Demolition Man (The Police song)

"Demolition Man"
If song was released as a single, include single cover art. Otherwise, include album cover artwork to replace the 45 rpm, if available.
Recorded by The Police
Released:	1981-10-02
Recorded:	1981-06-20 - 1981-07-26
Length:	5:54
Album(s):	Ghost In The Machine
Label(s):	A&M
Writer(s):	Sting
Producer(s):	Hugh Padgham & The Police
Studio(s):	AIR Studios, Montserrat
Released as single?	NO

"Demolition Man" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1981.

About the song

Sting wrote the song in 1980 and recorded various demo versions at Keystone Studios in Dublin, Ireland.

There's a Sting "solo" demo (3:21) with a basic percussion rhythm - there's only the occasional bit of keyboards accompanying that.

Another demo version with drums by Paul McAteer was sent to Grace Jones, who released her own version of the song as a single in February 1981 way before The Police recorded the song for Ghost In The Machine.

An earlier mix from AIR Studios is basically the same as the LP version - most noteable difference is that Stewart stopped playing his snare for a while in the last minute of ths song, which results in a bit of rhythmic confusion. The LP version features snare overdubs which makes listening to it easier.

Personnel

• Sting
• Stewart Copeland
• Andy Summers

Release History

Albums

Demolition Man appears on the following album releases:

Cover art	Album title	Release date	Release country
	Ghost In The Machine	1981-10-02	UK
	Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings	1993-MM-DD	UK

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	Songs	Release date	Release country
	Catalog no.	"Song"(s)	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

7" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song/B-side song	Release date	Release country
	Catalog no.	"A-side song"/"B-side song"	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

12" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song(s)/B-side song(s)	Release date	Release country
	Catalog no.	"A-side song"/"B-side song" (add more songs as necessary)	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

Video

"SONG TITLE" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art	Video title	Release date	Release country
	Video or dvd title	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year	Winner	Award	Category
YYYY	WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.)	AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.)	CATEGORY

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year	Nominee	Award	Category
YYYY	NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.)	AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.)	CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country	Certifier	Classification	Certification
COUNTRY	CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...)	CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...)	CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.

Tied to the tracks and the train's just coming
Strapped to the wing with the engine running
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man

Tied to a chair and the bomb is ticking
This situation was not of your picking
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man

I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I'm a three line whip
I'm the sort of thing they ban
I'm a walking disaster
I'm a demolition man

You come to me like a moth to the flame
It's love you need but I don't play that game
'Cos you could be my greatest fan
But I'm nobody's friend
I'm a demolition man

I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I'm a three line whip
I'm the sort of thing they ban
I'm a walking disaster
I'm a demolition man

Quotations and trivia

This section needs more information.

Alternative and cover versions

Alternative versions

• Sting "solo" demo
• Sting demo (with drums) for Grace Jones
• early mix during Ghost In The Machine recordings
• Demolition Man (Sting song)

Cover versions

A cover version of Demolition Man appears on the following album release:

Cover art	Artist	Album title	Release date	Release country
	Rayvon, Shaggy	Reggatta Mondatta Volume II	1998-06-30	??

See also

This section needs more information.

External links

This section needs more information.

References

• Police, The. Ghost In The Machine. (1981) [Audio recording], A&M Records.
• personal information (demos)