Walking on the Moon

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This article is about the 1979 song by the Police. For the 2009 song by The-Dream, see Walkin' on the Moon. For other uses, see Moonwalk (disambiguation).

"Walking on the Moon"
Single by the Police
from the album Reggatta de Blanc
B-side"Visions of the Night"
Released23 November 1979[1]
Recorded1979
Genre
Length4:59 (album)
3:59 (single)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Sting
Producer(s)
The Police singles chronology
"Message in a Bottle"
(1979) 		"Walking on the Moon"
(1979) 		"Bring On the Night"
(1979)
Alternative cover
French 7-inch single cover
Audio sample
Music video
"Walking on the Moon" on YouTube

"Walking on the Moon" is a reggae song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to become the band's second No. 1 hit in the UK.

Background[edit]

Sting has said that he wrote the song when he was drunk one night after a concert in Munich. The following morning, he remembered the song and wrote it down.[6][7]

I was drunk in a hotel room in Munich, slumped on the bed with the whirling pit when this riff came into my head. I got up and started walking round the room, singing 'Walking round the room, ya, ya, walking round the room'. That was all. In the cool light of morning I remembered what had happened and I wrote the riff down. But 'Walking Round the Room' was a stupid title so I thought of something even more stupid which was 'Walking on the Moon'.

— Sting, L'Historia Bandido, 1981[7]

In his autobiography, Sting implies that the song was partially inspired by an early girlfriend:[8]

Deborah Anderson was my first real girlfriend...walking back from Deborah's house in those early days would eventually become a song, for being in love is to be relieved of gravity.

— Sting, 2003[7]

According to Sting, the song was originally recorded "as a rocker" in early versions, but it was reworked.[7] The riff, which is played on the bass, was described as "weird" and "jazzy" by Sting.[7] Guitarist Andy Summers came up with the chord "which hits after the bass notes" throughout the song.[7]

"Walking on the Moon" was released as the follow-up single to the British No. 1 single "Message in a Bottle" in late 1979. The song was the Police's second number-one hit single in the United Kingdom.[9] It also reached No. 1 in Ireland and No. 9 in Australia but did not chart in the United States.

The B-side to the song, "Visions of the Night", was written by Sting. He said of the song, "This was the first song I wrote after going to London. It was hard to be serious about the whole thing. I was bemused, much to Stewart [Copeland]'s disgust."[7] According to Copeland, the song was "too cerebral for [the band's] early audiences," so Sting would call it "Three O'Clock Shit", the title of a rejected Police song that appears as "Three O'Clock Shot" on Strontium 90: Police Academy.[7]

Composition[edit]

"Walking on the Moon" has a "sparse" arrangement, centred around a three-note bass riff.[7] It is one of the Police's more reggae-influenced songs.

Music video[edit]

The video was shot at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 23, 1979. It features the band miming to the track amidst spacecraft displays, interspersed with NASA footage. Sting plays a guitar rather than a bass, and Stewart Copeland strikes his drumsticks on a Saturn V moon rocket. It was directed by Derek Burbidge.

Track listing[edit]

7" A&M / AMS 7494 (UK)
  1. "Walking on the Moon" (Edit) – 3:59 (This edit has never been officially released on CD.)
  2. "Visions of the Night" – 3:05
12" A&M / AMSP 7494 (UK)
  1. "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59
  2. "Visions of the Night" – 3:05

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "Walking on the Moon"
Chart (1979–1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 16
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 65
France (SNEP)[13] 9
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 12
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] 20
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 1

Year-end charts[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "Walking on the Moon"
Chart (1980) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] 79

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ Bryant, Tom (25 June 2014). "17 rock-reggae crossovers that work... and three that don't". Classic Rock. Future plc. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  3. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1979". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 370. ISBN 9781493064601.
  4. ^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Pleasently Antagonistic: New Wave". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 455. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  5. ^ Tobler, John (2016). "Police - Reggatta De Blanc". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 428.
  6. ^ Fielder, Hugh; Sutcliffe, Phil (1981). The Police l'historia bandido. North Bellmore, N.Y: Proteus. ISBN 0-906071-77-1.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "'Walking on the Moon' / 'Visions of the Night'". sting.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  8. ^ Sting (2003). Broken music: a memoir. New York: Dial Press. ISBN 0-385-33678-0.
  9. ^ The Police in the UK Charts Archived 26 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Official Charts.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "The Police – Walking on the Moon" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 12, 1980" (PDF).
  13. ^ "The Police – Walking on the Moon" (in French). Les classement single.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walking on the Moon". Irish Singles Chart.
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Police" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  16. ^ "The Police – Walking on the Moon" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. ^ "The Police – Walking on the Moon". Top 40 Singles.
  18. ^ "The Police – Walking on the Moon" Canciones Top 50.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  20. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. 5 January 1981. Retrieved 17 January 2022 – via Imgur.
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