The Police force
Our resident Kiss92 DJ/ journo tells you why The Police are still something to be reckoned with
COMMENTARY
The one musical accomplishment I have in my life is that I can play the bassline for every single song by English rock trio The Police.
Or at least I used to be able to, back in the 80s.
They were my favourite band and I found vocalist Sting's bass work hypnotic - bouncy yet ominous, a rather cool mix.
Having had no previous experience with the instrument, I sat in my little room with books of sheet music and learnt the tunes one by one, from Next To You to Tea In The Sahara.
It was a complete waste of time; it was a wonderful experience.
These days I don't listen to The Police all that much, but they still hold a special place in my heart.
When I heard earlier this week that they're releasing a new movie, I was thrilled.
It's called Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police, and it's narrated by guitarist Andy Summers.
In fact, the film is based on his 2006 memoir, One Train Later.
Can't Stand Losing You is currently playing in select US cities, and is also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
It's a unique sort of music documentary in that it's like hearing old war stories from a rock star grandfather.
At 72, Summers is able to provide the sort of wisdom, humour and perspective that would be lacking in a man who's still in the heat of battle.
REUNION TOUR
Summers tells us how the group got together, why they fell apart, and how they got back together again for their massively successful reunion tour in 2007.
Having missed out on a chance to see them in their heyday, I jumped at the opportunity to see them when they played here in Singapore in 2008.
I sang along to every song.
Wish I'd had my bass.
Unfortunately, that tour might be the last we see of The Police together in a live situation, but the three are still keeping busy with other things.
Sting is currently on tour with Paul Simon, which kind of makes me sad.
Sting used to be such a wicked beast - Synchronicity II, yo! - and now he's as boring as The Sound Of Silence guy.
Then again, he's been boring for decades. That's fine.
Mercurial drummer Stewart Copeland is currently playing chamber music as part of a quintet named Off The Score.
They're doing original tunes and works by Maurice Ravel and Aphex Twin.
Pretty cool beans.
To this day, I don't think there's any band that's as musically interesting to me as The Police.
Every pop band kinda sounds like The Beatles.
Every rock band kinda sounds like The Rolling Stones.
Only The Police sound like The Police, and their music lives on like the aural ruins of some vanished alien race.
Listen to the bassline for Voices Inside My Head.
Thirty-five years after first hearing it, it still gives me hypno eyes.
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