Setlist

01	Message In A Bottle
01	Walking On The Moon
02	Demolition Man
03	Voices Inside My Head
04	When The World Is Running Down
05	Don't Stand So Close To Me
06	Driven To Tears
07	Hole In My Life
08	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
09	Wrapped Around Your Finger
10	De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
11	Invisible Sun
12	Can't Stand Losing You
13	Roxanne
14	King Of Pain
15	So Lonely
16	Every Breath You Take
17	Next To You

The Police are a reunion worth waiting for...

Police deliver night of music, memories...

The Police, headed by Sting, proved their enduring place in music history, with a successful return after 24 years.

A decade ago, if somebody mentioned that The Police had re-formed and were coming to Perth as part of a massive stadium tour, you would have been locked away.

Nowadays, with acts such as The Eagles, Toto and the Spice Girls making incredible amounts of money from farewell reunion tours, it really was only a matter of time before Sting and the boys put their issues aside for some major coin.

The Police finally made their way to Perth last Friday night, after already completing more than 100 shows and grossing close to $200 million.

The crowd was filled with long-time fans who were beside themselves at the chance to hear some of their greatest hits.

Alongside these diehards were a large proportion of young females who had turned out to hear the strangest support act in recent memory, Black Eyed Peas Fergie, currently one of the hottest pop stars on the planet. The set was filled with tracks from her debut album 'The Dutchess'.

And while hits like 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'Glamorous' are obviously popular, it was still a mystery as to why she was supporting one of the 1980s most iconic bands.

After a surprisingly short wait, original band members Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland strolled on stage to blistering applause before launching into one their biggest hits, 'Message in a Bottle' from their second album, 1979's 'Reggatta de Blanc'.

Sting's voice defied his 55 years, and he looked like he had just returned from a decade-long holiday in the Caribbean.

Even though the band split up 24 years ago and they only released five albums during their original seven years together, the songs sounded as fresh and memorable as they did the first time round.

After a wonderful extended rendition of 'Walking on the Moon', Fergie played the role of sexy school girl as she returned to the stage to duet with Sting on a poppy version of 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'.

The business end of the show came down to a four-song run that included crowd-pleasing versions of 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' and finishing up with perhaps the evening's highlight, a stirring rendition of 1981's 'Invisible Sun'.

After finishing their main set with their biggest hit 'Roxanne', the band returned for the first of two much demanded encores.

Although 'King of Pain' was a highlight, it was topped by 'So Lonely' because of Copeland's amazing drum solo, which proved that even after all this time, he still is one of the best in the business.

Predictably, 'Every Breath You Take' had the crowd singing, swaying and crying along.

But, when you looked around during this iconic track, the diversity of the crowd showed that the enduring and lasting value of one the 80s greatest bands had brought people together for a simply marvellous evening of music and memories and you can't do much better than that.

© Joondalup Times

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