Fan of... Police

Police sold out the Stade de France two nights in a row, with two nearly identical concerts. A big surprise for the spectators of the second show was the presence during a final encore (of 'Next To You') of Henri Padovani, French guitarist and original member of the trio, before being replaced by Sting. Holding no grudges, Padovani greeted the audience arm in arm with Sting, Copeland, and Summers.

Never officially disbanded, The Police reunited Saturday night at the Stade de France, to my great delight. I'd been waiting 30 years for this... At the time, I was a kid, not yet a teenager, and I had neither the money nor the authorization to go see MY band (the one whose name was written in black marker on my US Army school bag). Needless to say, the thrill of hearing about twenty songs from the five albums released between 1978 and 1983 was a realization.

The band kicked off with "Message In A Bottle" and completely captivated the Stade de France. It was a wake-up call: Sting, Andy, and Stewart were there to make us relive our old emotions... Always the same great sound of English pop, Sting's voice even more beautiful. The songs flowed one after the other, and the audience had fun recognizing each song's beginning. There were numerous arrangements, including long versions and new arrangements. We wouldn't want it to end. 'DE DOO DOO DOO DE DA DA,' Sting laughs to hear the audience echoing him with such passion.

The hits roll by: 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,' 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'... We savour HI YO hi Yeah HI YEAH HO, hi yeah ho, hi yeah yo, yeah yeah yeah. But the best comes a little later; the second half of the concert is simply enormous. Copeland fidgets behind his drums, the program becomes hypnotic: they throw all our favourite songs at us one after the other.

I can't stand losing you... I falter in front of these giant screens on stage that flash back to us memories of cardboard covers of the corresponding albums. You melt even more toward your thirteenth birthday and you remember. 'Roxanne' arrives in a devilish red setting, everyone sings—no, screams—ROOOOXANE, we smile at each other, we're young, we're as young and handsome as Sting, if we really believe it.

We can't bear to see them leave. Two encores will end this sublime concert with, as a finale, hold on to your hats, 'So Lonely', 'Every Breath You Take', and I must say I didn't recognize the very last one, but no problem: this band was and therefore remains A VERY VERY GREAT ENGLISH BAND!

Hi yo hi yeah ho yeah ho hi yeah ho hi yeah ho hi yeah ho.

(c) Metro France by Valérie Decamp