Greater Manchester

Their second album, Regatta De Blanc, was released in the fall of 1979. Walking on the Moon and Message in a Bottle received a huge amount of airplay and helped fill most of their shows to overflowing. In November of 1979, I was lucky enough to squeeze into My Father’s Place on Long Island to watch an amazing performance by The Police. The event was simulcast on WLIR, Long Island’s New Music Radio Station at that time. A friend later provided me with an audio cassette of the performance. I wore that cassette out.

In those days concert audiences tended to yell, clap, just sit and listen entranced with the music, fight or throw stuff at the bands and leave. The Police event was different. People had fun and felt a part of the show. They yelled out questions and the band members answered them between songs. People threw stuff up at the stage to be autographed, they were and then thrown back. The Police absolutely filled our ears and brains to capacity with their performance. It was audience participation and musical talent at its best.

Most people that I spoke to after the concert were asking each other where they could get a recording of the simulcast. The songs on their first album really came to life when the guys performed them live. Some of the tracks from the first album like So Lonely and Hole In My Life were performed with new arrangements that made the songs more upbeat and fast paced. Walking on the Moon and Bed’s Too Big Without You from the second album had lots of musical and vocal improvisations added and the changes were a treat to the ears. That concert was an experience I’ll never forget.