Britain’s largest choir stop performing The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ due to controversial lyrics and “impact of the narrative”

nme.com:

The Police’s song ‘Every Breath You Take’ due to the “impact of” its lyrical content.Comprising over 31,000 members across the UK, the Rock Choir has long performed the classic 1983 track but has now confirmed it will be removing it from the repertoire.This comes as a result of the lyrical content of the song, which seemingly portrays an abusive relationship where the protagonist seems to be stalking a romantic interest.In a letter to all choir members, Rock Choir’s founder Caroline Redman Lusher explained the decision to axe all future renditions of the song and recalled that the decision was made due to a negative impact it was having on some members.“Dearest Rockies, after much thought and discussion with some of the team, I have made the difficult decision to remove ‘Every Breath You Take’ from the repertoire,” the letter read (via Far Out).“I have never removed a song before now but due to the impact the narrative is having on some Rockies and the potential – when it is taught – of more negative and challenging feelings from the wider membership, I feel it would be wise to replace the song.”The choir has groups in over 400 UK communities, and Redman Lusher was awarded an MBE by King Charles III at the recent New Year’s Honours list.

The award acknowledged her services to music and charitable work.Sting – who wrote the song and performed as bassist and frontman for The Police – has long dismissed claims that ‘Every Breath You Take’ has sinister undertones.Back in 1993, for example, he addressed the controversy around the song and said that he saw it more as a statement about Big Brother than as a song about a stalker.“I woke up in the middle of the night with that line in my head, sat down at the piano and had.