The Police nab 30,000 - Sting and rock group Police show why they're number one on album and singles charts...

Take the hottest band in rock, the Police. Add 30,000 fans in a sold-out, Holleder stadium on a warm summer afternoon. Mix in a considerable amount of news-media exposure and a lot of high expectations. That sort of thing frequently leads to disappointment.

Fortunately, the Police came through with a polished show that nevertheless rocked hard enough to frequently bring the audience to its feet Yesterday afternoon. True, the band didn't take a lot of musical chances; on the other hand, they certainly didn't let anyone down.

The Police put on a smart, slick show - plenty of hits, good pacing, lots of talent. What's more, this band has whatever it is - star power, charisma, electricity, luck - that can communicate music excitement to a sweltering audience of 30,000 people, many sitting hundreds of feet from the stage. 

The Police sound, an infectious mix of Jamaican, reggae and rock, along with an occasional dash of third world rhythms, has propelled this band to the very top of rock. They currently enjoy the number one position on both the rock singles and album charts - their ballad Every Breath You Take from the album Synchronicity (the word means two or more events happening simultaneously). 

Their last three records have all gone platinum, a record industry term meaning at least a million copies have been sold. This summer's 26-city tour is, along with David Bowie's Tour, the rock event of the season. The Police are selling out huge stadiums - including Shea Stadium in New York City - all over the country. 

The band was formed in 1977 in England by American drummer Stewart Copeland who had previously worked with an English band called Curved Air.

The Police sound has always been spare and streamlined with catchy melodies and intelligent, sometimes edgy lyrics.

Somehow, it all comes together with style and originality, and the Police broke ground for other bands, such as the highly successful Australian group Men at Work, and even Eddy Grant, who until recently had been successful everywhere but the United States.

The trio - bassist Sting (real name Gordon Sumner), guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, were augmented yesterday by three female back up singers dressed in long black Iranian-style robes and a few anonymous backup musicians helping out on playing guitars and keyboards.

Sting is clearly the star of the show. He sings lead vocals, plays bass and synthesiser and also writes most of the band's songs. On Synchronicity, he wrote every track but two.

Sting is also branching out beyond music; he has parlayed his fame and blond good looks into a movie career. He has a role in The Who's film Quadropehnia and in the film Brimstone and Treacle, and will star in the film version of Frank Herbert's Dune.

Wearing baggy red parachute pants, black boots and a blue top, Sting was clearly in control of the stage, stepping from behind the microphone occasionally to strut about the stage or pausing between songs to banter with the audience about the heat.

The band's current tour has obviously not robbed his voice of its power, and his vocals were strong and clear.

Guitarist Andy Summers is an underrated talent, his rhythm work supplies the backbone of the band's sound, and he can surface for an impressive solo, as he did on Invisible Sun.

The Holleder arena stage was framed by white cloth with the thick stripes - yellow, blue and red - that dominate the cover of Synchronicity, and the band played six of the album's 10 songs during the concert.

The rest of the show consisted of most of the group's hit singles, including Roxanne, Don't Stand So Close To Me, the infectious De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, Message in a Bottle, Spirits in The Material World.

The Police sound was generally fuller in concert that on record. The dub techniques they frequently use on record - in which musical tracks are electronically stripped away in the studio, creating an eerie, ghost-like sound - are difficult to accomplish on stage.

The Police portion of the concert (there were two other groups) lasted about 80 minutes, with The Police coming on stage about 4pm. It would have been nice to hear a little more music, particularly from albums like Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) and Ghost In The Machine (1981). On the other hand, leaving an audience wanting more is one sign that someone's doing something right.

(c) The Democrat and Chronicle by Andy Smith