A couple of months later Sting and Copeland joined Mike Howlett on tour as a project band. There they met guitarist Andy Summers. Summers joined the trio and created a four-piece version of The Police. It became evident that Summers was a better fit for the group than Padovani, and Padovani was soon dropped from the group.

The Police were an emerging band, but were still in need of money and played in a commercial for Wrigley’s Spearmint gum to the ire of punk fans everywhere. The group with the contractually obligated blond hair first hit the masses in the commercial. Soon after, they released their first album, Outlandos d’Amour. On the strength of the single “Roxanne” the album was released by A&M Records.

The record took off slowly and along with a tour of the United States that included only a Ford Econoline van to haul their equipment, The Police had their first platinum record. The second album, Reggatta de Blanc was a bigger success, going platinum and producing their first number one single “Message In A Bottle”. The instrumental “Walking on the Moon” topped the charts later that year and The Police won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

In 1980 the group took on a world tour that hit cities like Mexico City, Bombay, and locations in Egypt. Shortly after completing their world tour, The Police released their third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, due to increasing pressure from the record label.

The album went platinum twice and had top ten singles “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”. The third album also launched Sting as the standout member of the group. He began to pursue parts in movies at the sacrifice of the relationship with the other founding member of The Police.

The group released their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine, anyway. The album produced more top ten hits with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Invisible Sun”. The Police followed the album with a break that allowed Sting to continue acting the members to pursue solo projects.

The move away from each increased tensions and the band came together for one more album, Synchronicity, in 1983. Once again The Police produce top ten hits, this time with “Every Breath You Take” and Wrapped Around Your Finger”. The album went head to head with Michael Jackson’s classic Thriller, which beat their album for the Grammy’s Album of the Year.

After the Synchronicity tour ended in March 1984, the members went on to their own solo careers. The band never officially broke up, but Sting’s continued success alone meant the end for the band in all reality.

In the years that followed The Police would release compilation albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The group, never officially breaking up, reunited for a 30th anniversary tour in 2007.