How The Police’s "Don’t Stand So Close to Me" Sparked Controversy and Launched Their Stardom

Hey teacher, leave them kids alone! Today we’re telling the story of the classic 80s track Don’t Stand So Close To Me by the Police. The controversial song is about a classroom instructor who crossed the line with one of his students. And since Sting was a teacher before joining this band, a lot of fans wondered if it was really about him. Was he speaking from a real experience? Besides that, this song holds another claim to fame as well. It is notorious for trying to pass off one of the worst rhymes in a pop song ever. Even band mates Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland admitted it was terrible. But despite all the drama surrounding it, this song was just they needed at the time. Not only did it become one of their most popular tracks, it opened the way for them to become global rock stars. and part of it would come back around a few years later to help create another massive hit. Money For Nothing from Dire Straits So get ready, we’ve got some controversy coming up on this one… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .