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Behind My Camel

"Behind My Camel"
Song by The Police from the album Zenyatta Mondatta
Released 2 October 1980
Genre Post-punk, instrumental rock
Length 2:54
Label A&M
Composer(s) Andy Summers
Producer(s) The Police
Zenyatta Mondatta track listing
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
(7)
"Behind My Camel"
(8)
"Man in a Suitcase"
(9)
"Behind My Camel"
Song by Primus from the album Rhinoplasty
Released August 11, 1998
Genre Alternative rock
Length 2:54
Label Interscope
Composer(s) Andy Summers
Producer(s) Primus, Toby Wright
Rhinoplasty track listing
"Amos Moses"
(4)
"Behind My Camel"
(5)
"Too Many Puppies (remix)"
(6)

"Behind My Camel" is the eighth track from the 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta by the British rock band The Police. The song was written by guitarist Andy Summers and was the first one to be composed solely by him during his career in The Police. It won the Grammy Award of 1982 (awarded in 1982, but for accomplishments in late 1980 or 1981) for the Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

The song features a simple, yet eerie guitar melody, which is quasi-Arabic in style (hence the title), a repetitive bass riff played by Summers himself because of Sting opting out, drums played by Stewart Copeland, and atmospheric keyboards rather deep in the mix.

Behind My Camel was not very popular with the two other band members, especially Sting.

"I hated that song so much that, one day when I was in the studio, I found the tape lying on the table. So I took it around the back of the studio and actually buried it in the garden."

Stewart Copeland was not in favour of the song either:

"As hard done by as I ever felt in this band, I could always take comfort in the fact that Andy got shafted even worse than I did on that little instrumental. Sting didn't even bother to play on it. Andy played all the bass and guitars, and I only played on the song because there wasn't anyone else to play drums."

In Chris Campion's Police biography "Walking On The Moon", Police producer Nigel Gray believes that the title was an in-joke by Andy Summers:

"He didn't tell me this himself but I'm 98% sure the reason is this: what would you find behind a camel? A monumental pile of shit."

Behind My Camel was covered by the funk metal band Primus, for their 1998 EP of cover songs, Rhinoplasty.


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