Late night & atmospheric effects often let me pick up radio stations from far away places like Minneapolis and Little Rock, Arkansas. Minneapolis provided access to the Dr. Demento show, and Little Rock provided songs that were yet to hit the Manitoba airwaves.
I used to leave the radio on at night as I slept. I was asleep, but my subconscious was listening. Roxanne was a song that woke me up. I was lucky enough that they announced the song name & band after the song, and I was awake enough to remember it.
I went out and bought the Police’s first album, Outlandos d’Amour shortly thereafter. It remains my favourite Police album. For me, it has the perfect mix of rockers, ballads, punk & reggae influences and smart alec lyrics. Not every song is great (“Be My Girl – Sally” being some sort of Spike Milligan/Benny Hill/Jr. High experiment gone awry), but there’s plenty here to enjoy.