Every Breath You Take

"Every Breath You Take"
Single by the Police
from the album Synchronicity
B-side"Murder by Numbers"
Released20 May 1983
RecordedDecember 1982 – February 1983
StudioAIR (Salem, Montserrat)
Genre
Length3:56 (single version)
4:13 (album version)
LabelA&M (AM 117)
SongwriterSting
Producers
The Police singles chronology
"Secret Journey"
(1982)
"Every Breath You Take"
(1983)
"Wrapped Around Your Finger"
(1983)
Audio sample
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Music video
"Every Breath You Take" on YouTube

"Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their fifth and final studio album Synchronicity (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest American and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks (the band's only No. 1 hit on that chart), and the Canadian RPM chart for two weeks. Their fifth UK No. 1, "Every Breath You Take" topped the UK singles chart for four weeks. It also reached the top 10 in numerous other countries. In May 2019, the song was recognised by BMI as being the most played song in radio history.

"Every Breath You Take" is the Police's and Sting's signature song, and in 2010, it was estimated to generate between a quarter and a third of Sting's music publishing income. At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, "Every Breath You Take" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Record of the Year, winning in the first two categories. For the song, Sting received the 1983 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).

In the 1983 Rolling Stone critics' and readers' poll, "Every Breath You Take" was voted the "Song of the Year". In the United States, the song was the best-selling single of 1983 and the fifth-best-selling single of the decade. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1983. "Every Breath You Take" was ranked No. 305 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It also ranked number 25 on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs. In 2008, Q magazine named the song among the top 10 British Songs of the 1980s. In 2015, "Every Breath You Take" was voted by the British public as The Nation's Favourite 1980s number one in a UK-wide poll for ITV.