The Police

Earlier this week, I caught Everybody Stares: The Police Inside Out, Stewart Copeland’s 2006 Sundance documentary about the band, made from his 8mm home movie recordings from the late 70s and early 80s. Very cool — I recommend it to anybody who was a fan of the band, of Sting, or just of the New Wave period.

Lots of behind-the-scenes film, including concert footage (Copeland would set up the camera on a tripod behind his drums, and film during shows) and studio work (lots of shots of them working out arrangements of songs). My favorite part was their return to England after touring the US in late 1978, to discover that they had become famous while they were gone….Copeland catches it all on film, as they are mobbed leaving the airport. The first time they’ve ever had to deal with fan frenzy…filmed POV with a hand-held camera, simultaneously thrilling, funny and a little bit disturbing.

It reminded me how huge a fan of The Police I was at the time….and still am. It reminded me that I hadn’t listened to my Police collection because I hadn’t converted it to MP3. I remedied that situation. I now have it all on my hard drive.

Here’s a special “Tuesday Music” bonus: My favorite track by the Police–my true favorite, which, sadly, I had totally forgotten about when I answered that music meme a bit ago. This track was based on an extended instrumental break which the band would insert into concert performances of “Can’t Stand Losing You” — and won them a Grammy in 1979 for Best Rock Instrumental. The title track from their second album: The Police: “Reggatta de Blanc.”