Zenyatta Mondatta

The band could not record at any British studio for tax reasons, so they took Nigel Gray to Wisseloord in the Netherlands. The album was finished at 4 a.m. on the day the world tour began, and Copeland said they had bitten off more than they could chew. When the mixes sounded wrong outside the studio, they were remixed in a single day at Strawberry Studios in Dorking. The total budget was 35,000 pounds.

The title is made of invented words. Copeland said it means everything and described it as syllables that sound good together. The album topped the UK chart for four weeks and reached number five in the US. Don't Stand So Close to Me and De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da both reached number 10 in the US, and at the 1982 Grammy Awards the first won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal while Summers's instrumental Behind My Camel won Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

David Fricke called it near-perfect pop in Rolling Stone in 1980. Greg Prato of AllMusic later called it arguably the best Police album.