Ghost In The Machine: 1981/82

'Police' Captures Fans With Hard, Fresh Sound...

The Police have a hard, searing sound and a fresh, unique approach to pop music. So, when the three blonde musicians who make up the group bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland came to the Greensboro Coliseum Tuesday night to play to a near capacity crowd, the place rocked.

"OH YEAH THE POOOLEECE," screamed one fan, flapping his arms and pogoing wildly as the band played 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'.

"I want you all to SING, so that this entire... place falls down," shouted lead singer Sting into the microphone during the group's encore.

It was a wild night. Before the concert, fans streamed into the hall wearing huge sunglasses, satin pants, short-short dresses, and Police T-shirts. Even before the concert began, the coliseum was like a fishbowl as young fans in their teens and 20s paced the floor in front of the stage and jammed the aisles.

The show opened with the Go-Gos, a five-member all-female band that was good enough to be a starring act instead of just an opener. "The last time we played here we played to 150 people," said guitarist "Jane" to the crowd after a rendition of a song called 'Automatic'. But despite the bands recent arrival on the concert scene, they had the crowd screaming and shouting and singing along to funky songs like 'Skid Marks on My Heart' and 'Cool Jerks' while they jumped and bounded from one end of the stage to the other.

But the real show was yet to come.

After an intermission, the Police came onto a stage shrouded in darkness. Stage lights revealed

Sting in T-shirt and sweat pants at the bass, Summers in a spangled shirt and blue jumpsuit playing guitar, and Copeland behind the drums, as the hypnotic first chords of 'Message in the Bottle' wafted out into the coliseum.

The members of the band who once dyed their hair blonde to land jobs in a chewing gum commercial, have obviously come a long way since their beginnings in 1976, during the punk upheaval. Since they released their first hit 'Roxanne' they've combined some canny business moves with fresh, accessible music to forge a trio that's somehow captured the imagination of new wave fans.

Their new album 'Spirits in the Material World' makes the group's jazz roots (Sting was once a jazz bassist) more evident than ever before. And it was the songs from this new album that the group concentrated on singing 'Spirits in the Material World', 'Demolition Man', 'Hungry for You', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', 'One World (Not 3)' and 'Invisible Sun'.

The three musicians didn't have much to say to the crowd. Sting would announce each song and the group would play rockin' and rollin' as smoke filled the coliseum, colourful lights whirled around the ceiling, and the auditorium lights flashed on and off while the band invited the crowd to sing along.

(c) The News & Record by Barbara Boughton

Police Report - Group performs live high-tech music effectively...

The acid test for a rock group comes in live performances. The Police passed theirs with an amazing ease and flair Tuesday night in Greensboro. By virtue of their 100-minute high-tension act, they erased lingering doubts about their musical abilities and sincerity.

The questions about their musical talents cantered on the professional, high-tech quality of their recording material and how well the smooth-as-glass, multiple overdubs would translate in live action. 'Ghosts in the Machine', their newest album, is rich, full of texture, and undoubtedly achieved through a laborious, pain-staking process. Further, the addition of horns and synthesizers on 'Ghosts' raised still more doubts as to exactly how much of the material could be recaptured in concert.

The Police laid such fears to rest by opting for a simpler, less intricate sound in concert. Drummer Steward Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers have never professed to being singers, so Sting accepted the huge responsibility of handling most of the vocals himself. He accomplished this feat by skilfully relying on his past experience as a jazz singer. Sting played with each line, stretching some phrases and chopping off others. Nuances were added to the melodies so the result was not just a flat reproduction of their albums' vocals. And a three-man brass section handled the horn overdubs.

Opening with a tape of 'Voices Inside my Head', the trio then launched into 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. Two of the more introspective songs, 'Shadows in the Rain' and 'Invisible Sun' seemed to take on a special feel.

The ever-moving Sting kept the audience on their feet through the evening as the Police crashed through material from all four of their albums, including the by now famous ballad to a prostitute, 'Roxanne'. If there was a prevalent mood the Police tried to impress upon the audience, it was one of togetherness, very much like the attitude in 'Ghosts'.

Thematically, 'Ghosts' is far removed from the adolescent, insular stories about love and youthful growing pains which they explored so well in 'Outlandos d'Amour' and 'Regatta de Blanc'. 'Zenyatta Mondatta', their third album, represented a departure from these narrow views and marked the beginning of the band's growing awareness both in terms of music and the world around them..

'Ghosts' is the latest step in their evolution. They attack a variety of issues, ranging from terrorism ('Demolition Man') to the global village ('One World, Not Three') to political persecution ('Invisible Sun'). As always, there is the obligatory love song ('Every Little Thing'), which they probably do better than anyone else. Although the lyrics tend toward naivete and simplicity at times, there is no mistaking their concern for the human condition.

Opening for the Police were the Go-Go's, whose hour of pop-frolics showed an amazing amount of enthusiasm. They 'relied primarily on songs from their debut album, including the hits 'Our Lips Are Sealed' and 'We Got the Beat'. Content to deal with the lighter subjects of life, the Go-Go's combined sexiness and cuteness in their simple pop melodies about boys and girls. 

The focal point of the band was Belinda Carlisle, whose vocals propelled the five girls over the twang of Ventures-like guitars. For a band that only a year ago was playing at the Pier and Charlotte's Milestone Club, the Go-Go's were able to expand their sound for a concert arena without losing touch with the larger audience.

Two bands that have definitely captured the imagination of the U.S. (and in the Police's case, the world), the Go-Go's and the Police obviously enjoy what they are doing.

(c) Daily Tar Heel by Vick Griffin and Guha Shankar