THE POLICE : GATESHEAD 1982

 

Disc One (46:03)

  1. Intro / Voices Inside My Head
  2. Message In A Bottle
  3. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
  4. Walking On The Moon
  5. Spirits In The Material World
  6. Hungry For You (J’aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)
  7. When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around
  8. The Bed’s Too Big Without You
  9. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
  10. Demolition Man
  11. Shadows In The Rain

Disc Two (42:03)

  1. Driven To Tears
  2. Bring On The Night
  3. One World (Not Three)
  4. Invisible Sun
  5. Roxanne
  6. Don’t Stand So Close To Me
  7. Can’t Stand Losing You / Reggatta de Blanc / Be My Girl-Sally
  8. So Lonely

Label : Wardour

Venue : The Rock On The Tyne Music Festival, Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead, UK

Recording Date : July 31, 1982

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Concert Review (Chronicle Live) : On July 31, 1982, The Police headlined the Rock On The Tyne festival at Gateshead Stadium, supported by U2, The Beat and Gang of Four. “Seven years ago I left this town, and said I would make it. It’s nice to come back and make you part of that success.” So announced Sting from the the stage at Gateshead Stadium on an overcast July 31, 1982. It was true. Forty years ago, his band, The Police, were one of the biggest in the world, having scored a string of international chart-topping singles and albums, and become acknowledged as one of rock's major live attractions. Gateshead Stadium, by that time, had earned a reputation as a first-class international athletics venue, with regular sell-out meetings, thanks to the efforts of Brendan Foster. Now, 30-year-old Sting and his two cohorts - drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summer - were headlining a festival called Rock On The Tyne, which also featured U2 (who would go on to become a global rock behemoth in their own right), The Beat, and Gang of Four. A year earlier, at the same outdoor venue, the likes of Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, and local favourites Lindisfarne had appeared in the first Rock On The Tyne. Local newspaper and TV reports in the early 1980s usually referred to Sting - real name Gordon Sumner - as the “milkman’s son from Wallsend,” and indeed the Chronicle secured a short interview with the star’s father. On the day of the show, we reported: “Proud dad Ernie Sumner will set off to see his son today – with 25,000 other fans at Gateshead Stadium. It will be only the second time Ernie, who lives in Tynemouth, and runs a dairy business, has seen Sting and his group, The Police, in concert. “'Of course I enjoy their music. They’re very good,' said Ernie. 'I am certainly looking forward to seeing them again'.” Other members of Sting’s family would also be attending the show, including his two sisters and younger brother who was a partner in the family’s Wallsend-based Cleveland Dairy business. Kicking off with a powerful opening triple salvo of Message In A Bottle, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic and Walking On The Moon, the trio's performance showcased the best of their output to date. Our reviewer declared: “The sun, which can do so much to make an outdoor concert a success, hid behind the clouds, and the date wasn’t the hoped-for sell-out, but musically it was a triumph. “The band was red hot on the night. They played against a background of a grey Gateshead skyline on a cool overcast evening, with the wind blowing their hair around, but there was nothing dull or drab about their music. It sparkled.” Sting himself began the show in a bad mood, swearing, and announcing: “I hate Virgin Records. I hate the legal process. I hate the press.” But he mellowed during the performance, with his milkman dad, Ernie, getting a passing mention from the stage: “We used to get up at 4am when there was nobody else about. I used to imagine what it would be like if a bomb dropped on Newcastle.” The finale of the show, like the beginning, comprised a string of the band's greatest hits, including Invisible Sun (also featuring U2's Bono on vocals), Roxanne, Don't Stand So Close To Me, and Can't Stand Losing You. As for the support acts, 19-year-old Chris Goodlad, from Bury, Lancashire, who travelled to Tyneside with friends for the festival, recalls today as a 59-year-old: "It's hard to believe it's 40 years. I remember a young exhibitionist called Bono climbing up the scaffolding to sing on the top of the lighting column, and Gang Of Four doing I Love A Man In A Uniform.” If The Police had certainly done the business on stage, the event wasn't the financial success it was expected to be. Ticket sales at £8 each were disappointing, and there were just 12,000 to 15,000 fans in the arena when nearly twice as many had been expected. The relatively low attendance was put down to the region’s young pop fans being hard-up at a time when unemployment was soaring, the fact the Rolling Stones had played at St James’ Park only a fortnight earlier, overshadowing The Police - and the gloomy North East summer weather. By the time they broke up in the mid 1980s, The Police had become the biggest band in the world, but they would never play in our region again – surprisingly giving it a wide berth when they reunited for a sprawling world tour in 2007. There would be no more Rock On The Tyne festivals either, but Gateshead International Stadium would go on to host a series of successful high-profile concerts, with the likes of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, Guns 'N Roses, Tina Turner and others appearing over the next two decades.