| This is about a man who falls in love with a
prostitute. Sting got the idea for this after walking through the
red-light district of Paris. He imagined what it would be like to
fall in love with one of the prostitutes. |
| This was the first major-label release by The
Police. A year earlier, they released the single "Fall Out" on an
independent label owned by Stewart Copeland's brother. |
| When it was first released, this didn't chart.
It was re-released and charted in early 1979 after The Police gained
some popularity. |
| In the movie 48 Hours, Eddie Murphy
sings a very off-key version of the song in a jail cell. |
| Sting still performs this at his concerts. He
still likes it, and knows the fans will be upset if he doesn't play
it. |
| The band was surprised that their manager,
Miles Copeland, liked this and had it released as a single. They
thought he would hate it because it was not typical of The Police. |
| Sting chose the name Roxanne because it has a
rich history behind it. Roxanne was the name of Alexander The
Great's wife and Cyrano DeBergerac's girlfriend. |
| In 1987, Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah starred
in the movie Roxanne, which is based on the Cyrano DeBergerac
story of a poet with a big nose who falls for a beautiful woman. |
| Sting considers the beat more of a Tango than
Reggae. |
| The laughing at the beginning is Sting. It was
recorded when he tripped in the recording studio and fell over the
piano. |
| Sting performed this at Live Aid in 1985. |
| A remake of this song was featured in the 2001
movie Moulin Rouge. Christian (Ewan McGregor) sings this
about Satine (Nicole Kidman) when he becomes enraged in a fit of
jealously. And guess what? They made it into a tango so this song
can no longer be mistaken for a reggae beat... Sting must be very
proud. (thanks, Kristy - La Porte City, IA) |
| The Police performed this when they were
inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. With the
exception of a drunken jam at Sting's wedding in 1992, it was the
first time they played together since they broke up in 1986 over
personal differences. At the ceremony, guitarist Andy Summers joked,
"I'd like to make it very clear that there is no ego in our band
whatsoever." |
| This song is the basis for a popular drinking
game of the same title: men drink when it says "Roxanne," women
drink when it says "Red Light." (thanks, Alex - Charleston, WV)
|
