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    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    1985 Singles Sting

    Sting – If You Love Somebody Set Them Free

    6 Views1 Min Read

    The Eighties Archive

    Song Number 0054
    Released in 1985 as the lead single from his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free marked Sting’s official declaration of independence from The Police. For years, he had been the primary architect of one of the world’s biggest rock bands, but that success came with a suffocating sense of entrapment. This song was his sonic and philosophical antidote to the dark, possessive themes that defined his final mega-hit with his former band, Every Breath You Take. Where that 1983 track was a sinister, obsessive stalker anthem disguised as a love ballad, his solo debut was an exuberant, jazz-infused liberation philosophy that challenged the very definition of romantic ownership.
    Musically, the song immediately signals a departure from the tight, reggae-influenced new wave sound of The Police. Sting deliberately assembled a band of virtuoso Black jazz musicians, including saxophonist Branford Marsalis, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Darryl Jones, and drummer Omar Hakim. This choice infused the track with a restless, fluid groove that felt alive and unconstrained. The song kicks off with a propulsive, syncopated drum beat and a driving bassline, quickly joined by Marsalis’s soulful, crying saxophone accents. The backing vocals, provided by Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis, add a rich, gospel-tinged warmth that elevates the track from a standard pop rock song into a communal celebration. It sounds like a spiritual awakening, a musical manifestation of the freedom Sting was preaching in the lyrics.
    The lyrical core of the song is a direct subversion of traditional pop romance tropes, which often equate love with binding contracts, dependency, and jealousy. Sting dismantles the idea that loving someone means making them your property. The opening lines reject the heavy-handed, dramatic vows common in love songs, suggesting instead that true affection requires open space. He sings about the futility of building walls around a partner, arguing that containment only breeds resentment. By stating that if you love someone, you must set them free, Sting introduces a paradox into mainstream pop music. He suggests that the ultimate act of devotion is not holding on tighter, but letting go completely.
    This philosophy was deeply personal for Sting at the time. He was navigating the emotional fallout of a painful divorce from his first wife, Frances Tomelty, while simultaneously breaking away from the intense creative friction of The Police. The song was as much a message to himself and his former bandmates as it was a universal relationship advice column. It was an acknowledgment that intimacy cannot survive under surveillance or control. If a partner stays only because they are caged, their presence is meaningless. True validation comes when someone has total freedom to leave, yet chooses to return.
    The track’s structure reinforces this message of liberation through its dynamic, jamming nature. Unlike the meticulous, radio-engineered precision of late-era Police records, this track feels loose and improvisational. The musicians are given space to breathe, play, and interact, mirroring the thematic call for autonomy. Kirkland’s organ swells and Marsalis’s horn lines dance around Sting’s lead vocals, creating a dialogue rather than a rigid accompaniment. This vibrant energy struck a chord with listeners globally, propelling the single to the top ten on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, proving that audiences were ready for a more mature, psychologically healthy exploration of love.
    Decades after its release, the song remains a foundational pillar of Sting’s solo legacy. It established his identity as an artist unwilling to be boxed into a single genre or emotional template. By launching his solo career with a song about release, he set the tone for a lifetime of musical exploration that spanned jazz, classical, world music, and rock. The track is a timeless reminder that love is not a zero-sum game of dominance and submission, but a fluid, evolving partnership built on mutual respect and freedom.
    It peaked at No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart on 29th June 1985.
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Eighties Archive Promo Image
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover (Front)
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover - Back
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover (Back)
    A-Side If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (4:16)
    (Sting)
    Produced By Pete Smith, Sting
    B-Side Another Day (3:59)
    (Sting)
    Produced By Pete Smith, Sting
    UK Top 40 Chart Run [4 Weeks] – 15th June 1985 – 6th July 1985
    32
    28
    26
    31

    Officially Released Versions

    If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Single Version) (4:16)
    If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Dance Mix) (7:58)
    If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Torch Song Mix) (4:54)

    See ALL releases of ‘If You Love Somebody Set Them Free’ on Discogs.

    Lyrics

    Free, free, set them free (Oh, whoa, whoa)
    Free, free, set them free (Oh)
    Free, free, set them free
    Free, free, set them free

    If you need somebody (Free, free, set them free)
    Call my name (Free, free, set them free)
    If you want someone (Free, free, set them free)
    You can do the same (Free, free, set them free)
    If you wanna keep something precious (Free, free, set them free)
    You gotta lock it up and throw away the key (Free, free, set them free)
    If you wanna hold onto your possession (Free, free, set them free)
    Don’t even think about me (Free, free, set them free)

    If you love somebody
    If you love someone
    If you love somebody
    If you love someone, set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)

    If it’s a mirror you want
    Just look into my eyes
    Or a whipping boy, someone to despise
    Or a prisoner in the dark
    Tied up in chains you just can’t see
    Or a beast in a gilded cage
    That’s all some people ever wanna be

    If you love somebody (Love somebody)
    If you love someone (Love somebody)
    If you love somebody (Love somebody)
    If you love someone (Love somebody)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)

    You can’t control an independent heart
    (Can’t hold what you can’t keep)
    Can’t tear the one you love apart
    (Can’t love what you can’t keep)
    Forever conditioned to believe that we can’t live
    We can’t live here and be happy with less
    So many riches, so many souls
    Everything we see there, we want to possess

    If you need somebody, call my name
    If you want someone
    You can do, you can do, you can do the same
    If you wanna keep something precious
    You gotta lock it up and throw away the key
    You wanna hold onto your possession
    Don’t even think about me

    If you love somebody (Love somebody)
    If you love someone (Love somebody)
    If you love somebody (Love somebody)
    If you love someone (Love somebody)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free, oh)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)

    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)
    Set them free (Free, free, set them free)

    Written By Sting

    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Promo Advert

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    Sting
    If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    Sting - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - VIT Album

    Date Released

    May 1985

    Highest Chart Position

    No. 26

    Genre

    Rock, Pop, Jazz

    Date Of UK Top 40 Entry

    15th June 1985

    Record Label

    A & M RECORDS

    Catalogue Number

    AM 258

    Other Songs In Archive

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