On this day in 1981: The Police went to #1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” The song was included on their fourth album “Ghost In The Machine.” The song, notable for featuring a pianist (uncommon in Police songs), dates back to a demo recorded in the house of Mike Howlett in the autumn of 1976.
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” would peak at #3 on the U.S. singles chart, kept from further chart movement by Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You” and Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.”
Sting discussed the origins of the song in 1993:
“This was first recorded as a demo, with the piano figure, in a studio in Montreal. I had written the song long before the Police were successful, but it seemed a bit soft for the band at first. But the demo was really great. It sounded like a No 1 song to me. I took it to the band, who were reticent, still thinking it was soft. I was saying, “But listen, it’s a hit.” We tried to do it from scratch as the Police, but it didn’t have the same energy as the demo. After a degree of hair-pulling and torturing on my part, I got the band to play over the top of my demo.— Sting, The Independent, September 1993.
Here’s what was happening on the U.S. singles chart on this day back in 1981:
1 1 PRIVATE EYES –•– Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA)-12 (2 weeks at #1) (1)
2 2 START ME UP –•– The Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones)-13 (2)
3 14 PHYSICAL –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-7 (3)
4 10 WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU –•– Foreigner (Atlantic)-6 (4)
5 5 TRYIN’ TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU –•– Bob Seger (Capitol)-10 (5)
6 6 THE NIGHT OWLS –•– Little River Band (Capitol)-13 (6)
7 9 HERE I AM (Just When I Thought I Was Over You) –•– Air Supply (Arista)-8 (7)
8 8 I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU –•– Rick Springfield (RCA)-13 (8)
9 3 ARTHUR’S THEME (Best That You Can Do) –•– Christopher Cross (Warner Brothers)-14 (1)
10 12 THE THEME FROM “HILL STREET BLUES” –•– Mike Post (Featuring Larry Carlton) (Elektra)-13 (10)
11 11 WHEN SHE WAS MY GIRL –•– The Four Tops (Casablanca)-14 (11)
12 19 EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC –•– The Police (A&M)-8 (12)
13 16 OH NO –•– The Commodores (Motown)-8 (13)
14 21 WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE –•– Diana Ross (RCA)-5 (14)
15 15 WE’RE IN THIS LOVE TOGETHER –•– Al Jarreau (Warner Brothers)-16 (15)
16 4 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY –•– Sheena Easton (Liberty)-17 (4)
17 18 JUST ONCE –•– Quincy Jones Featuring James Ingram (A&M)-14 (17)
18 20 THE OLD SONGS –•– Barry Manilow (Arista)-6 (18)
19 25 YOUNG TURKS –•– Rod Stewart (Warner Brothers)-5 (19)
20 7 HARD TO SAY –•– Dan Fogelberg (Epic / Full Moon)-12 (7)
