The Police are back?
Every little thing the Police ever did was magic to the band’s fans. Yesterday morning, Rock 101 FM’s Bro’ Jake Show reported that the ’80s rockers were rehearsing in town at North Vancouver’s Lions Gate Studios, preparing for a highly-anticipated 30-year reunion tour.
No one was available officially to confirm or deny the report. A receptionist would only allow that “there have been a lot of calls this morning.”
Rock 101 received unconfirmed reports Wednesday night that two large semis arrived at the studio and started unloading gear marked with Police logos and those of its former lead singer, Sting. The radio station reported some Sting sightings on the slopes of Whistler yesterday, too.
Rumours of the platinum-selling, platinum-blond act returning to the stage to perform have circulated since March 2003, when the Police last played together at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
They heated up again last month when a story in the United Kingdom’s Daily News reported that the group would tour this summer in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of its first major single, “Roxanne.”
On Jan. 3, www.sting.com confirmed the story. On Jan. 14, Sting pretty much admitted to a coming tour when he told the Television Critics Association that all former members were talking.
“We started 30 years ago, so it would be nice to do something to celebrate,” Sting is quoted as saying. “We don’t quite know what, but we’re talking about it.”
Talk of a Police presence at the Grammy telecast on Feb. 11 from Los Angeles’ Staples Center is also circulating.
Rollingstone.com was awash in submissions that the band would tour in North America, Europe and Asia. A total of 80 dates is being considered.
Talk is that the combo will appear in April at the Coachella Valley Music Festival in California, which has a history of booking retro ’80s acts as headliners. Fuelling these reports is that “Roxanne” is supposedly the sign-on password for the early ticket sales, which start tomorrow at 10 a.m.
If the Police are indeed rehearsing in Vancouver, it joins a growing list of superstars using the city as a pre-tour practice and opening-night locale.
U2 and the Rolling Stones used GM Place for rehearsal space in 2006, while Nickelback and Foo Fighters have used Pacific Coliseum. Bob Dylan spent four days over Thanksgiving at the Commodore. Country singer Dierks Bentley recently holed up at Pacific Coliseum before beginning his latest tour. Previous years have seen Janet Jackson, Aerosmith and others take advantage of Vancouver’s relative anonymity and world-class technical crews.
“More often that not, tours will start or end here and, honestly, the difference in the exchange rate is still sympathetic for artists,” says Ian Low of promoter House Of Blues.
Source: The Province
I hope this happens. I’ve always wanted to see The Police at GM Place.
Fingers crossed.
