Soul Cages: 1991/92

King Sting still the tops...

Geordie pop star Sting returned to his roots to give a stunning concert.

Dressed in a canary yellow and black waistcoat, the Wallsend born singer delighted fans old and new with a mixture of recent hits and old Police favourites.

The superstar was clearly enjoying himself as he rocked his way through a succession of his solo recordings including 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'.

But he waited until the end of the show to give the audience what they had really come to hear - Police hits.

Classics like 'Walking On The Moon', 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Message In A Bottle', were greeted with deafening applause by the thousands of fans.

The loudest cheer of the night however was not for Sting but in memory of fellow rock idol Freddie Mercury, who died from Aids at the weekend.

''This one is for Freddie, '' said Sting as he launched into his final song, 'Shadows In The Rain'.

(c) Newcastle Evening Chronicle by Mary Askew

Police beat adds sting to the tail...

His was always going to be dubbed Sting's homecoming and after a shaky start it managed to live up to expectations.

Sting has spent far too many years in the business to let anyone down and after skating on thin ice with some fairly bland tunes from his last album 'Soul Cages' he began to turn on the style.

It was the only way he was going to kick a mainly stagnant audience into life.

Musically Sting seems to have come full circle returning to a rockier sound and, where the jazz influence is still evident, he seems to have toned it down, apart from the odd meanderings during the middle of many songs.

The show took an upturn with the melancholic 'Mad About You' (one of the few decent tunes from the poor Soul Cages) and crowd movement was observed during a welcome Roxanne from his Police days which was warmly received but sadly lacking the edge of the original backing vocals.

Sting announced the Bill Withers' classic 'Ain't No Sunshine' as a song he loved. It was given a jazz rock rearrangement which almost disguised the song beyond comprehension.

But it seems he was making us earn the chance to hear the best. If we wanted to hear the real classics we had to listen to the new pity the new is not good enough.

But when the best started to flow it was hard not to be roused.

The magnificent 'King of Pain' from the last Police album 'Synchronicity' eventually got the crowd going.

After a brief stop for the awful 'Soul Cages' the quality tunes continued with 'Fortress Around Your Heart' from his superior debut solo album 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles' and a brave version of the Hendrix classic 'Purple Haze'.

But the roof only ever really threatened to lift a little to the sound of Police classics 'Walking On The Moon' and one of his best tunes 'Every Breath You Take'.

After a brief encore of 'Message In A Bottle' he returned. Spanish guitar in hand, for a poignant tribute to the deceased Queen star Freddie Mercury in the shape of the tear-jerking 'Fragile'.

(c) Sunderland Daily Echo by Andrew Barker

Superstar Sting returns to his roots...

Thousands of cheering fans gave a rousing reception to Tyneside rock idol Sting as he returned to his roots last night.

Teenagers joined lock established fans at Whitley Bay Ice Rink last night as the prodigal son produced a polished performance covering the old and the new.

Backed by a talented three piece band the music ranged from the jazz influences of 'Soul Cages' to Police classics such as 'Roxanne'.

Wallsend's favourite son belied his 40 years as he powered through tracks such as 'Mad About You' and 'Why Should I Cry For You?'.

Despite paying £15 for the star's second visit to the region in six months dedicated fans knew they were getting value for money. Ruth Hedley, 15, of Links Avenue, Whitley Bay said ''This is the fourth time I have seen him and he just keeps getting better''.

(c) Newcastle Journal by Andrew Smith

Sting Warms the Hearts...

He was once accused of branding Newcastle "a good place in which to bring up your food" but he appeared to have digested those sceptical days when he made a vastly appreciated appearance in his native North-East again.

Sting returned to the breezy coast to jab an expectant audience with a rendition of toe-tappers to thaw out the coldest of feet at Whitley Bay Ice Rink.

I have to admit after his reported trashing of his homeland I was determined to be hard to please. But I soon warmed when the former Police frontman aped onto stage in understated leggings and muscle-top. He crashed straight into a jazz and swing-fused menu of tracks from the latest album, 'The Soul Cages'.

But just as the atmospherically intense music got to the point of becoming way too heavy for a dance-ready crowd, a brilliant injection of classic Police songs raised a massive cheer.

From 'Every Step You Take', 'Roxanne', to the chart-breaking 'Walking on the Moon', Sting was note perfect and his sometimes frail voice was as on vinyl. A double encore had the crowd screaming and stomping until a final poignant moment.

The moving 'How Fragile We Are' was dedicated to the late Freddie Mercury as hushed fans stood in respect.

There is only fault to be picked with the concert - we could have done without the patronising Geordie accent which the star seems to have miraculously rediscovered recently- or was it only when he stepped onto the Whitley Bay stage?

(c) The Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail

Ain't no sunshine...

Despite wearing a bright yellow waistcoat Sting did little to enlighten a lacklustre performance at the Ice Rink last night.

The atmosphere, like the temperature, was distinctly chilly.

With a number of empty seats plus the back half of the venue roped off, Sting's mixture of jazz rock and Geordie rhythms failed to stir his fans.

Beyond a few nodding heads and tapping toes just a handful of diehards could be described as getting on down.

Admittedly, plenty of Sting's sultry tunes are not easy to dance to. The melancholy 'Why Should I Cry For You' is designed to bring silent tears to the eyes rather than whoops of joy and excitement.

And in case you weren't sure how to react the ex-Policeman spelled it out in 'Driven To Tears'. 

To make us feel at home, the North-East's prodigal son put on his best Geordie accent between songs. And did his best to inject some heat into the proceedings with extended versions of most of his songs. But even the resurrection of some of the Police hits did little to inspire the crowd.

'Roxanne' managed to muster a feeble response, but when the song left its roots for a kind of jazz/reggae workout most people looked a little lost. His four-piece band were tight and professional, but it's been six months since Sting released any new material.

The absence of anything fresh gave the show a slightly stale appearance.

Compared to the Ice Rink's recent visitors namely Brian Adams and Kylie Minogue in Sting's return was a bit of a non-event.

He managed to get a cheer after every song, but seemed to sum up the evening when he sang the Bill Withers classic 'Ain't No Sunshine'.

(c) The Northern Echo by Nigel Vincent