Fans pound beat...
The long arm of the Police reached out to a 3,000 capacity crowd at Bridlington Spa last night and held them in sweet custody.
From the opening chord to the final encore the band held the fans enthralled.
Before The Police came on, a narcissistic slide show was projected on to the back of the stage. It brought an amiable chorus of "You'll never walk alone." Nothing was going to bother the assembled multitude.
When the boys finally bounced on to the stage wholesome as a milk advertisement - the roar must have been heard in Rotterdam.
Outstretched arms punched the air, hands were waved and clapped, seaters and programmes spiralled into the air.
From then on the boys could do no wrong. This early wave of nostalgia rolled on for 75 minutes, despite some not wholly distinguished numbers.
It didn't matter. Singer/bassist Sting cajoled the crowd into singing along even louder. His smile broadened. The Spa Hall could have been a tiny backstreet club, so intimate was the atmosphere.
As a measure of their confidence, the three-man band used up a trump card - the beautiful hit single 'Walking on the Moon' - after only two numbers.
Heartfelt versions of 'You're Lonely' and 'Bring on the Night' followed.
Sting's distinctive voice soared plaintively, echoing again and again the memorable melodies.
An indifferent middle section went by unnoticed and then the band played a blockbuster version of 'The Bed's Too Big Without You'.
After the funky, almost reggae-beat opening, the band parted company with the album version and launched into a heavily-echoed mix of scampering bass and whiplash lead guitar by Andy Summers that, sounded like theme music for a punk sci-fi space movie.
Unable to fathom this, the heads stopped shaking. But they soon started up again. and, during the closing jam of the two chartbusters 'Roxanne' and 'Can't Stop Losing You', looked as though they might come off.
The first encore was the classic 'Message In A Bottle'.
By this time the fans were singing along so loudly it seemed only right that the spotlights should be turned on them.
The Police walked off in darkness leaving the crowd still chanting "Send and SOS to the World."
After much jumping on the floorboards, the band reappeared to finish off with a stomping version of 'Born In The Fifties'.
(c) Hull Daily Mail by David Lucas
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