| Walking on the Moon | |
| Cover: | Walkingonthemoon.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | the Police |
| Album: | Reggatta de Blanc |
| B-Side: | Visions of the Night |
| Released: | 23 November 1979[1] |
| Recorded: | 1979 |
| Length: | 4:59 (album) 3:59 (single) |
| Label: | A&M |
| Prev Title: | Message in a Bottle |
| Prev Year: | 1979 |
| Next Title: | Bring On the Night |
| Next Year: | 1979 |
"Walking on the Moon" is a reggae song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to become the band's second hit in the UK.
Sting has said that he wrote the song when he was drunk one night after a concert in Munich. The following morning, he remembered the song and wrote it down.[2] [3]
In his autobiography, Sting implies that the song was partially inspired by an early girlfriend:[4]
According to Sting, the song was originally recorded "as a rocker" in early versions, but it was reworked. The riff, which is played on the bass, was described as "weird" and "jazzy" by Sting. Guitarist Andy Summers came up with the chord "which hits after the bass notes" throughout the song.
"Walking on the Moon" was released as the follow-up single to the British single "Message in a Bottle" in late 1979. The song was the Police's second number-one hit single in the United Kingdom.[5] It also reached in Ireland and in Australia but did not chart in the United States.
The B-side to the song, "Visions of the Night", was written by Sting. He said of the song, "This was the first song I wrote after going to London. It was hard to be serious about the whole thing. I was bemused, much to Stewart [Copeland]'s disgust." According to Copeland, the song was "too cerebral for [the band's] early audiences," so Sting would call it "Three O'Clock Shit", the title of a rejected Police song that appears as "Three O'Clock Shot" on .
"Walking on the Moon" has a "sparse" arrangement, centred around a three-note bass riff. It is one of the Police's more reggae-influenced songs.
The video was shot at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 23, 1979. It features the band miming to the track amidst spacecraft displays, interspersed with NASA footage. Sting plays a guitar rather than a bass, and Stewart Copeland strikes his drumsticks on a Saturn V moon rocket. It was directed by Derek Burbidge.
| Chart (1979–1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 9 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] | 65 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 79 |
|---|