STEWART COPELAND

I presumed that as I had when Fiction Plane came onstage that I would just go demented when I finally saw - after so many years - my three favourite musicians back together on the stage – right in front of me. How wrong I was. Isn’t it funny how you react?! The guys came up on a sort of platform from underneath the stage. Andy hopped off first and while everyone around me went wild I stood there with both my hands clenched at my mouth – just staring at the stage. Then Stewart and Sting came off and still I just stood there. They went into Message in A Bottle and very slowly two little tears, one from each eye just sort of rolled down my face. By then end of Message I had recovered somewhat and and just cheered my heart out – I hadn’t sung one word of Message in A Bottle – that changed too! From then on I danced ( at one stage when they were playing Canary in a Coalmine I found myself doing the Police “dance”!!!). I was absolutely oblivious to everyone around me – all I saw or heard was the Police. I was in my element. In heaven. They played so many songs and I just couldn’t get enough. Wrapped Around Your Finger was probably the most beautiful version I had ever heard. Stewart had a rack separate to his kit with various bells and chimes and stuff and he hopped up to do the start of it and when he went back to the kit everyone just went wild and cheered and cheered him much to his obvious delight. He was mental. He truly is a God on that drum kit – no wonder he’s a legend. AND I SAW HIM!!!!!! Voices was AMAZING – although I had my eyes closed for most of it – Andy pulled off some pretty smooth guitar riffs although he had moments where he seemed to forget himself - or what he was playing anyway. But I’d forgive him anything and I really did not care one jot. Synchronicity II is one of my favourite songs and to hear it live really did surpass my wildest dreams. I know I’m gushing but I am trying to get across the absolute bliss I felt. I just could not believe that I was there. So let me see, they did Message in A Bottle, Walking on the Moon, Regatta de blanc which the audience lapped up and roared approval at. They did Voices, So Lonely, , Bombs Away/Canary in A Coalmine , Can’t Stand Losing you, De do do do, Roxanne,Don’t Stand So Close to Me (86 version),Invisible Sun, Every Breath, already mentioned Wrapped Around Your Finger, Walking in Your Footsteps (which I thought was an odd choice – I had hoped they’d do Tea in the Sahara) King of Pain, Next to You. At one stage I stopped singing and just listened and there was this HUGE echo around the arena of 50,000 people singing away. Just incredible. Strangely, where I was up the front – which is where I would have expected to find only hardcore fans – a lot of people weren’t singing along or being visibly impressed – just standing there watching the gig – which I thought was a bit weird. There was one woman in a 1983 tour tee – she was one of the only other people I could see in my section who obviously felt like I did. She sang along to everything and looked ecstatic. There was a lady in her fifties standing slightly behind me and to my left and a couple of times during the gig I had caught her looking at me – afterwards she turned to me and giving me a questioning look she stuck a thumb up and shrugged her shoulders as if to say” well, was it good for you?” LOL. I just put my hand over my heart. The people around me really helped to make the gig an unforgettable experience.
Walking out of the arena, after picking up our merchandise of course – myself and Cormac walked for quite a while not saying very much. I told him I didn’t want to go where there were people who would ask us how the gig was as I wanted to keep it all to myself for that evening anyway. I truly was speechless and overwhelmed and wanted to hug the experience to me as long as possible. And that was only the first gig!!! Have another in Ireland on the 6th October – to celebrate my birthday (4th) and Stings (2nd)!!.