ryan Murphy, Adam Anders
Glee cast singles chronology
"I'll Stand by You" (2009) "Don't Stand So Close to Me" / "Young Girl" (2009) "Crush" (2009)

The song was covered in an episode of the American television series Glee in 2009. It was performed by the character Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) as a musical mashup with "Young Girl" in the episode "Ballad". It was included on the second soundtrack album from the series.

In the episode, high school student Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) develops a schoolgirl crush on her teacher Mr. Schuester, after singing the song "Endless Love" with him. In response, Schuester creates and performs the mashup for Rachel as a way to gently let her know that her crush is inappropriate for her age.

The single version charted at number 67 in Canada, number 64 in the United States and number 50 in Ireland.

Charts and succession

Preceded by "Feels Like I'm in Love" by Kelly Marie

UK number one single 27 September 1980 - 18 October 1980

Succeeded by "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand

References

1. ^ JR Huffman, JL Huffman (1987), "Sexism and cultural lag: The rise of the jailbait song, 1955-1985", The Journal of Popular Culture, doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1987.2102_65.x 
2. ^ ^{a b} The Police in the UK Charts, The Official Charts.
3. ^ Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles - Volume 45, No. 14, December 27 1986