"Reggatta de Blanc" is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on October 5, 1979, by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to reach the top of the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon." In early 1980, the album was reissued in the United States on two 10-inch discs, each featuring one album side, as well as in a collector's edition with a poster of the band.
The album's title loosely translates to "White Reggae" in French. It was the second album to have a Franglais title, following their debut, Outlandos d'Amour. Reggatta de Blanc proved to be more popular and successful than its predecessor. The title track earned the band their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
In 2003, Reggatta de Blanc was ranked at number 369 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The album took four weeks to record over several months. Drummer Stewart Copeland noted that the band went into the studio without pressure and simply asked who had the first song. Against A&M Records' wishes for a bigger studio and more famous producer, the Police chose to record again at Surrey Sound with Nigel Gray. The small budget was easily covered by the profits of their previous album, ensuring the record label had no control over the music's creation.
While Outlandos d'Amour had benefited from a prolific songwriting period for Sting, the sessions for Reggatta de Blanc were short on new material, leading the band to consider re-recording "Fall Out" at one point. To fill in gaps, Sting and Copeland revisited old songs and repurposed elements for new material. Much of "Bring On the Night" was adapted from Sting's earlier song "Carrion Prince (O Ye of Little Hope)," and "The Bed's Too Big Without You" originated as a Last Exit tune. The closing track "No Time This Time" was a B-side to "So Lonely" and added to pad the album's running time.
Musically, Reggatta de Blanc features the Police's unique fusion of hard rock, British pop, reggae, and new wave. The instrumental title track was developed from an extended piece often played live. "Bring On the Night," originally written as "Carrion Prince," explores themes related to Pontius Pilate and, after Sting read The Executioner's Song, he began to connect the song's themes to Gary Gilmore's death wish. "The Bed's Too Big Without You" was later covered by reggae singer Sheila Hylton and became a UK Top 40 hit.
