As rumours abound of the Police's reformation, we trace the band's history from the bleach-blond ambition of their new wave early days, to breaking America, to the internal rucks and, ultimately the split. The Police were smart enough to recognise, like U2 after them, that rock fans would be looking for new heroes after the storm of punk had blown over. Self confessed opportunists, with a ruthless manager behind them from the start, they latched on to punk's ripped coat-tails during their early years until surprise success in America helped ignite late recognition at home. In this respect, they were the Bush or Cranberries of their day, earning grudging respect at home only after significant US sales...