The Police Join The Police For Final Show

The New York City Police Department joined classic rock trio The Police on stage during the last show of the group’s $386 million tour. The trio claims that the show, which played to delighted fans at Madison Square Garden, was their last, but we’ve all heard that a number of times from a number of acts, so who knows?

The Thursday night show comes after a  career that began in 1977, and lasted until the group each went their separate ways in 1984, when they were at the top of their game, and seemed poised for even greater success after the release of their number one album, Synchronicity.

Frontman Sting, along with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland each pursued solo careers. Sting enjoyed the most solo success with hit songs and various Grammy Awards. Through the years there was talk of a Police reunion, however Sting seemed satisfied with his solo career, and was said to be the holdout where a reunion was concerned.

Andy Summers involved himself with various projects after The Police disbanded, including work on film scores as well as some TV work, when he served as band leader for Dennis Miller’s short-lived talk show. Summers also did a few acting gigs as a guest star on a television program and a film. He also teamed up briefly with a group called Rush Hour, which later became Animal Logic, the group that drummer Stewart Copeland had short-lived success with.

Drummer Stewart Copeland also involved himself with movie soundtracks as a composer, and also released two solo albums, neither of which attained the kind of popularity his former band mate Sting was enjoying. Copeland also performed with other artists from time-to-time, and in 1989 he formed a group called Animal Logic, which enjoyed initial success with an album and tour, but they were unable to sustain sufficient popularity to continue as a group. He also appeared on a U.K. television program called Just The Two of Us, and also did a film about The Police that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

The just-completed tour began during May of 2007 in Vancouver ,and during the course of the 15-month tour, 3.7 million fans in various locations around the world were provided with what may have been their last chance to ever see  the group perform live together again.

With what may have been a humorous attempt to drive home the point that it was indeed the final live performance of The Police, the show was followed by the appearance of a costumed, singing "fat lady," who was accompanied by the well-known closing phrase made famous by Looney Tunes’ cartoon character Porky Pig, "That’s all folks!"

In a partnership with Best Buy The Police will release a collector’s set entitled The Police: Certifiable. The set will include an entire show that was recorded live in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the tour. The set will be available  in the following packages: 2 DVDs & 2 CDs, 1 Blu-Ray DVD & 2 CDs, and 3 premium vinyl LPs with MP3 file key. The new set is expected in Best Buy stores on October 7.

Tags: Collector's Set, Madison Square Garden, Sting, The Police, tour

Air Traffic Controllers Prefer Springsteen And Sting Over George Michael

This is the kind of story that makes you wonder about how things operate behind the scenes. I also admit I was a bit amused by this story, and hope the same can be said for my readers. At least the ones who do not consider themselves George Michael fans.

As George Michael’s private jet waited for clearance to take off from New Jersey’s Teterboro airport this past Sunday, word came down from controllers that the singing star would not be able to depart on time. After an hour’s delay, Michael’s jet was finally cleared to take off. If he didn’t know what the cause of the delay was at the time, you can be certain he knows now.

It seems that both Sting, frontman for the recently-reunited group The Police, and Bruce Springsteen were also waiting for clearance to depart in their private jets from the very same airport at the very same time.

After dealing first with a weather delay, Michael’s flight to Boston was further delayed two more times when both Sting and Springsteen were cleared to depart ahead of him.

Do you suppose it was Springsteen’s hometown status that gave him priority over Michael? Perhaps it was the fact that he is often called "The Boss," and controllers did not want to mess with the guy who has earned such a moniker.

Considering the fact that Sting’s jet was permitted to depart first — even before hometown boy Bruce — makes me wonder if some key airport controller is a big fan.

It was reported that Michael made it to his show in Boston without a minute to spare, and now has to live down the embarrassment of losing an airport face-off with Sting and Springsteen.

I wonder what the odds are that controllers are rocking to the sounds of "Roxanne" and "Born In The USA" up in that control tower?

This story surfaced on the New York Post’s infamous Page Six.

Tags: Airport, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Delay, George Michael, Sting, Teterboro