The Police was a three-piece British pop band which was strongly influenced by reggae, and came to prominence in the wake of the punk rock phenomenon and rose to become one of the most popular groups in the world from the late 1970s to the mid- 1980s.
The Police evolved from the shortlived group Strontium 90, which was formed by expatriate Australian musician Mike Howlett. He began his career as the bassist with the late 1960s Australia harmony pop group The Affair before moving to London in 1970. In 1973 he joined the noted progressive rock group Gong, which had been founded by another Aussie expatriate, Daevid Allen. He remained with the group until 1976 Howlett and drummer Pierre Moerlan composed much of Gong's material
After leaving Gong ca. 1976 Howlett formed Strontium 90, recruiting singer-bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers (a former member of Eric Burdon's New Animals) and United States-born drummer Stewart Copeland, whom Howlett already knew from Copeland's previous band Curved Air).
Strontium 90 was the band in which the three future Police first met and played together and Howlett claims to have introduced the three musicians to each other. He taped several demos of the band, including the first recorded version of Sting's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", which was also the first recording the trio ever made together. He also taped a London live performance from the same period, which marked the first time that the future Police played togethe...