“Don’t think me unkind.  The words are hard to find.”

Everyone has a band or artist they can call their own, a musical act that you can relate to, that you grew up with… your favorite band of all time.  Much of that is based on when and where you grew up, your generation, what kind of music your parents of friends listened to, your general musical preference and other internal and external influences.

For me, that band was the Police.  Ironically, it wasn’t until Eddie Murphy mocked singing “Roxanne” in a jail cell in the 1982 movie “48 Hours” that I started really listening to the band.  I was 14 years old at the time.  I was familiar with most of their hits but had never purchased one of their albums.  Yes… there were albums back then.

Shortly thereafter, I moved overseas, so I was isolated from the Flock of Seagulls/new wave/Born In The U.S.A. phenomena that dominated U.S. radio airwaves in the early to mid-1980s.  In high school, I began rocking out to the likes of Zeppelin, Rush, Van Halen, Def Leppard and the like.  But the Police were an influence all their own.  Despite only three musicians and five studio albums, their mark on modern music is indelible.

The band, comprised of energetic drummer Stewart Copeland, cerebral guitartist Andy Summers and front-man, bassist and lyricist Sting, formed in London in 1977.  They released their first album, Outlandos d’Amour the following year.  It included such hits as “Roxanne,” “So Lonely,” and “I Can’t Stand Losing You.” 

The Police were able to release hit after hit at a time when much of modern music was devoid of quality and meaning.  Disco was dying or dead.  Rhythm and blues was nearly non-existent.  Most rock and roll had little or no substance.  Neither new wave nor hip-hop had yet hit the music scene. The Police successfully melded rock, pop, ska, reggae, jazz, funk and punk influences into a sound uniquely their own.  The band’s success finally peaked in 1984 with the release of its top-selling, multi-platinum Synchronicity. Due to egos and personality clashes, primarily between Copeland and Sting, the band broke up shortly thereafter, and all they went on to pursue solo careers.

“All made up and nowhere to go, welcome to this one man show.”

I can still remember where I was after returning home for college, a lanky, teenager stocking shelves in a Massachusetts grocery, when I first heard Sting’s solo, acoustic version of “Message in a Bottle” piped throughout the store.  The Police, my favorite band, were no more.  I never got the chance to see them perform.

Sure, I’ve seen Sting and his tour with jazz musicians, Brandford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland and Omar Hakim and that was hot… but it was not the Police.

“What can I do?  All I want is to be next to you.”

Earlier this year, the Police announced they would reunite and tour to celebrate the thirty year release of “Roxanne.”  Nothing against other Hall of Fame rock and roll acts, but the Police were never ones to band together for monetary reasons and rehash old hits like aging rock veterans, The Who or the Rolling Stones.  I was resolved to the fact that I would never see them perform.

That was until they announced they were coming to my backyard, Tampa, Florida, to play the St Pete Times Forum, ironically two days before my 39th birthday.  My mother and stepfather, who live in Tampa, have connections at the Forum.  I told my mother, who’s always been prone to spoiling, that all I wanted was tickets to see that show.  Well, you know who came through.  A bottle of Dom Perignon and several Jack and Cokes later, we strolled into the Arena, bubbling with anticipation.  This event had been earmarked on my calendar for nearly twenty-five years.

Well, when I say my mother and stepfather have connections at the St Pete Times Forum, I mean just that.  How about first level, front row seats to see my favorite band of all time.  Thanks, hugs and love can not nearly express my gratitude.  Nor can this blog.  We were a horseshoe toss away from Sting and the gang, standing so close to them, it was as if my backup vocals resonated through his microphone.

In front of an obvious sell-out crowd of over 22,000 fans who all seemingly new every word to every song, the Police opened with “Message in a Bottle” and then proceeded to play for over two hours, including three encores.  They delved into old material and…. wait, it’s all old, isn’t it.  They performed lesser known hits like “Driven To Tears,” “When the World is Running Down,” “Voices Inside My Head” and “The Bed’s Too Big Without You.”  The highlight of the evening, aside from spending time with the ones I love in front of a band I love, must have been their sparkling rendition of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” which in my opinion, is the second greatest rock and roll song ever, taking a backseat only to Marvin ####e’s “Let’s Get It On.”  And before you rebut, remember John Cusack’s (Nick Hornby’s) line in “High Fidelity”… “How can a personal, musical preference be wrong?”

Sting, now 55 years old, was in incredible shape and despite Copeland’s interminable energy, when the band covered “Truth Hits Everybody,” Sting joked “we used to play that song much faster.”

Although this isn’t a sports blog, I felt it was something I had to write.  I want to thank mom and John for making this experience so unforgettable, nearly a half a lifetime of waiting.  I couldn’t help but tear up as I recited each song lyric.

If you’re a fan of the Police and are somehow able to catch a show near you, I highly recommend you do so.  And I hope it means half as much to you as it did to me.

“Love can mend your love but love can break your heart.”