Sumner's Tales: Sting talks...

One accusations of ripping off 'No Woman No Cry'...
"Totally. 'No Woman, No Cry' sped up with a slightly different melody. Those chords, classic aren't they, C, G, A Minor, F"
Q, 11/93

"People thrashing out three chords didn't really interest us musically. Reggae was accepted in punk circles and musically more sophisticated, and we could play it, so we veered off in that direction. I mean let's be honest here, 'So Lonely' was unabashedly culled from 'No Woman No Cry' by Bob Marley. Same chorus. What we invented was this thing of going back and forth between thrash punk and reggae. That was the little niche we created for ourselves."
Revolver, 4/00

On whether singing 'So Lonely' to a huge audience was ironic...
"No, there's no irony whatsoever. From the outside it might look a bit strange, being surrounded by all this attention and yet experiencing the worst lonely feeling...but I do. And then suddenly the attention is withdrawn a half an hour later. You're so isolated..."
Musician, 6/83

'So Lonely' appears on The Police's debut album, 'Outlandos d'Amour', and was released as a single in the UK where it spent 10 weeks on the chart peaking at the #6 spot. Another classic Police track from the early days, and a set list staple. 'No Time This Time' first appeared on the B-side of the 'So Lonely' single, and then almost a year later was to found on the 'Reggatta de Blanc' album. A great, fast, Police track complete with great mad drumming from Stewart. 'No Time This Time' first appeared on the B-side of the 'So Lonely' single, and then almost a year later was to found on the 'Reggatta de Blanc' album. A great, fast, Police track complete with great mad drumming from Stewart.

Review from Melody Maker

"A group capable, I think, of many good things. Their last single 'Can't Stand Losing You' was a minor rock classic and their first release, 'Roxanne', just missed the mark. Once again, they use reggae as the base for 'So Lonely', building to a fierce and memorable verse. It sounds a bit like 'C Moon' in the choruses, though. Weaker in impact than 'Can't Stand Losing You' but a song worthy of consideration all the same."

Review from Sounds

"Stop start mix of white reggae and rock which is a definite grower. Repeated airplays'd give you time to get over Sting's horrid castrato wailings (he sounds like he ran foul of those silly S.C.U.M. feminists) and ensures the long predicted hit. Not a single of the week 'cos they didn't take me to America."

Review from New Musical Express

"This band have been complaining about their treatment by the critics. How is it, they argue, that 10CC can get away with white reggae but they can't? One answer is 10cc don't sound like Amen Corner doing a cover of a Desmond Dekker song. That said, this is quite a lively knees-up, especially when the chorus gains speed would have helped all round."