We went to see the Police at Twickenham yesterday. I told my mum this and she went into shock, before I told her they were a band. Anyway, I'd not been to one of these reformed 80s band gigs before, and I'm not sure if I'd do it again.
They were - alright. Nice to see and hear them sing the hits, which is what they did, but there were far too many guitar solos, though Andy Summers is an excellent axeman and the reverb and delay transported me right back to 1979. And there's the rub. More or less everyone there was on a nostalgia trip and it showed. Even Sting, usually so well preserved, looked like a transvestite Max Branning.
I've not witnessed such inappropriate, out of time dancing since my Auntie Kathleen and Uncle Tony took to the dancefloor at our wedding to She Sells Sanctuary. It was truly work Xmas party stuff - Janine from accounts bopping drunkenly with Keith from planning. Or people in suits self consciously swaying with their hands in their pockets. Luckily, the people all the way in front of us wanted to remain seated. I had no intention of getting up and whooping and jabbing the air, but all around that's what they were doing, and it was a sorry sight indeed. Mrs F-C said it was like Shaun Of The Dead. A lot of middle managers had been looking forward to that night for a very long time, and executive developments in Maidenhead have been ringing out with Synchronicity II and the Sting oeuvre for months before.
Which made me wonder what I was actually doing there. I liked the Police for about two years between 78-80, then they became seriously uncool. I mean I hate Every Breath You Take with a passion. I think a lot of these fans were Sting fans, and that solo career has had many more troughs than peaks. So while I'm a fan of I Can't Stand Losing You, So Lonely and Walking On The Moon, etc., you can keep the rest.
Thankfully at two hours, it was short. We skipped the supports: Maximo Park, Mr Hudson and The Library and Sting's son. Not remotely interested, thank you. The doors opened at 4.30 - not for this crowd it didn't.
So one to remember, but let's hope The Jam never reform. Middle management may meltdown.
11 comments:
Deeply uninterested in rock band reformations in huge arenas, me. Imagine what those Chrismas gigs at Wembley, featuring the warmed-up leftovers of 80s pop groups are like; very much full of Elaine in accounts re-living her teens. And Sting surely doesn't need the money (I'm guessing tickets were £50-odd).
My first ever 'proper gig' was The Police at Hammersmith Odeon in December 1979. I had just turned 17 and though I'm sure the actuality of the gig couldn't possibly have been as intense as I remember, they blew me away. For that reason ( and also because two weeks later I saw the Jam at the Rainbow and dumped all allegiance to The Police), I could never have contemplated going to see them again. Some thing should just stay in their time-capsule.
A friend told me the tickets were £75! Makes £50 sound positivley reasonable.
Tickets were sky high, more than £70, less than £100. Not worth the money frankly.
I hate The Police AND The Jam. Sorry.
Although you may now see The Jam with Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. Which is a bit like seeing Big Country without Stuart Adamson. Oh, hang on...
I think these things can only work if there's a kitsch element to the band. A couple of years ago I was persuaded to go and see The Human League, and it was surprisingly enjoyable.
It wasn't one of the all-time great gigs, but the band (Phil and the girls, plus a bunch of anonymous youngsters) put their hearts into it, and everyone involved seemed to have a good time. Crucially, no one was taking it too seriously, either on stage or in the audience.
Having said that, you'd have to pay me a LOT of money to get me to go to one of those 80s revival tours that do the rounds...
Those revival tours seemed to have died down a bit. Once you start on the Hue and Crys and Dream Academys, it's time to move on.
I hear the Human League are recreating Dare in its entirety at the Hammersmith Apollo. Now that I could do.
I'm afraid the 80s Revival Tour is not dead, not down here anyway. Only a couple of months ago I was nodding politely as someone told me about seeing Belinda Carlisle, ABC, and others best forgotten, at the Brighton Centre.
I'm giving them all a wide berth - until Joboxers reform, that is.
'Doin' the Boxerbeat, Boxerbeat...'
I fancy that Human League thingy, too. Shall we have a blogmeet?
When is it?
1st December, Hammersmith Apollo. Tickets are £27.50. How many shall I book?
http://www.livenation.co.uk/event
/getEvent/eventId/287875
Hmmm, after my recent experience, let me mull it over.
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