Stevie Influenced by The Police?

[LiamMcConville]

So, we all know Stevie wanted Sting to do Bombay Saphires with her, but she couldn't get the nerve up to get in touch with him.

Strangely enough, the song "Bring On The Night" from The Police's 1979 album Regatta De Blanc...Sounds VERY similar to Bombay Sapphires AND Edge of Seventeen (exluding the chorus.)

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[Tango]

It's no coincidence at all. :laugh:

Check out the Q&As on The Penguin, here, the one done with Waddy Wachtel. He talks about Edge of Seventeen and The Police:

http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/

He says they ripped it off The Police song, but changed it.

[Ghost_Tracker]

It's no coincidence at all. :laugh:

Check out the Q&As on The Penguin, here, the one done with Waddy Wachtel. He talks about Edge of Seventeen and The Police:

http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/

He says they ripped it off The Police song, but changed it.



I've wondered sometimes if both Stevie and The Police were signed to the same record company. I just haven't bothered to check it out yet.

'cause to be totally honest, I'm very surprised that there wasn't a lawsuit. Maybe they worked something out "behind the scenes." Anyway yeah, according to the interview, when Waddy W. found out, he was pretty pissed at her. He said something like, "Don't you EVER do that again."

[starshine]

That really does sound alot like both songs....wow....I didn't know that....we all learn something new everyday.....I wonder what other songs maybe like that?....it makes you wonder.....not just with Stevie.....I'm sure it can happen easily really.....very interesting......Thanks!!:shrug: :thumbsup:

[Musicman408]

So, we all know Stevie wanted Sting to do Bombay Saphires with her, but she couldn't get the nerve up to get in touch with him.

Strangely enough, the song "Bring On The Night" from The Police's 1979 album Regatta De Blanc...Sounds VERY similar to Bombay Sapphires AND Edge of Seventeen (exluding the chorus.)

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God I love Stevie, but I don't see how that is even legal.:distress: Sounds JUST like the White Winged Dove song.........

[eclipse]

For you trivia buffs
Bring on the night was written about Gary Gilmore
He was a convicted murderer and was executed in 1977.
He was executed in a state where you could choose your method of death (Not sure where)
Anyway- He chose a firing squad...
Listen again to the words of Bring on the Night
Great song- Great story...
Anna

[SpyNote]

I think Stevie's still traumatized by his stalker song "Every Breath You Take." I recall her saying something like he was a scary man, back in 1983.

[Dreamz19]

Wow! Thanks for posting this. I've never heard this song before and I really like it. But this definitely sounds like Edge and Bombay Sapphires. I can remember reading here that Stevie took the riff for Edge from a Police song. I just never knew which one.

[LukeA]

So, we all know Stevie wanted Sting to do Bombay Saphires with her, but she couldn't get the nerve up to get in touch with him.

Strangely enough, the song "Bring On The Night" from The Police's 1979 album Regatta De Blanc...Sounds VERY similar to Bombay Sapphires AND Edge of Seventeen (exluding the chorus.)


As others have said, it has been long known that Edge/Bombay Sapphire(s) plagiarized Bring On The Night (which Sting later borrowed from on a few solo tracks of his, Everybody Laughed But You/January Stars and End of the Game).

This thread comes up every couple years or so. Every once in a while, someone comes along who swears that they can't hear any similarity between the two... LOL.

[joe]

A friend pointed this out to me about 10 years ago and I almost fell off the chair. I was somewhat disappointed in Stevie (& co.) that they could do something so blatant. However, maybe she did consult with Sting (& co.) and made some kind of deal or something.

Let's not also forget the similarities between Stand Back and Little Red Corvette (which Stevie has spoken about). And....what about (T Petty) Here Comes My Girl/Outside the Rain?

[Kelly]

As others have said, it has been long known that Edge/Bombay Sapphire(s) plagiarized Bring On The Night (which Sting later borrowed from on a few solo tracks of his, Everybody Laughed But You/January Stars and End of the Game).

This thread comes up every couple years or so. Every once in a while, someone comes along who swears that they can't hear any similarity between the two... LOL.

It seems like EVERY topic is repeated every few months or so. :lol:

I love Waddy's comments on "Bring on the Night"/"Edge". He was right to be pissed at her.

[strandinthewind]

. . . He was right to be pissed at her.

It seems to me that he was just as culpable - at least according to his interview on this site, to wit:



There's something I've wanted to ask you about, Waddy. Way back, in April, 1999 you did an interview with Musician Magazine, with a writer named David Simon. You familiar with that?

Yeah.

Okay . . . it was a great interview. He said something to you like—
"One of your more famous 'guitar statements' is that staccato opening riff to Stevie Nicks' Edge Of Seventeen. Where you aware of the similarities between that song and the Police's Bring On The Night?" And you said, "I had never heard Bring On The Night, and at that session they told me they were going to do a song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago, I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like Edge of Seventeen."

Right.

Okay. My question is . . . I know of something called "sampling." Was this a case of "sampling" or what was this? I know Stevie doesn't write guitar riffs. Somebody did, but obviously it wasn't Stevie.

No, no . . . it was The Police. It was whatever that song is . . . "Bring On The Night."

Okay, in the interview you said, "We completely ripped them off."

Yes, well, basicially, that's what we wanted to do. But let me say in my own defense, being a respectable thief anyway— if you listen to the Police's song, Andy Summers performs it with some sort of echo unit. There is some sort of artificial "repeating" mechanism going on. And when I heard that, I just said, "I'm not going to do it like that. I don't like that kind of crap. I'll just play the thing." So I just did it the way I still do it, with the hand, as opposed to falsifying it with an echo machine. So it's all dig-a-dig-a-digga. The chords, and everything totally start to move differently. And that drum feel is that same thing. It's that off-off bass drum, against the guitar. So that is what I said. "What? We're doing what? Well, I ain't gonna do that. I'm doing it my own way." And that's how we did it.
_____________________________________________________________

He uses the term "we" more than once and then he states that he was so aware that he was lifting the riff that he changed the way it was played. That leads me to believe that he was not that pissed about it and that they were up front about it :shrug:

[Kelly]

It seems to me that he was just as culpable - at least according to his interview on this site, to wit:



There's something I've wanted to ask you about, Waddy. Way back, in April, 1999 you did an interview with Musician Magazine, with a writer named David Simon. You familiar with that?

Yeah.

Okay . . . it was a great interview. He said something to you like—
"One of your more famous 'guitar statements' is that staccato opening riff to Stevie Nicks' Edge Of Seventeen. Where you aware of the similarities between that song and the Police's Bring On The Night?" And you said, "I had never heard Bring On The Night, and at that session they told me they were going to do a song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago, I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like Edge of Seventeen."

Right.

Okay. My question is . . . I know of something called "sampling." Was this a case of "sampling" or what was this? I know Stevie doesn't write guitar riffs. Somebody did, but obviously it wasn't Stevie.

No, no . . . it was The Police. It was whatever that song is . . . "Bring On The Night."

Okay, in the interview you said, "We completely ripped them off."

Yes, well, basicially, that's what we wanted to do. But let me say in my own defense, being a respectable thief anyway— if you listen to the Police's song, Andy Summers performs it with some sort of echo unit. There is some sort of artificial "repeating" mechanism going on. And when I heard that, I just said, "I'm not going to do it like that. I don't like that kind of crap. I'll just play the thing." So I just did it the way I still do it, with the hand, as opposed to falsifying it with an echo machine. So it's all dig-a-dig-a-digga. The chords, and everything totally start to move differently. And that drum feel is that same thing. It's that off-off bass drum, against the guitar. So that is what I said. "What? We're doing what? Well, I ain't gonna do that. I'm doing it my own way." And that's how we did it.
_____________________________________________________________

He uses the term "we" more than once and then he states that he was so aware that he was lifting the riff that he changed the way it was played. That leads me to believe that he was not that pissed about it and that they were up front about it :shrug:

To each his own... :wavey:

There is another quote from Waddy where he tells Stevie not "to ever do that again"...after realizing what happened with Edge and Bring on the Night.

[strandinthewind]

To each his own... :wavey:

There is another quote from Waddy where he tells Stevie not "to ever do that again"...after realizing what happened with Edge and Bring on the Night.

In the April, 1999 interview he did with Musician Magazine, he sings a different tune:

One of your more famous guitar statements is that staccato opening riff to Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen." Were you aware of the similarities between that song and the Police's "Bring On the Night"?

I had never heard "Bring On the Night," and at that session they told me they were going to do this song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn't know what they were talking about. Then about two years ago, I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like "Edge of Seventeen"-and all of a sudden, there's Sting's voice! I thought, "We ripped them off completely!" I called Stevie that night and said, "Listen to me, don't ever do that again!"


http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/archive/musician3.htm

I do not understand how he could on the one hand say (emphasis supplied) :

Yes, well, basicially, that's what we wanted to do. But let me say in my own defense, being a respectable thief anyway— if you listen to the Police's song, Andy Summers performs it with some sort of echo unit. There is some sort of artificial "repeating" mechanism going on. And when I heard that, I just said, "I'm not going to do it like that. I don't like that kind of crap. I'll just play the thing." So I just did it the way I still do it, with the hand, as opposed to falsifying it with an echo machine.

and then say he never heard the song. To me, that makes no sense. Rather, it clearly indicates he knew they were lifting Andy S's riff.

[face of glass]

Andy Summers performs it with some sort of echo unit. There is some sort of artificial "repeating" mechanism going on.
That's probably either an E-bow or infinite guitar. Good way of making people believe you're a better guitarist than you actually are.

Bill Bailey got it right:

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[priestofnothing]

I've posted this before, but Stevie also "fashioned" the music to Mirror Mirror after this track by Tangerine Dream called "Love on a Real Train"

after she heard it in the movie Risky Business.


The term "fashioned" sounds much more Stevie/Lindsey than "ripped off". LOL

[Nixxxed]

I've posted this before, but Stevie also "fashioned" the music to Mirror Mirror after this track by Tangerine Dream called "Love on a Real Train"

after she heard it in the movie Risky Business.


The term "fashioned" sounds much more Stevie/Lindsey than "ripped off". LOL
Holy Mother of Xenu

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Thanks for ruining my day. :mad: :laugh:

[JazmenFlowers]

Thanks for ruining my day. :mad: :laugh:
yeah, no shit. :lol:

[vermicious knid]

There is a similarity between that Tangerine Dream song and "Mirror Mirror"; enough to believe that it could have served as an inspiration, but I think it can be safely said that "Mirror Mirror" is a wholly original composition. You could not have that cacaphony of sound and anger of voice set to images of misty fields and watercolor sunsets. If I were Stevie, I would have ripped of "Love on a Train" even more! Specifically the burbling synthsizer. Not ripped it off, actually; I would have just gone ahead lifted it directly, and noted the sampling done in the credits. I like everything about Mirror Mirror except its synths. I remember it being described as the sound for the ten o'clock news.

[priestofnothing]

You could not have that cacaphony of sound and anger of voice set to images of misty fields and watercolor sunsets.

I think this video is just someone's homemade slideshow. In the movie, they play this song when Tom Cruise and Rebecca Demournay are doing the nasty on a subway train, pretty hot and heavy - and there you have the "Love on a Real Train" title.

The movie also inspired Stevie to purchase a Rose colored Porsche like she saw in the movie - sight unseen and with her having no driver's license to boot.

Just some Stevie-Risky Business trivia. LOL.

[gldstwmn]

I wonder what other songs maybe like that?....

Listen to Richard Ashcroft's New York and Illume.

[gldstwmn]

For you trivia buffs
Bring on the night was written about Gary Gilmore
He was a convicted murderer and was executed in 1977.
He was executed in a state where you could choose your method of death (Not sure where)


It was Utah.

[Nixxxed]

I found a page that talks about other songs, with sample clips to compare. I remembered Illume/New York, but had forgotten about Say You Will/C'Mon People. And I never even noticed Angel/Werewolves of London.

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/thehotspot/

EDIT: The C'Mon People link is busted - here's the video:
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[eclipse]

It was Utah.

Thanks- I knew it was out west, but wasn't sure where.

I remembered Sting saying Gary Gilmore was who the song was about
and I always thought that death by firing squard ....WOW- means you want to make sure it's only done once....No mistakes-
Over, you know, like Bring on the Night, I am ready.

It is an excellent tune and one of my fav's from the Police, besides Walking on the Moon and Tea in the Sahara....

[Dreamz19]

Listen to Richard Ashcroft's New York and the Illume.

Yeah, that was another one. I just heard that a few months ago.

[petep9000]

I always thought that 'Mirror, Mirror' reminded me more of The Who's 'Eminence Front' track from 1982. In fact, the opening sequence of keys is nearly identical.

While we're on the subject, Lindsey B sure paid a 'tribute' to Paul Simon's 'Kodachrome' with his 'Peacekeeper'. I heard it for the first time on the PA system while shopping at Marshall's, and I was like "oh no he didn't!"

[LiamMcConville]

I always thought that 'Mirror, Mirror' reminded me more of The Who's 'Eminence Front' track from 1982. In fact, the opening sequence of keys is nearly identical.

While we're on the subject, Lindsey B sure paid a 'tribute' to Paul Simon's 'Kodachrome' with his 'Peacekeeper'. I heard it for the first time on the PA system while shopping at Marshall's, and I was like "oh no he didn't!"

I'm extremely disappointed in the Mac for including (intentionally or unintentionally) three songs that sound suspiciously similar to previously released tracks on SYW. :mad:

[face of glass]

I'm extremely disappointed in the Mac for including (intentionally or unintentionally) three songs that sound suspiciously similar to previously released tracks on SYW. :mad:
You must mean six.

Murrow = I'm So Afraid/TITN
Miranda = acoustic Big Love
Bleed To Love Her = Bleed To Love Her!

Guess what kids? They're ALL the same:

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[LiamMcConville]

You must mean six.

Murrow = I'm So Afraid/TITN
Miranda = acoustic Big Love
Bleed To Love Her = Bleed To Love Her!

Guess what kids? They're ALL the same:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JdxkVQy7QLM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JdxkVQy7QLM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Well, I don't so much care that FM songs sound like other FM songs. :laugh:

And yeah to the video, I've noticed that too.

[Musicman408]

I think Stevie's still traumatized by his stalker song "Every Breath You Take." I recall her saying something like he was a scary man, back in 1983.

:laugh: And if that song were in a minor key, instead of major, it would be even creepier. :nod:

[DeeGeMe]

I read a book on songwriting a few years ago by the great Jimmy Webb and he talked about how he'd go visit famous songwriting friends and they'd beg him not to play anything he was working on to them--too much temptation to rip off something, not overtly necessarily, but subconsciously. Some musicians won't even listen to music by others because of that.

[gldstwmn]

I've posted this before, but Stevie also "fashioned" the music to Mirror Mirror after this track by Tangerine Dream called "Love on a Real Train"

after she heard it in the movie Risky Business.


The term "fashioned" sounds much more Stevie/Lindsey than "ripped off". LOL

Oh my goodness. Those two songs definitely sound alike. And we know she bought the Porsche from the movie.

[gldstwmn]

I found a page that talks about other songs, with sample clips to compare. I remembered Illume/New York, but had forgotten about Say You Will/C'Mon People. And I never even noticed Angel/Werewolves of London.



C'mon People is one of my favorite songs ever. :)

[David]

Okay, a lot of these songs rip off the chords or the grooves of other songs, but I don't think it's fair or accurate to blame Stevie for it in all cases. For example, the instrumental track of Mirror Mirror--there's no way Stevie put that together. It's way too complex--it's a job for a person programming a synthesizer. Someone else did, although it may have been Stevie's suggestion (Can you hear her say, "Can you make it sound like the music in Risky Business?"?)

And same with Illume. Someone else stole that Richard so-and-so song (cough Lindsey cough). What's funny is that Mirror Mirror sounds a lot more like the Risky Business music (it doesn't even attempt to cloak the style) than Stand Back sounds like Little Red Corvette -- & yet it was the latter that Stevie made a big deal about being "inspired by" & offering credit to Prince. Probably because Prince is ... well, Prince, so it makes a good interview sound bite.

Had Prince & not Tangerine Whozitz written the Risky Business music, we'd have heard all these years about it from Stevie & about how she offered him credit but he refused yadda-yadda.