No, Police frontman Sting hasn't lost the plot.
On the contrary.
Although the 55-year-old singer-bassist joked back in February that he may be "certifiably insane" after deciding to regroup with his former bandmates -- 54-year-old American drummer Stewart Copeland and 64-year-old guitarist and fellow Brit Andy Summers -- for a 30th anniversary tour this year, the trio of musicians is having the last laugh.
The Police Reunion trek, which formally kicks off tomorrow night in Vancouver at GM Place, preceded by a dress rehearsal for fan club members only at the venue tonight, has become the summer's No. 1 tour, as sales have far exceeded expectations.
It's the first time the New Wave icons, who sold some 50 million albums worldwide, have toured together since 1984's Synchronicity trek.
"Worldwide, it's just enormous," Canadian-born Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's Los Angeles-based chairman of global music, who is producing The Police tour, told Sun Media.
"As big as I thought it was going to be, I'm thrilled that it's bigger. I'd say 90% of the shows are sold out. It's staggering, really. We've ended up selling out a lot of stadium shows, in addition to the arena shows. There's no doubt it will be the biggest tour of the year, by far."
The other Canadian stops on The Police reunion road trip are Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday (June 2), Toronto's Air Canada Centre on July 22-23, and Montreal's Bell Centre on July 25-26 before a return to the ACC on Nov. 8.
Fogel says there are several reasons for the tour's unbelievable success: Call it the perfect storm of concert ticket-selling conditions.
"It's obviously been a long time," he said. "(The Police) shut it down at their peak. People never thought it was going to happen. It was kind of out of left field, even though people had speculated, you know, on and off, for some time. It's genuine excitement to see one of the great bands of all time, at a time when arguably, it's a pretty open field this year. And I guess it's all those things and it just touched a nerve in a great way."
As for a set list, The Police have been adamant about the fact that they will only be playing band music from between the late '70 and mid-'80s -- hits like Roxanne, Message In A Bottle, Walking On The Moon, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, Don't Stand So Close To Me, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Every Breath You Take, King Of Pain, Wrapped Around Your Finger.
In other words, no Sting solo hits on the road and no new Police songs or forthcoming album of new material are in the works, although a two-disc best-of collection hits record stores June 5.
As Summers told billboard.com: "We're not doing too many things off the wall. We've got a two-hour show lined up of famous songs, basically."
Summers did add though that the group has worked up such rarities as Truth Hits Everybody from the first Police disc, 1978's Outlandos D'amour, and that they are considering acoustic versions of some songs.
The real element of surprise will be just how they sound after more than two decades apart.
Fogel, who attended the band's early rehearsals in Vancouver leading up to their Feb. 10 Grammy appearance -- they kicked off the awards show with Roxanne -- was heading back to the West Coast this past week to check-in with them again. They previously rehearsed for a month at Sting's villa in Italy.
"I'm sure it's going to be fabulous," he said. "They've got a lot of great songs and they're great musicians, so it's hard not to think it's going to be a pretty special night for fans of The Police, who haven't seen them in 25 years."
But when The Police formally announced their reunion tour at the legendary Sunset Strip club Whisky A Go Go on Feb. 11, which Sun Media attended, they were clearly a bit rusty as they ran through four songs.
Not only did Sting resort to the use of a teleprompter but Copeland was yelling out chords to his bandmates.
Hopefully, that will not be the case tomorrow night at their launch.
"There's no reason why we shouldn't be 25 years better than we were then, and we were good then," Sting told reporters at the Whiskey. "You bring that experience, there are subtleties in the music that perhaps we're more willing to address now, it's still going to be exciting, and more."
The other big question mark is whether the trio will be able to get along over the coming months.
Toward the end of their heyday, they became known as much for their music as for their famously fractious relationships with each other.
At The Whiskey, they claimed their arguments were always about music and they've become "wiser and more mellow."
"When we were young, we had to conquer the world, we were three extremely ambitious young men," Copeland said. "Now, we're three happy, kind-of fathers of many. Speaking for myself, I'm just really enjoying playing my drums. I don't have to make my name in music anymore."
Still, Summers joked that their ultimate goal was "world domination."
"Lock up your mothers!" added Sting, in a nod to their advanced years.
POLICE STORY
1977: Stewart Copeland and Sting form The Police along with guitarist Henri Padovani, soon replaced by Andy Summers.
1978: First album, Outlandos d'Amour, released with So Lonely as first single. Roxanne would become hit in 1979.
1979: Second album, Reggatta de Blanc, released with single Message in a Bottle No. 1 in Britain.
1980: Third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, released.
1981: Ghost in the Machine, band's fourth album, released. No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 2 in the U.S. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic biggest hit to date.
1983: Return with album Synchronicity, No. 1 in U.K. and U.S. A blockbuster on the strength of Every Breath You Take, one of the biggest American hits of all time. During record-breaking world tour, personal and creative tensions escalate, and band goes on "sabbatical." Eventually, Sting embarks on a hugely successful solo career.
1986: Band plays an Amnesty International concert and attempts to record new tracks for a greatest hits album. Studio sessions, however, unravel.
2003: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, performing Roxanne, Message In a Bottle and Every Breath You Take live, as a group.
2007: Reunite for 30th anniversary to perform Roxanne at Grammy Awards. Announce North American tour.
