Grace Jones recorded “Demolition Man” for her 1981 album Nightclubbing. She had requested a song from Sting and he sent her the demo. He wrote the song for his band The Police to record but they had not used it.  Producers Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin wanted Jones to embrace a multi-genre style based on New Wave because of the backlash against the disco sound on her previous albums. Black Uhuru’s Sinsemilla album was used as inspiration for Jones’s next direction. “Demolition Man” had reggae rhythm, eerie synthesizers, and Jones’ emphatic chatting and singing. The video was an outtake of the song’s performance on her A One Man Show Tour with an army of Grace Jones clones. The fresh sound of Nightclubbing and Jones’s high fashion androgynous image made an indelible impression on pop. The painted photograph on the album cover taken by her then-boyfriend Jean-Paul Goude consists of Jones in an Armani suit with a flat-top haircut and has been recognized as one of the best by several designers and the music press. Jones appeared at Paris Fashion Week in March. 

Does Diddy really pay Sting $5000 a day for sampling “Every Breath You Take?” 

Which record companies told Melanie Fiona that “no one wanted to hear someone sing or speak that well?”

Is Dave Chappelle stopping an affordable housing plan in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio? 

What kind of production limitations made Willow Smith leave her slot as the opening act on the Billie Eilish tour and then unfollow her on Twitter? 

Was Sting’s publishing catalog that included his songs with The Police undervalued at $300 million in its sale to Universal Music? 

[youtube id=”bdneye4pzMw”]Sting and Shaggy released their collaborative album 44/876 in 2018 and went on tour to support. They took home the Grammy for Best Reggae Album earlier this year. The duo took their combined energy to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and delighted the audience in the cozy space. Here they are performing “Englishman In New York,” “Don’t Make Me Wait” and “Shape Of My Heart/Lucid Dreams.” Sting’s “Shape Of My Heart” became popular again when rapper Juice WRLD reinterpreted it for his hit “Lucid Dreams.”