JANUARY 1979: We started receiving phone calls here at B.H. Central of some urgency from John Pidgeon, one of our English writers who also toils for Melody Maker. Normally a subdued Britisher, John was extremely excited about this new band, the Police. Hed written a story for Melody Maker, and he wanted us to run one as well. It was a strange name for a band, we mused in our usual caffeine stupor, and promptly went back to proofreading. Even English excitement can overwhelm you, though, and when Simon Friths voice was added to the din, we decided to run the story. Then the record hit the office and excitement reigned for, the next few weeks. This guys voice was just so...different. "Strangely appealing" was one office opinion. "Almost painful," came from another enthusiast.

By the time we got the story in, it was April (June issue), but national press had still been slow to pick up on the band. "Roxanne" was, of course, one of those classic radio songs that roused you out of bed, and had you wondering the rest of the day who the hell that was. Here was white reggae so accessible it was...not really reggae to the average listener. One of those "I dont know what it is but keep doing it" pleasurable sensations... It was a sound that pained most reggae purists I talked to, but miscegenation seemed to be the harshest criticism they could come up with. As Joe Jackson put it in a recent Trouser Press (claiming that his remarks were "general"): "a pseudo-reggae beat on the verses which changes into a rock beat for the chorus. "