Originally released on 1980's 'Zenyatta Mondatta' album, 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' was, deservedly, a UK #1 single, spending 10 weeks on the chart. The single was less successful in the States where it peaked at the #10 spot. The song received a makeover during 1986's unsuccessful 'reunion' attempt, when it was made much bleaker. The 1986 release also saw the appearance of a Live version on the 12" single together with a 'Dance Mix'. The latter two being tracks mistakenly omitted from the the 1983 'Message In A Box - The Complete Recordings' compilation. The song saw Sting take court action in the early '80s to stop a deodorant company from using the song in one of their advertisements.

"One of the best things about it (the guitar synthesiser) is that you can change from straight guitar right into guitar synthesiser in the middle of a song. Like 'Don't Stand So Close', the verse and chorus are played with just straight guitar, then the synthesiser comes in just by turning a rotary switch from one to ten. So when it comes to the solo part, I just whip it around and then I'm into the solo with the guitar synthesiser."
Andy Summers, Musician, 12/81

"I was a teacher but I never had a relationship with any of my pupils, I wouldn't want to. You have to remember we were blond bombshells at the time and most of our fans were young girls so I started role playing a bit. Let's exploit that. And it really worked. You know that single sold a million copies in Britain. A million. Imagine that now"
Sting, Q, 11/93

"It was based on a guitar figure which I think I stole from a song called 'Rock'n'Roll Woman'. This idea of a teacher, a Humbert Humbert character, appealed to me because I'd been a teacher before the Police. Also, to be frank, it was right in our market - a lot of teenage girls were buying our records. So the idea was, let's write a Lolita story. It became a deodorant advert, much to my chagrin. I came back from a tour once, turned on the telly and there it was in a commercial in which a girl in a swimsuit raised her arm and everybody fainted. I put an injunction on it, and then the advertising company and the deodorant people sued me for what they had lost. So it cost me a lot of money, but I got it stopped. Re-recording it in 1986 was my idea. But I like this version (the '86 remix), it's more melancholy and reflective than the original. I still hold that we broke up at the right time. The legend of the Police is intact. Bands are very difficult for people who are strong-willed and egocentric."
Sting, The Independent, 9/93

"Okay, I can defend that. Sometimes rhymes can be so bad they can shock you into listening to them. Most good, full rhymes are just Hallmark card stuff. Moon, June, erm, Balloon. But I've used that terrible, terrible rhyme technique a few times. Technically, it's called a feminine rhyme - where it's so appalling it's almost humorous. You don't normally get those type of rhymes in pop music and I'm glad! There were a lot of people saying, 'What a pretentious wanker, he's mentioned Nabokov in a pop song', but by the same token a lot of people wrote and said, 'What's a Nabokov'"
Sting, Q, 11/93

Review from New Musical Express

"Sting knows the scenario, eh? All those nubile Lolitas in 3B just itching to get Mr Sumner hot and bothered while he's marking their geography papers. Hey! Teacher! Leave those kids alone! Aside from the perils of classroom footsy The Police are still manipulating their formula. And why not? It works. Helluva subject matter isn't it? Vladimir's syndrome. Underneath it they're lovable, dependable, safe. Sting is the best looking man in the world and The Police are better than the Beatles. I just wish he'd try a different voice for a change, that the band would attempt a different beat. The subliminal dance goes on and on and on."

Review from Record Mirror

"I hesitate to put it at the top because that will only inflate their already bloated image further. A Police single that isn't a re-release is quite a novelty, but the song itself isn't: pretty lightweight, actually, especially the chorus and customarily repetitive. A number one, anyway."

Review from Sounds

"A single taken from the forthcoming album 'Zenyatta Mondatta' and the weakest yet. A shallow composition that sounds like 'So Lonely' played at 33rpm. Does this herald the demise of the Police institution? Probably not, Sting's got an attractive face and body, and they'll keep them going for a while yet."

Review from Melody Maker

"Could do better? Seeing as this has already gone silver on advance orders alone, there's not a lot I or anyone else for that matter, can say, except that it's a (moan) classic Police formula record. Scratching guitar, Sting's sex appeal and inimitable mysterious build up to that archetypal Police sinaglong-with-Sting chorus. The first of the next six pack is ready and waiting, and although nowhere near 'Moon' or 'Bed's Too Big', Sting knows what he's doing, He thinks..."