Police - Spirits in the Material World

[davewoodring]

the secret is enough.

[aguafinatv]

This sounds like Bob Marley. GREAT SONG !

[theclash181]

how come you can hear the bass but he's not playing it?

[eclectica1]

@theclash181 Top Of The Pops and their stupid miming policy. People used to go on the show and make fun of it, as appears to be the case with Sting here.

[nicosch02]

that was the end of the real police:-(

[meinneuesiphone]

The Police & Oliver Baumgärtel are the best

[johnybobraindeer]

I'm one of the few kids in this world who loves this kind of music. The police is one of the greatest bands of all time. And I'm sad all of the modern music is so different from the stuff of the 70's and 80's. That's when they knew how to make music!

[MissBehavin1111]

yeah..okay this is a great song -funny video .... hilarious..first Sting has bare wires and no mic then the mic shows up, the whole thing is lip-synched and air-banded...Sting is waving that prop bass around like a sex-toy!! I guess on all levels -including staged songs they were ahead of their time

[kathyfluffy]

My Boy!! stewart copland Is Having too Much Fun!!!

[casshargette]

i was lucky enough to see the police reunion tour in 06. i had to be the youngest person there. i heard they didnt make it through the tour. they can still rock!!! i hope they do another.

[buhoglive]

3 dislikes looks like the kids haven't found this yet. Thank God. I hope the kids never find it. We have to keep the real talent real music real artist's to ourselves

[TheViralSBK]

the pizzicato small-guitar solo is genius

[Mies78]

There is no political solution To our troubled evolution Have no faith in constitution There is no bloody revolution

We are spirits in the material world

Our so-called leaders speak With words they try to jail you The subjugate the meek But it’s the rhetoric of failure

[richardfastlove]

the best comes from england

[godgunsncountry]

I'm not hearing that sax lmao

[zeta1ret]

Top of the pops and american bandstand were notorious for using 'lipsyncing'...cuz of sound quality....that's why he doesn't seem to play the base...way bother...just mouth the words...the song's already been sung and prerecorded....

[rayito2005]

Great british band 1981

[jbbraham]

no ones playing on this

[mashley65]

back then the controversy was over live mimed performance to recorded material. TOTP was notorious for having bands just mime to the record. So the musicians union made them perform live or mime to a live recording. In this version The Police recorded an alternate live version in rehearsals and then mimed that!

[DontVoteCameron]

Sting knew he just had to spirit that bass for the pops. Stewart C and Andy did the same! Excellent 'performance' for the keep music live campaigners!

Brilliant song..

[sspongey98]

@DontVoteCameron You do realize that Top of the Pops MADE artists lipsynch, right?

[nootaramus]

sting is not playing the bass line here. you can hear the eighth notes on this bass line- probably set up on a synth. while I am sure Sting is capable of playing the bass line with the eighth notes included, to sing while doing that would be tough ( for me anyway)..it is a great song and andy sumners has mastered the guitar synth sound.

by the way, "..its the rhetoric of failure " not redarick you dumb nijjer.

[gekko1323]

@nootaramus

Geddy Lee doesn't seem to have a problem ;)

[halocrap360]

sting is so cool

[RockSalami]

Gay Gyrating

[patpongrecords]

luv it^^

[NAIVADA]

nice different version.. I don't know the story behind it, but this one must have come first, and they obviously opted to make it less peppy... and sound a lil darker, as it is on "ghost in the machine".

[MrDiscordinated]

goosebumps

[mrpowerhouse332]

the drummer is awesome so hard to play some of this stuff really technical!!

[ChazYocom]

Nice Andy! A 1981 Yellow Chiquita Guitar!!! LOVE IT!! ;-)

[TheIntruders]

He's laying it on a little thick.

[44eelz]

are those horns on the album too? i thought it was a keyboard

[svenssoncorps]

@44eelz there are some horns along with the synth keyboard.

[unbelivableLP]

@44eelz pretty sure its a keyboard, but in the live version its a horn

[justlstn]

A US Top-10 hit in 1982

[jacobelkins19]

@justlstn wTF ???

[THESOULbornold]

our socalled leaders speak with words they try to jail ya they subjigate the meek but its the redarick of failure.

[THESOULbornold]

The Sacritease of music

[ScottDaveMusic]

oh man heard this today on radio. so awesome!! relevant too. 

[RebelThoughts]

Best Police song ever!

[MrUffauffauffa]

Gilbert Ryle aveva ragione ...

Ciao

[hybridmoments77]

Is he going to dance with that bass or play it? Just kidding, this is great!

[Jazznzildjian]

jajajajajajajaja whats up with sting jejejej i like his style

[simolui]

this song reflects perfectly now days living.... and the bass man..

[RamonaFromPomona]

Thanks for the post. Good song.

[japesy01]

check out and search for the Dubxanne version of this featuring Benjamin Zephaniah

[imachildofthe80s8089]

I was gonna say Sting looks so good in this video but doesn't he always? Whether he's 30 or 58?

[therealraybaby]

We really are!

[DiazdelVivar]

bass line is more clear in this one... I always heard the 1,2,3,4 as if you take the second note (the higher) of the keyboard melody (last verse) as time 1 exactly... try it; sounds completely different!!! when the chorus come it's like -what happened????? ... but in this version at begginig I feel the 1,2,3,4 the way it is, because of the clarity of the bass line..

[DiazdelVivar]

aahhhh it's an higher key the whole song... that's why

[Mslalabamba]

Un prof d'histoire! Jouer de la guitare et chanter!

Du jamais vu!

[Didjoseph78]

yep

;)

[bds1167]

I have NEVER seen Sting play that bass.

[Arjozof]

@bds1167 It's an 8=string Hamer bass and I've never HEARD him play it on any records either.

[ecurl]

Been listening to this a lot again lately - This takes me right back - forgot how awesome this song is.

[ecurl]

Police are awesome ..........but RUSH are godlike for a 3 piece outfit

[MJLU280]

this bass line is the freakin' best

[Tickets825]

That is a cool bass

[createrainbowz]

ahhhh sting

ta 4 posting

one love :)

[fyesaotome]

the police is the best of the world!

for me!

[denniskussinich08]

when the police didn't actually suck live.

[meccaturbo]

Hey dennisdildo, I assume your assinine comment is referring to their 2007/2008 tour. If you think they sucked during that tour, you need a good hard kick in the head, you fucking retarded moron.

[littlescratchykitty]

As usual on TOTP this is all piped over the PA and nobody is actually playing, but this doesn't sound like the record. What's the deal?

[salvadorianG13]

There is two version of the song the first one was with the piano then with a ukelele shit 1:40

[themusicman1970]

Good live version though some of it must have been recorded at another live show. 'Spirits' always kicked ass live and therefore I was mad they pulled it from the reunion tour in '07.

[varclav]

is that the Marty McFly´s electric guitar!!!???

[jbloun911]

This is the early 80's new wave scene.

[TannyHSamat]

Good

[bds1167]

I never saw Sting use that bass! What's up???

[casshargette]

@bds1167 thats the instument he has always played man. i have seen him play drums on diddy"s cover of every breath you take

[FerBolanos1966]

@bds1167 You're kidding, right?

[capturedevice62]

@bds1167 they probably dont do live shows for top of the pops and he just lip synced it; either that or they're saving their performance for an actual show

[resonance2012]

coke and lip-syncing

[bds1167]

Sting is not lip-syncing..... I think.

[salvadorianG13]

dont arrest me

[BLDMLN1007]

SOOOOO GOOOOD.

[WhiteWolfDief]

haha that small yellow guitar made my day! : D

[IGuitarHeroRealHard]

its called a mandolin i believe

[skisnomobile4ev]

it is, but its still fun to laugh at it! :D

[thepolice281]

Awesome song.

[Nyquest]

the point here is that's its a re recorded version for Top Of The Pops not the album version.Due to Musicians Union in the U.K this had to be done.Google it

[saltedpeanut2]

Wow..... didn't think sting was still using that bass in late 81.

[Edvinas1995]

Awesome this group "The Police"

[TannyHSamat]

Ok !

[Lynnsongart]

I dunno man, I've always been a total Police freak, and still am, but they definitely were primadonnas, I must say.

[johnnybeane]

ROCKIN!!!

JB

[TheEqualizer1982]

LOVE 'EM!

[avcpit]

somos espiritus en el mundo material

[BartoszXIV]

this is playback????????

[logic1968]

God Bless The Police but come on people! Isn't it obvious that they're lip-synching?

[technoturnip]

i think they all did on top of th pops in those days . ttoptps didn't do live in then. im sure someoneelsecan tell you more

[fitzy8109]

if u havent noticed sting doesnt even touch his bass th whole song haha its not just lip synching. u could tell he doesnt wanna be there

[KakarotProd]

awsome show!

[retrochick1962]

Love the Police, love Sting. Need I say more.

[invisiblelock]

ese dia los Police estaban de pachangueo.

[kimwildecool4]

an amazng performance from the greatest band.

i remember this fantastic song from 1981.

an absolute classic!

The Police are brilliant!

[tall32guy]

One comment: this is a ROCKASS performance! LOL One of the best I think I've ever seen of theirs, no lie!

[Langoliers1995]

I agree with u mate

[Langoliers1995]

GO POLICE!!!!!!!

[cre8ifsage]

Definately a kewl version. A serious improvement from that original video MTV was playing to death back in 1981

[tall32guy]

I liked that one a lot as well!!!! :)

[FezzickO]

what an awsome show!

[lamecasuelas]

hahahah!

pinche andy!

[misterberko]

Great vid - I saw them play an amazing concert in Geneva, Switzerland a year ago but ended up thinking it was sad that we all missed out on about 10 or 15 Police albums.

[oceanwind402001]

I Love The Drummer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ToyotaTacoma06]

I love the Police. Just to think about how much they did in such a short period of time. Forever my favorite band.

[mikemonleon]

Plus they were a 3 piece

[DavidEmailman]

One of my all time favorite bands Im crazy about!

[PAULUKPICT]

it was paul robinson - jellymixx crew playing the instruments . . . .

[kenytco68]

Gotta love how they don't give 2 shits about synching up with the recording. Andy with the ukelele is priceless! The biggest joke was the 3-man horn section. Not a single toot to be heard, but here they are! I saw an in-studio performance of DeDoDoDo and they did the same thing, except Sting had no bass and Stewart was jumping around. toward the end of the song, Sting was just staring into the camera. Didn't even try...

[ct92404]

LOL...yeah, it seems like they didn't take any of their early videos seriously at all. Stewart is just drumming on whatever is around, a chair, whatever. The video to "Message In A Bottle" is hillarious. The Police songs were incredible, but they didn't take the music videos seriously. The only videos I saw that they took seriously and made an attempt at a real video with a theme were for the videos for "Synchronicity II" and "Every Breath You Take."

[merkules2001]

I thing wrapped around your finger was pretty artistic.

[oceanwind402001]

I Love The Drummer!!!!!!!!!

[Laurent75017]

This is not the LP version ; would it be a demo ? A live studio version ? I am skeptical ; if anyone can tell me, I 'd be happy

[Purvi30]

This version was re-recorded for the show, check out "Kenny Everett Spirits" on You tube aswell.

[Jaggerowie]

And You obviously see the microphone? ;)

[Pdubinit]

this is a great video...

PHANWA IN THE MACHINE

[antactor1]

I am totally confused. If this is not the studio version, then who is playing the bass? Sting obviously is not. Copeland is just fooling around in the back. Maybe this isn't live a version.

[AJVenter94]

Not kidding??

[ecobox]

Nope -- Top Of The Pops. They always lipsynched for those. Why Sting even has the bass on is beyond me -- he's just dancing around! ;)

[silidisilidi]

I love this song. the police are greates.

[helgaapeldoorn]

Eberhard Schoener, I still have the LP.

It was great and a little strange music. Sting's vocals were amazing. Nowadays most stuff is also available on CD, check an import store or something.

[helgaapeldoorn]

I am totally in love with this version, what a great song

[almost2007all]

Thanks!!! I realy like it!!!

[POLICEchout]

I think I have a pretty unhealthy obsession with this song...I never tire of it...just a perfect song.

I've really grown to like this version in a different key.

[ab330]

the base is a track..

[kalisteboat]

All the instruments are in playback.

I think Police members does not like the playback developpement.

This comedy is the piece of evidence that they criticise this form of insult against the audience ... and i think the same.

Live Performance must be authentic !

[CloneTrooper74]

Muscians dont play their instruments in their music videos its just posing really. Does anybody know what the hell kind of guitar Andy Summers is playing in this video?

[otacon98]

some kind of small electric guitar, they were big in the 80's but are rare these days. tried to look for one myself and had no luck.

[POLICEchout]

It's a Chiquita guitar, like Marty McFly used when he cranked that amp in Back To The Future.

[otacon98]

oh yeah i forgot about that one.

[johnnybeane]

Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top played them also.

JB

[XxZuRagxX]

Yes, Police were a huge pop band and this is an old Top of the Pops clip where all the bands used to mime. I saw Police live in the early eighties and they were so tight and intense, not like the reunion police of today. Great Band!

[xensboy]

This is fantastic. At last we get to see the look of the great Marquee concert photo in movement. The song heard seems to be recorded for the program. Very exciting. Thanks, cosycorp.

[MJLU280]

This is lip synched obviously and is the hard to find remix version of Spirits which was going to be the audio for the video on the Montserrat video that they officially released, but in the end they went with the album version. LOVE THIS SONG! :)

[crisalvini]

of course.... in the past these music tv show were in playback.... Sting hates lipsync so he made clear he was NOT playing at all!

[knarisa]

is this lipsynced??? where the hell is the bass coming from? sting's not even playing!

[redur69]

That's top of the pops for you, real musicians don't fake it that's why he is not playing, and Stewart is doing some weird stuff and andy has a weird piccolo guitar..