The Police reunion rumours on Billboard.com

[Jose]

Police Reunion Rumors Reaching Fever Pitch


January 03, 2007, 3:10 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Rumors are swirling that the Police will reunite for 2007 dates in England and the United States, which would be the legendary trio's first since disbanding in 1986. Sources tell Billboard.com the reports are legitimate but would not publicly comment until final details are nearer to completion.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of "Roxanne," the single that broke the Police in the United States. "Discussions have been underway as to how this will be commemorated," reads a post on Sting's Web site attributed to an A&M spokesperson. "While we can confirm that there will indeed be something special done to mark the occasion, the depth of the band's involvement still remains undetermined."

Sources say in addition to DVD releases, A&M is planning another multi-disc collection in the vein of 1993's "Message in a Box," which featured the band's complete studio recordings and a handful of rarities.

A Police reunion has been the concert industry's dream for two decades, as it is believed the band could play stadiums internationally should it choose to reunite. But besides an impromptu set at Sting's 1992 wedding to Trudie Styler, the Police's only other post-breakup performance was in celebration of its 2003 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And while Sting has repeatedly expressed reluctance at reuniting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers have kept the flame alive. This summer, Summers told Billboard he was certain the group could have continued on past its 1983 commercial peak with "Synchronicity."


"The more rational approach would have been, 'OK, Sting, go make a solo record, and let's get back together in two or three years,'" he said. "I'm certain we could have done that. Of course we could have. We were definitely not in a creative dry space. We could have easily carried on, and we could probably still be there. That wasn't to be our fate. It went in another way. I regret we never paid it off with a last tour. We snuck out the back door, which is what we were told to do, until it just became too frustrating to lie about it."

"I'm very keen on it," Copeland told Billboard.com of a potential reunion, the day after the Rock Hall induction. "But I absolutely understand why it's not going to happen and I'm down with that. It was really great to be the Police for 15 minutes. If you can think of some other award we can go get or some other good reason, give me a call, and I'll try it out!"

In 2001, Copeland excitedly told Billboard about "one piece of unreleased Police product" which he hoped would eventually see the light of day.

"One of the times when they were working on the box set or something like that, they convened the three of us on the phone. Sting and Andy were in Italy; Andy was visiting Sting at the time, and I was on a DSL line in L.A.," he recalled. "And we went down all the song titles from all of our albums. Song title: 'Can't Stand Losing You.' And we each just talked about the track and argued and shouted and screamed. There was laughter and tears. It was very cathartic. It was almost like a therapy session. It was hysterical. It was so much fun."

"We were really going at it with all the language, straight for the jugular, refighting the battles, laughing hysterically while we put the stiletto exactly where we stuck it last time," he continued. "The engineer said it was like watching a concert. They were in Italy and it's like after dinner, and I'm here in L.A. at 10 in the morning. I'm getting more and more caffeinated as they're getting drunker and drunker."

"It seems like we're in contact all the time, but actually, years go by," Copeland said of his ongoing relationship with Summers and Sting. "It's sort of like whenever we see each other, it's like we saw each other five minutes ago. We don't have any sensation of time going by. We don't pick up the phone every week, but when we do, we pick up from where we left off."