Studio Album · No. 3
Zenyatta Mondatta Songwriting Credits by The Police
Produced by The Police, Nigel Gray · Engineered by Nigel Gray
Holds writing credit on 11 of 11 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 11 / 11 documented
Scored across the 11 tracks with documented writers, by whether The Police carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 11 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Awards & Recognition 2
Sting wrote eight of the eleven tracks on Zenyatta Mondatta, including the singles 'Don't Stand So Close to Me,' 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,' and 'Voices Inside My Head.' Andy Summers contributed his first Police composition with the instrumental 'Behind My Camel,' which won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, while Stewart Copeland wrote 'Bombs Away' and 'The Other Way of Stopping.' 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' separately won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album was co-produced by The Police and Nigel Gray, who engineered it under tight time pressure.
Tax rules kept the band out of British studios, so the third album was recorded at Wisseloord in Hilversum across four weeks in the summer of 1980, with Nigel Gray brought over to co-produce for a 25,000 pound fee. They finished at four in the morning on the day their next world tour began, then had to remix the whole record in a single day at Strawberry Studios in Dorking to hold the October release date. All three members have since said they were unhappy with the result, and during a short 1986 reunion they tried re-recording two of its songs. It went to number one in Britain for four weeks anyway, reached number five in the US, and won two Grammys, one for 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' and one for Andy Summers' instrumental 'Behind My Camel,' a track Sting hated so much that he took the tape out and buried it in the studio garden.
Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Don't Stand So Close to Me
#1
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 2 |
Driven to Tears
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 3 |
When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 4 |
Canary in a Coalmine
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 5 |
Voices Inside My Head
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 6 |
Bombs Away
|
Stewart Copeland | Stewart Copeland | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 7 |
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
#5
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 8 |
Behind My Camel
|
Not documented | Andy Summers | The PoliceNigel Gray | - |
| 9 |
Man in a Suitcase
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 10 |
Shadows in the Rain
|
Sting | Sting | The PoliceNigel Gray | Sting (Lead Vocals) |
| 11 |
The Other Way of Stopping
|
Not documented | Stewart Copeland | The PoliceNigel Gray | - |