And Summers, a guitarist for The Police, recently spoke with Jeremy White. White brought up the parallels between “Every Breath You Take” and “Hysteria” by Def Leppard during the discussion. Unaware of the tune, the guitarist said: “I haven’t heard about it, but we were duped. I’ll look into it; it could be entertaining to file a case against them. Summers hadn’t heard of “Hysteria,” which shocked Jeremy, so he played the song for the guitarist. Andy stated after hearing the song: Yes, that is fairly close. They excel at what they do. They are an excellent band. Okay, so you can either get really outraged about that or say, “Well, they made a little tribute to us, that’s nice. I won’t kill them in court.” Phil Collen has previously acknowledged his appreciation for The Police in many interviews, White continued. For instance, Phil mentioned his favorite band in a 2021 episode on the podcast “No Sleep ‘Til Sudbury.” His words were:
“I believe that Sting was and still is one of my favorite songwriters. He is capable of writing both outstanding songs and silly pop songs. One of the most enduring tunes of all time is “Every Breath You Take.” I had also experienced something from “Walking On The Moon,” and it was goosebumps. Even if I wish I had written “Every Breath You Take,” “Walking On The Moon” gives me the chills. Below, you can listen to “Every Breath You Take” and “Hysteria” as well as see Andy Summers’ interview with Jeremy White.
