31 years ago today, arguably the greatest 3-piece rock & roll band ever - The Police – “conquered their Everest when they performed in front of 70,000+ devoted fans on August 18th, 1983 at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, New York. When Sting proudly and graciously proclaimed: We’d like to thank the Beatles for the use of their stadium, he, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers had already “agreed” to disband the group once the Synchronicity Tour was over. The Police frontman’s rationale was that nothing could possibly top this epic night, so why futilely try to repeat it? And yet, The Police did temporarily reunite in 1986 for Amnesty International’s Conspiracy of Hope Tour and again in 1992 when the triumvirate was coerced by guests of Sting & Trudie Styler to play an impromptu set at the couples wedding reception. Even so, another 15 years would pass before 3,000,000+ fans would have their collective wish granted in the form of the long-awaited Police Reunion Tour in 07-08. Fortunately, I had the privilege and pleasure to see The Police play at Hartford, CT’s Civic Center back in ’83, mere days before their momentous Shea Stadium gig. I also got to see them not once but twice during the Reunion Tour: on August 5th of 07 at Giants Stadium and again on August 7th of 08 at Madison Square Garden for the grand tour finale. The latter show was particularly special since I was able to hear my all-time favorite band perform inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena” – the very same arena where I had heard deafening “Let’s Go Rangers!” chants reverberate countless times before – all the while looking up at the famed Garden ceiling replete with Ranger banners galore. My two worlds had collided in an unforgettably magical way to produce a night that was, quite simply, orgasmic. In any event, the following clip details what caused The Police to sadly become “driven to tears” and ultimately self-destruct. Ee-yoh, well. https://youtube/watch?v=Lym-ljABdFY&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 11:30:54 +0000