Outlandos d'Amour is the debut album by The Police, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music).

The LP initally flopped, due to low exposure and an unfavorable reaction from the BBC to its first two singles, "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" (about suicide and prostitution, respectively). As Sting describes:

"...We had [a] publicity campaign with posters about how the BBC banned Roxanne. The reason they had a problem with Can't Stand Losing You was because the photo on the over of the single had Stewart standing on a block of ice with a noose around his neck, waiting for the ice melt."

However, the band's low-budget tour of America in support of the album made people across the country aware of the band, and especially "Roxanne". The song received more and more airplay from radio DJs in both the United States and Great Britain through April 1979. When A&M re-released "Roxanne", it went to #12 on the U.K. charts, and "Can't Stand Losing You" followed, eventually hitting #2. The album itself peaked at #6.

The album starts off with "Next To You", a punk number with a slide guitar solo in the middle. "So Lonely", a song about loneliness (obviously) with a reggae beat follows. "Roxanne", about a prostitute, was written by Sting after visiting a red-light district in Paris and is (along with Every Breath You Take) one of the Police's best-known songs. It is followed by "Hole in My Life", another reggae-type song about loneliness, and "Peanuts", a Sting-Stewart Copeland collaboration with a strong punk influence. "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Truth Hits Everybody", a pair of ominous songs detailing love gone wrong, begin Side Two of the original LP. "Born in the 50's", which is about the experiences of Sting and Copeland's generation (Andy Summers was born in 1942!), and "Be My Girl -- Sally", a combination of a half-finished Sting song and a short Summers poem about a blowup doll, lead into the album's instrumental closer, "Masoko Tanga".

Track listing

1. "Next to You" (Sting) - 2:50
2. "So Lonely" (Sting) - 4:49
3. "Roxanne" (Sting) - 3:12
4. "Hole in My Life" (Sting) - 4:52
5. "Peanuts" (Copeland, Sting) - 3:58
6. "Can't Stand Losing You" (Sting) - 2:58
7. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Sting) - 2:53
8. "Born in the 50's" (Sting) - 3:40
9. "Be My Girl - Sally" (Sting, Summers) - 3:22
10. "Masoko Tanga" (Sting) - 5:40

Personnel

• Stewart Copeland - drums, vocals
• Sting - bass, vocals
• Andy Summers - guitar, vocals

Production

• Producers: Stewart Copeland, Sting, Andy Summers
• Engineers: Chris Gray, Nigel Gray
• Mastering: Dave Collins, Bob Ludwig
• Arrangers: Andy Summers, The Police

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)