It's admirable how the Police simply refused to reunite, or at least how a reunion remained unlikely so long as Sting and Stewart Copeland couldn't get along, even with nice guy Andy Summers mediating. Yes, ego is a major reason that the pioneering reggae-rock trio disbanded (without ever formally calling it a breakup) more than 20 years ago. Another way to look at it is, the Police respected their work for what it was, and when it was, and didn't make like the Eagles and recycle themselves ad nauseam.
They did reconvene in 2003 for a three-song jam at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but that's just ceremony. Now, however, it looks like their resistance is slipping. The Grammys announced today that Sting, Summers and Copeland will perform as the Police on the Sunday, Feb. 11 awards telecast. Including the Hall of Fame gig, the Grammys will be the second Police show since 1986.
Rumors of a full blown reunion tour have already been raging, and band members haven't squashed them. Sting was at the recent midseason TV press tour to talk up a solo appearance on the PBS series Great Performances. But the conversation turned to you-know-what. Here's an excerpt, located for me by my colleague Tom Jicha:
QUESTION: Sting, Neal Justin from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Will there be a Police reunion?
STING: You know, it's the 30th anniversary. We started 30 years ago, so it would be nice to do something to celebrate. We don't quite know what, but we're talking about it.
QUESTION: Is it just the 30th anniversary, or does this feel like the right time for all the members to kind of go back and get together and play again?
STING: I don't know yet. I mean we haven't had this discussion. Do you know something I don't?
QUESTION: Well, I'm curious from your standpoint why would this be the right time for you to go back and put --
STING: It seems an organic time to discuss the past and say, "Hey, what did we achieve?" It would be nice to do something. I don't quite know what.
Mind you, Sting on PBS will be playing material from his latest solo album, Songs from the Labyrinth, a collection of 16th Century lute songs. When you're doing Elizabethan oldies to stay in the game, maybe it is a good time to call your former bandmates.
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