The Police: A Forgotten Band?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Siegmund, Sep 14, 2018.

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  1. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    That's great if they do, but we shouldn't *expect* it. Plus that still doesn't equate to older bands maintaining their popularity, the majority drift off into the sands of time. We are the minority here and younger generations who seek out older music are also a minority. Most aren't interested in music enough to do what you and I and others here do and have done. To expect that they all do is unrealistic.

    There are even people here who think music began in 1964. I'm not one of those and I know you're not either.
     
  2. Black Magic Woman

    Black Magic Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chile
    When you say “they”, who do you mean?
     
  3. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    No, I wasn't really aware. I am aware that they are still a big touring band and sell loads of tickets but wasn't sure how much of it was just nostalgia. They certainly were bigger than the rest in the 1990s.

    I had the impression that these days, they were targeting mainly the 40-something audience, but not really sure.

    It's just that I never heard my teenage kids mention U2 or Bono. They do mention Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Avicii, etc. though.

    In other words, I wasn't too sure whether they were still current.

    In any case, I woudn't have thought, back in the mid 1980s, that U2 would be so much bigger than The Police, for instance.
     
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  4. WilliamWes

    WilliamWes Likes to sing along but he knows not what it means

    Location:
    New York
    So many other more forgotten bands than The Police, you guys talk of music selling out yet this forum lives on the mainstream from old that now The Police are forgotten. Compared to what, the handful of bands that get talked about here over and over. I hate Sting s ego also and because of him and his wannabe bandwagon reggae, I could never get into The Police. Okay I vented I feel better now. :)
     
  5. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I think if they'd found ways to put out "new" product, we'd talk about 'em more. Maybe some live releases or stuff from the vault, if any unreleased songs exist.

    Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything "major" from the band since the DVD/Blu-ray for the 2007-08 tour, and that's almost 10 years ago.

    Before that, we would've gotten the SACDs in the early 2000s (IIRC), and before that, you have to go back to "Message in a Box" for anything noteworthy, IIRC.

    To capitalize on the attention the tour brought, they probably should've put out Special Editions of the albums, but they didn't, so here we are!
     
  6. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    I don't know a ton about them biographically. I'd guess that there must have been some serious personality conflicts for them to never really get back together again. Either that or I'd guess maybe Andy just wanted to make enough money to be comfortable, and he really didn't want any stress, didn't want to tour, etc., since he's been very low-key since the band broke up, making mostly "bedroom studio" kind of albums, etc. Didn't he buy a house right on Venice Beach? I could see myself just chilling in a similar way if I were in his shoes.
     
  7. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I think we're lucky the reunion tour lasted as long as it did. Given the ever-present friction in that band, it wasn't a given they'd make it through all those dates!

    Probably easier for them to co-exist as a touring band than a recording unit, though. On tour, they only need to deal with each other in small doses, whereas a new album would require much more extensive face to face time...
     
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  8. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    You are totally misunderstanding me...I asked which punk musicians do you consider to be skilled on their instruments. This has nothing to do with The Police.
     
  9. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    "Younger generations"
     
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  10. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX, USA
    And for those questioning Andy Summers's ability, why would Robert Fripp and Eric Burdon work with him if he was so limited?
     
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  11. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    I was trying to follow the premise of your O.P., but your hidden bias was showing when critiquing The Police’ qualifications as a Punk band.

    Possession of musical talent, or age, are poor standards to utilise when evaluating how “Punk” a band is.

    That judgement cast a shadow on the premise of your thread, and raised doubts, at least for me.

    YMMV, I guess...
     
  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Sorry if it looked like I was picking on you - I didn't mean to do that.

    I just think it's funny that this place often views something that happened years ago as an indicator of what "the kids" like.

    I'm guilty, too. To me, new bands from like 2003 seem NEW NEW NEW and I think teens still like all of them, even though many of those teens were babies in the bands' heydays!
     
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  13. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Because he made them look tall? ;)
     
  14. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I never forgot about them, but perhaps the public at large did because they tapped out early after only five albums, and Sting had a much longer career.

    I was always a Police fan, well, ever since a friend introduced them to me back in 1980.
     
  15. overdrivethree

    overdrivethree Forum Resident

    I was into the late '90s ska revival when I was in HS. I also went back and got way into the Police, for which I took a lot of crap. The Police were Sting's band, and our moms liked Sting, therefore...

    I don't know, I think people of all ages who dig rock music at least have some appreciation of The Police. They only made 5 albums and they have a handful of singles that are almost musical wallpaper at this point.

    Apart from the reunion, it's not like Summers or Copeland have put themselves out there in a major way. Having read both their books and watched Copeland's home movie doc, they both seem pretty at peace with the whole thing. They've been to the top and made a lot of sacrifices to get there - in Summers' case, his marriage, and once the Police were done, he got back together with his wife for good.
     
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  16. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Oh, I don't claim U2 are "current" in the sense that, say, Taylor Swift is.

    But they're still an immense draw, much more so than Duran or the Cure or literally any other 80s band.

    Based on personal experience, I can say they get a decent # of younger fans at their shows - the crowds are mainly 30s/40s/50s folks who grew up with them, but it's not all oldsters! :D

    U2 managed commercial relevance into the 21st century, something the others didn't do.

    Though who knows what would've happened if the Police had stayed together?
     
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  17. Well, they need that special kind of monofan the Beatles, Queen, the Monkees, etc., have that will relentlessly post threads and interject them into all other threads as being the greatest, biggest, first-est, etc., the position is yours if you want it.

    Love,

    Gordon Sumner
     
  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    The common view is that they all hate each other, but I don't think that's truly accurate.

    I think the issue is that Sting and Stew hated each other. Andy managed to deal with both as the "lukewarm water" part of the band.

    It's easier to get away with internecine squabbles when a band has 4 or 5 members, but when 2/3rds of the members fight all the time, that's a problem!
     
  19. DME1061

    DME1061 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Trenton, NJ
    Forgotten? Not if you listen to commercial FM/Classic rock stations.

    I loved the first two albums, not so much the Zenyatta & Ghost in the Machine, and liked Synchronicity a lot. Didn’t see them live until the Ghost in the Machine tour when they were playing arenas, and saw them at JFK Stadium in Philly for the Synchronicity tour (openers were REM, Madness & Joan Jett)....I thought they were great both times. Don’t listen to them much now, but overall they were a good band. Sting I have no use for. :laugh:
     
  20. The Police are clearly not forgotten. But I sure would like to forget that reunion tour of theirs 10 years ago. They actually played 2 shows in Vancouver at the start of the tour: a rehearsal show that was fantastic, The Police playing their music super-live with gusto & finesse. Fantastic!
    The next show was the tour opener, now get this: Stewart Copeland comes out on-stage & addresses the audience with an apology, saying "I'd like to apologize to you, as Sting has decided to re-write tonight's music..." or something to that effect & then he walks off. The Police then come on & proceed to play their songs in that insufferable porno-jazz style Sting uses on most of his solo albums. My head almost exploded...
     
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  21. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    The Police rode the (new) wave as long as they could. They had a better run than most of their peers, like Duran Duran.
     
  22. Echoplex

    Echoplex Forum Resident

    The Police: Forgotten Band? Blasphemy! :D

    Not even close. Heck, they sold out Wrigley Field two nights in a row 10 years ago. And, if they came back for another round they could easily do it again. Their body of work still holds up. And the reasons are many...

    They played with taste and had superb musicianship and interplay between them. Not to mention, great songs on all of their records...and not just the hits. Sure, they borrowed from many sources, but at the time it was a modern interpretation and approach, and the progression of the band is very evident on each record. The scary part is, they recorded their albums very quickly by today’s standards...all while touring at a frantic pace.

    Anyway, always loved The Police and still do. They had a lot to offer the casual listener, but also the musician’s musician.
     
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  23. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    It’s different from The Police, but forgettable? Hell no!
     
  24. SteveS1

    SteveS1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Weald, England, UK
    Certainly not forgotten and some great albums before Sting embarked on his journey up his own backside (butt).
     
    BluesOvertookMe likes this.
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