"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by The Police

The Police

The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...

, released as a single in December 1980. It was the second single from the album Zenyattà Mondatta

Zenyatta Mondatta

Zenyattà Mondatta went to #5 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK and Australia, spurred by the success of the Sting-penned singles "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"...

and a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

.

According to Sting, the song is about the attraction that people have to simple songs:
The song was prominently featured in the 1982 film, The Last American Virgin

The Last American Virgin

The Last American Virgin is a 1982 American coming-of-age film, a remake of the Israeli film Eskimo Limon .After the success of the original and several sequels, writer/director Boaz Davidson re-teamed with producers Golan-Globus to attempt to re-create the same success in the United States....

, and on its soundtrack. AFI

AFI (band)

AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...

 covered this song live, and Incubus

Incubus (band)

Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...

 has performed their single Stellar

Stellar (song)

"Stellar" is a song by Incubus, released as the second single from their third album Make Yourself. The song is one of the band's most successful reaching #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks.-Music video:...

 as a medley with this song live.

The B side, "A Sermon", was written by Stewart Copeland. Copeland played most of the guitar as well, including the intro riff, while Summers can be heard in the middle of the song.

Personnel

• Sting - bass, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Andy Summers
  Andy Summers
  Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
  
   - guitar
• Stewart Copeland
  Stewart Copeland
  Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
  
   - drums, guitar on verses and chorus of "A Sermon"

Re-recording

The song was re-recorded in 1986, alongside Don't Stand So Close to Me '86, and intended for inclusion on the Every Breath You Take: The Singles

Every Breath You Take: The Singles

Every Breath You Take: The Singles is the debut compilation album by The Police, released in 1986. In 1990, the album was repackaged in New Zealand, Australia and Spain as Their Greatest Hits with a different cover.-Track listing:...

compilation album. However, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86" was dropped from the album and not released.

The track was, however, included on the DTS-CD

5.1 Music Disc

The DTS Music Disc , DTS Audio CD or 5.1 Music Disc is an audio Compact Disc that contains music in surround sound format. It is a predecessor of DVD Audio. Physically, it conforms to the Red Book standard, except for the way the music is encoded on the CD...

 release of the Every Breath You Take: The Classics album. The song remains hard to find because later versions of the DTS release do not include the remake.

Track listing

7" - A&M / AMS 9110 (UK)

1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - 4:09
2. "A Sermon" - 2:34

7" - A&M / AM 2275 (USA)

1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - 4:09
2. "Friends" - 3:35

7" - A&M / AM 25000 (USA)

1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Spanish Version) - 4:00
2. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Japanese Version) - 4:00

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	6
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	11
UK Singles Chart	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	10