Sting 3.0

Englishman in Lingen: Sting delivers a lightning-fast performance for 14,000 fans...

The global superstar apologises – and delivers the show fans have been waiting for since last year's cancelled concert. But the fun comes to an abrupt end.

Even at 72, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, aka Sting, isn't thinking about retiring anytime soon.

After a mix of storm clouds and rain, a few rays of light break through the overcast sky late in the evening as a sprightly older gentleman with short gray hair strides lightly onto the stage at the festival grounds by the Emsland Arena in Lingen – accompanied by thunderous applause.

The simple, one-sided sleeveless shirt reveals Herculean upper arms. At 72, Sting, aka Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, still seems to be in the prime of his exciting life. And he's anything but "so lonely," taking more than 14,000 people on a melodic journey through time on Saturday. The concert is part of the "My Songs" tour, which began in May 2019. Music as therapy, as a source of meditation, as the former frontman of The Police once revealed in an interview. It works. "Excuse me," stammers the "Englishman in New York" in broken German. "We're a year late." An allusion to June 22, 2023. Back then, the event was cancelled due to a severe weather warning. Now he's back.

For a good 90 minutes, the "man of the world" delivers a dazzling display of his hits. Just like five years ago, he opens with "Message in a Bottle." Classics like "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," and "Fields of Gold" follow. The older the songs, the greater the enthusiasm of the audience, most of whom are in their 50s. Many of the guests grew up with the British music icon. Couples cuddle to "Shape of My Heart" or "Every Breath You Take," and wherever there's space, people dance and sing along with abandon. Sting still moves the masses.

And he delivers. Drenched in sweat, he leaves the stage after a brilliant finale, takes a short breather—only to return to the stage to thunderous applause. "Roxanne," arguably The Police's most famous evergreen about a prostitute, is the first encore. In the 1978 song, Sting tells the tragic story of a man's love for a sex worker, whom he wants to rescue from her (precarious) situation, not entirely selflessly. For former drummer Stewart Copeland, the single from the album "Outlands d'Amour" remains by far his best. With "Fragile," a moving, but also brief, balmy summer evening comes to a close after a meticulously rehearsed concert. The fun ends abruptly; Sting and his entourage move on. He and his band will be performing at the Carcassonne Festival in France on July 30th.

(c) Westfälische Nachrichten  by André Fischer