"Roxanne" was first song the band performed live at the 2007 Grammy Awards to kick off their 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour.

The song's title comes from the name of the character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac, an old poster of which was hanging in the hotel foyer.

[12] Sting had conceived the song as a bossa nova, although he credits Police drummer Stewart Copeland for suggesting its final rhythmic form as a tango.

That was 'Roxanne', I didn't think much more about it until we played the album to Miles Copeland who is, of course, Stewart's brother and a bit of an entrepreneur, though he'd never been particularly interested in the Police.

I remember Stewart telling Sting where to place the bass notes, which was a bit tricky.

Writing in Record Mirror, singles reviewer Bev Briggs declared "This must be the big breaker for the Police .... what the hell, go out and buy it immediately".

Cash Box said it has "fast slashing rhythm guitar work, spacious arrangement and good singing.

[18] The song's international success spurred a UK re-release in April 1979 of "Roxanne", which reached No.

[19] A live solo version performed by Sting from the 1982 album The Secret Policeman's Other Ball received moderate airplay on album-oriented rock radio and reached No.

In 1997, "Roxanne" was remixed by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy for the compilation The Very Best of Sting & The Police.

In 2006, singer Dilana performed "Roxanne" on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova and subsequently released the cover as a single.

In 2012, the song was covered by singer Juliet Simms for the reality television show The Voice.

"[48] The song was performed by Jacek Koman, Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, and José Feliciano.

In the film, the song shows a combination of locations, memories and characters, anchored by the ensemble cast dancing tango.

[49] It was released on 25 February 2022 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album Paradise Again.