| Concert Tour Name: | The Police Reunion Tour |
| Artist: | The Police |
| Start Date: | 28 May 2007 |
| End Date: | 7 August 2008 |
| Number Of Legs: | 9 |
| Number Of Shows: |
|
| Gross: | US$362 million |
| Last Tour: | A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) |
| This Tour: | Reunion Tour (2007–2008) |
| Next Tour: | N/A |
The Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by the Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third (now 19th) highest-grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $360 million. The tour began in May 2007 to overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans and critics alike and ended in August 2008 with a final show at Madison Square Garden.[1]
On 24 January 2007, Rock101, a radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, reported the trio was coming together again and had begun tour rehearsals in Vancouver.[2] There were numerous sightings of the group and their entourage in the Vancouver area as expectation built of such a tour.[3]
The reunited Police performed at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on 11 February 2007 in Los Angeles. On 12 February, the Police held rehearsals and a press conference for the media at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, where they confirmed they would be undertaking the world tour starting in Vancouver in May.[4] It was also announced the opening act for the North American and European legs of the tour would be Fiction Plane, a pop-rock band from England featuring lead singer and bass guitarist Joe Sumner, the son of Sting. In Philadelphia, Scottish rock band the Fratellis also joined Fiction Plane as an opening act. In addition, Maroon 5 joined the bill in Miami and Maxïmo Park joined the Police and Fiction Plane on the Twickenham dates, London.
Since concert tickets went up for sale worldwide, some concert dates were sold out in minutes. Tickets for the entire British tour, the band's first in 24 years, sold out within 30 minutes.[5] Worldwide, they sold about 1.5m tickets with revenues reaching $168m.[6]
The Police and Best Buy released a collector's set on 7 October 2008 entitled , which includes an entire concert recorded live in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the tour. The set came in the following packages: 2DVD/2CD, 1 Blu-ray Disc/2CD, and 3 premium 180-gram vinyl LPs with MP3 file key. The set also included bonus footage, including a documentary shot by Copeland's son Jordan entitled Better Than Therapy.[7] [8]
The tour was a finalist for the Billboard 2008 Touring Awards for Top Tour and Top Draw.[9] The 2008 portions came in fourth in Billboard's grosses rankings for that year.[10]
The first show was a preview concert in Vancouver, for 4,000 members of the band's fan club, on 27 May 2007. The first official show was on 28 May 2007 in front of 22,000 fans at one of two nearly sold-out shows. Opening with "Message in a Bottle", the band performed for roughly two hours, playing mostly hits with a smattering of fan favourites.
While the Vancouver concerts received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics,[11] [12] drummer Stewart Copeland, in a forum posting on his official site, called the band's 29 May performance "lame" and took humorous pokes at himself and his bandmates. He called one of Sting's song-ending leaps that of a "petulant pansy instead of the god of rock", joked the band botched the key changes so thoroughly they ended up playing "avant-garde twelve-tone hodgepodges" of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me", suggested that guitarist Andy Summers was "in Idaho" when he and Sting ended up half a bar out of sync with each other during opener "Message in a Bottle", and claimed he "made a hash" out of a fill he had worked out for in "Walking in Your Footsteps" by playing it in the wrong part of the song. In spite of these glitches, however, he said he was enjoying himself and after the set he and his bandmates fell into each other's arms backstage, laughing.[13]
"It was a sincere criticism," Copeland explained. "If you read the piece in context, it wasn't that vitriolic. It was an acknowledgement that we were only human. And we were struggling to make it work, playing as if our lives depended on it, and we still had to get it right… When Sting and Andy first read it, they were like, 'Oww!' But then they got over it."[14]
The stage setup for the Police was a simple split-level oval design, ringed with blue lights. Above the stage were seven LED screens—three in the front of the stage, one on each side and two in the rear. The setup was not used during the show in The Woodlands on 20 May 2008 due to the smaller stage at the venue. In Marseille, France on 3 June 2008, the screens were used but not the split-level oval stage setup.
The placement of the band members echoed that of previous tours, with Sting and his bass equipment located stage-right, with Andy Summers and his guitar pedals and amps on stage-left. Stewart Copeland was located in the center rear. Behind him on a platform that could be raised and lowered, was a percussion setup consisting of various timpanis, hanging rotosounds, tuned percussion kits, and digital xylophone centered by a 60" gong used on various songs.[15]
This set list is representative of the performance in Mountain View on 14 July 2008. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.[16]
† – performed in a different key than original album version
Other songs played throughout the tour were "Synchronicity II" and "Walking in Your Footsteps" †. Other songs played in 2007 were "Truth Hits Everybody" †, "The Bed's Too Big Without You", "Spirits in the Material World" †, "Dead End Job" and "Murder by Numbers". All were replaced by "Bring on the Night" in 2008.
Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" were added for the final concert on 7 August 2008 at Madison Square Garden.[1]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening act | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 — North America[17] | ||||||
| 27 May 2007 | Vancouver | Canada | General Motors Place | Fiction Plane | 4,000 / 4,000 Fanclub Only Show | $200,000 |
| 28 May 2007 | 37,018 / 37,018 | $4,046,518 | ||||
| 29 May 2007 | ||||||
| 2 June 2007 | Edmonton | Commonwealth Stadium | Sloan Fiction Plane | 29,592 / 29,592 | $3,216,118 | |
| 6 June 2007 | Seattle | United States | KeyArena | Fiction Plane | 29,022 / 29,022 | $3,314,875 |
| 7 June 2007 | ||||||
| 9 June 2007 | Denver | Pepsi Center | 33,736 / 33,736 | $3,762,755 | ||
| 10 June 2007 | ||||||
| 13 June 2007 | Oakland | McAfee Coliseum | The Fratellis Fiction Plane | 47,202 / 47,202 | $4,572,620 | |
| 15 June 2007 | Las Vegas | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Fiction Plane | 16,165 / 16,165 | $2,863,954 | |
| 16 June 2007 | Manchester | Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival | ||||
| 18 June 2007 | Phoenix | US Airways Center | Fiction Plane | 16,710 / 16,710 | $1,970,365 | |
| 20 June 2007 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | 17,036 / 17,036 | $2,656,145 | ||
| 21 June 2007 | Anaheim | Honda Center | 13,663 / 13,663 | $2,059,675 | ||
| 23 June 2007 | Los Angeles | Dodger Stadium | Foo Fighters Fiction Plane | 55,623 / 55,623 | $6,106,010 | |
| 26 June 2007 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | Fiction Plane | 33,708 / 33,708 | $3,784,600 | |
| 27 June 2007 | ||||||
| 29 June 2007 | Houston | Toyota Center | 16,651 / 16,651 | $1,847,945 | ||
| 30 June 2007 | New Orleans | New Orleans Arena | 15,992 / 15,992 | $1,677,470 | ||
| 2 July 2007 | St. Louis | Scottrade Center | 17,821 / 17,821 | $1,872,140 | ||
| 3 July 2007 | Saint Paul | Xcel Energy Center | 17,185 / 17,185 | $1,943,310 | ||
| 5 July 2007 | Chicago | Wrigley Field | 79,458 / 79,458 | $9,494,248 | ||
| 6 July 2007 | ||||||
| 7 July 2007 | East Rutherford | Giants Stadium (This concert was part of Live Earth) | ||||
| 10 July 2007 | Miami Gardens | Dolphin Stadium | Maroon 5 Fiction Plane | 46,105 / 46,105 | $5,094,870 | |
| 11 July 2007 | Tampa | St. Pete Times Forum | Fiction Plane | 18,690 / 18,690 | $2,064,875 | |
| 14 July 2007 | Louisville | Churchill Downs | 25,413 / 25,413 | $2,899,375 | ||
| 16 July 2007 | Cleveland | Quicken Loans Arena | 18,881 / 18,881 | $1,885,040 | ||
| 17 July 2007 | Auburn Hills | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 19,342 / 19,342 | $2,069,428 | ||
| 19 July 2007 | Philadelphia | Citizens Bank Park | The Fratellis Fiction Plane | 42,599 / 42,599 | $4,128,705 | |
| 20 July 2007 | Hershey | Hersheypark Stadium | Fiction Plane | 30,318 / 30,318 | $3,101,630 | |
| 22 July 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 38,031 / 38,031 | $4,456,636 | |
| 23 July 2007 | ||||||
| 25 July 2007 | Montreal | Bell Centre | 41,275 / 41,275 | $4,571,063 | ||
| 26 July 2007 | ||||||
| 28 July 2007 | Boston | United States | Fenway Park | 67,154 / 67,154 | $7,644,400 | |
| 29 July 2007 | ||||||
| 31 July 2007 | East Hartford | Rentschler Field | 32,450 / 32,450 | $3,318,015 | ||
| 1 August 2007 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | 37,487 / 37,387 | $4,753,610 | ||
| 3 August 2007 | ||||||
| 4 August 2007 | Baltimore | Virgin Festival | ||||
| 5 August 2007 | East Rutherford | Giants Stadium | The Fratellis Fiction Plane | 55,247 / 55,247 | $6,415,610 | |
| Leg 2 — Europe [18] | ||||||
| 29 August 2007 | Stockholm | Sweden | Globe Arena | Fiction Plane | 24,286 / 24,286 | $2,098,632 |
| 30 August 2007 | ||||||
| 1 September 2007 | Aarhus | Denmark | Vestereng | Fiction Plane | 38,000 / 45,000 | |
| 4 September 2007 | Birmingham | England | National Indoor Arena | Fiction Plane | 24,099 / 24,099 | $3,579,363 |
| 5 September 2007 | ||||||
| 8 September 2007 | Twickenham | Twickenham Stadium | Maxïmo Park Fiction Plane | 104,417 / 104,417 | $15,369,280 | |
| 9 September 2007 | ||||||
| 11 September 2007 | Hamburg | Germany | AOL Arena | Fiction Plane | 29,150 / 34,596 | $3,191,128 |
| 13 September 2007 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Amsterdam Arena | 93,211 / 93,790 | $10,216,228 | |
| 14 September 2007 | ||||||
| 16 September 2007 | Geneva | Switzerland | Stade de Genève | 21,878 / 21,878 | $2,238,986 | |
| 19 September 2007 | Vienna | Austria | Wiener Stadthalle | 15,463 / 15,463 | $1,460,708 | |
| 22 September 2007 | Munich | Germany | Olympiastadion | 44,740 / 44,740 | $4,451,894 | |
| 25 September 2007 | Lisbon | Portugal | Estádio Nacional | |||
| 27 September 2007 | Barcelona | Spain | Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys | Fiction Plane | 54,553 / 54,553 | $5,554,320 |
| 29 September 2007 | Paris | France | Stade de France | 157,906 / 157,906 | $15,319,076 | |
| 30 September 2007 | ||||||
| 2 October 2007 | Turin | Italy | Stadio delle Alpi | 62,604 / 62,604 | $5,164,887 | |
| 6 October 2007 | Dublin | Ireland | Croke Park | 81,640 / 81,640 | $11,837,425 | |
| 8 October 2007 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis | 17,905 / 17,905 | $2,002,164 | |
| 19 October 2007 | Cardiff | Wales | Millennium Stadium | The Fratellis Fiction Plane | 48,065 / 48,065 | $5,964,008 |
| 20 October 2007 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Fiction Plane | 11,301 / 11,301 | $1,852,912 |
| Leg 3 — North America[19] | ||||||
| 31 October 2007 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden | Fiction Plane | 34,961 / 34,961 | $4,530,450 |
| 2 November 2007 | ||||||
| 4 November 2007 | Atlantic City | Boardwalk Hall | 12,394 / 12,394 | $2,440,331 | ||
| 5 November 2007 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | Fiction Plane | 14,050 / 14,050 | $1,676,406 | |
| 6 November 2007 | Charlottesville | John Paul Jones Arena | 10,496 / 10,496 | $1,075,090 | ||
| 8 November 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 31,286 / 31,286 | $3,828,654 | |
| 9 November 2007 | ||||||
| 11 November 2007 | Boston | United States | TD Banknorth Garden | 14,256 / 14,256 | $1,804,535 | |
| 12 November 2007 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | 12,615 / 12,615 | $1,419,151 | |
| 15 November 2007 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Bobcats Arena | 13,741 / 13,741 | $1,523,560 | |
| 17 November 2007 | Atlanta | Philips Arena | 27,665 / 27,665 | $3,249,155 | ||
| 18 November 2007 | ||||||
| 20 November 2007 | San Antonio | AT&T Center | 8,967 / 8,967 | $978,905 | ||
| Leg 4 — Latin America[20] | ||||||
| 24 November 2007 | Mexico City | Mexico | Foro Sol | 47,027 / 58,374 | $2,545,113 | |
| 27 November 2007 | Monterrey | Arena Monterrey | 12,552 / 12,552 | $1,298,400 | ||
| 28 November 2007 | ||||||
| 1 December 2007 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | River Plate Stadium | Beck | 87,967 / 87,967 | $4,972,415 |
| 2 December 2007 | ||||||
| 5 December 2007 | Santiago | Chile | Estadio Nacional de Chile | Beck | 48,725 / 48,725 | $2,767,710 |
| 8 December 2007 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Maracanã Stadium | Os Paralamas do Sucesso | 59,200 / 59,200 | $5,410,606 |
| 11 December 2007 | San Juan | Puerto Rico | Coliseo de Puerto Rico | Fiction Plane | 11,089 / 11,089 | $1,203,483 |
| Leg 5 — Oceania | ||||||
| 17 January 2008 | Wellington | New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Fergie Fiction Plane | 21,614 / 21,614 | $2,156,344 |
| 19 January 2008 | Auckland | Western Springs Stadium | 26,665 / 26,665 | $2,397,286 | ||
| 22 January 2008 | Brisbane | Australia | Suncorp Stadium | 25,928 / 25,928 | $3,306,646 | |
| 24 January 2008 | Sydney | ANZ Stadium | 43,725 / 43,725 | $4,840,514 | ||
| 26 January 2008 | Melbourne | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 29,655 / 29,655 | $3,865,205 | ||
| 28 January 2008 | Adelaide | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | 13,950 / 13,950 | $1,502,462 | ||
| 29 January 2008 | ||||||
| 1 February 2008 | Perth | Members Equity Stadium | 36,518 / 36,518 | $4,340,778 | ||
| 2 February 2008 | ||||||
| Leg 6 — Asia[21] | ||||||
| 4 February 2008 | Singapore | Singapore Indoor Stadium | Fiction Plane | 10,690 / 10,690 | $2,002,692 | |
| 7 February 2008 | Macau | Venetian Arena | 7,416 / 7,416 | $919,527 | ||
| 10 February 2008 | Osaka | Japan | Osaka Dome | 21,526 / 21,526 | $2,763,164 | |
| 13 February 2008 | Tokyo | Tokyo Dome | 56,706 / 56,706 | $7,062,008 | ||
| 14 February 2008 | ||||||
| Leg 7 — North America[22] | ||||||
| 16 February 2008 | Honolulu | United States | Blaisdell Arena | Fiction Plane | 16,444 / 16,444 | $2,192,890 |
| 17 February 2008 | ||||||
| 1 May 2008 | Ottawa | Canada | Scotiabank Place | Elvis Costello & The Imposters | 10,509 / 10,509 | $1,245,428 |
| 3 May 2008 | Buffalo | United States | HSBC Arena | 12,091 / 12,091 | $1,146,350 | |
| 4 May 2008 | Columbus | Nationwide Arena | 11,438 / 11,438 | $1,088,290 | ||
| 10 May 2008 | Rosemont | Allstate Arena | 12,471 / 12,471 | $1,589,480 | ||
| 11 May 2008 | Grand Rapids | Van Andel Arena | 7,624 / 7,624 | $690,620 | ||
| 13 May 2008 | Kansas City | Sprint Center | 12,314 / 12,314 | $1,378,942 | ||
| 14 May 2008 | Omaha | Qwest Center | 10,701 / 10,701 | $1,134,045 | ||
| 16 May 2008 | Orlando | Amway Arena | 11,972 / 11,972 | $1,378,670 | ||
| 17 May 2008 | West Palm Beach | Cruzan Amphitheatre | 18,523 / 18,523 | $1,416,930 | ||
| 20 May 2008 | The Woodlands | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | 11,624 / 11,624 | $1,020,092 | ||
| 21 May 2008 | Dallas | SuperPages.com Center | 10,305 / 10,305 | $859,730 | ||
| 23 May 2008 | Paradise | MGM Grand Garden Arena | 9,697 / 9,697 | $1,694,228 | ||
| 24 May 2008 | Phoenix | Cricket Wireless Pavilion | 10,765 / 10,765 | $909,320 | ||
| 26 May 2008 | Chula Vista | Coors Amphitheatre | 17,764 / 17,764 | $1,681,110 | ||
| 27 May 2008 | Los Angeles | Hollywood Bowl | 32,730 / 33,270 | $3,854,713 | ||
| 28 May 2008 | ||||||
| Leg 8 — Europe[23] | ||||||
| 3 June 2008 | Marseille | France | Stade Vélodrome | The Charlatans | 47,337 / 47,337 | $5,290,050 |
| 5 June 2008 | Mannheim | Germany | SAP Arena | 13,735 / 13,735 | $1,510,408 | |
| 7 June 2008 | Werchter | Belgium | TW Classic | |||
| 8 June 2008 | Düsseldorf | Germany | LTU Arena | 46,000 / 46,894 | $5,139,564 | |
| 10 June 2008 | Saint-Étienne | France | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard | 28,964 / 38,193 | $2,721,354 | |
| 12 June 2008 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | Starsailor | 8,896 / 8,896 | $839,957 |
| 15 June 2008 | Newport | England | Isle of Wight Festival | |||
| 17 June 2008 | Manchester | Manchester Arena | Starsailor | 35,603 / 35,603 | $4,578,672 | |
| 18 June 2008 | ||||||
| 20 June 2008 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | Stormont Castle | KT Tunstall | 10,588 / 15,000 | $1,313,814 |
| 22 June 2008 | Venice | Italy | Parco San Giuliano | 24,000 / 24,000 | $1,575,246 | |
| 24 June 2008 | Belgrade | Serbia | Ušće | Counting Crows | 27,104 / 35,000 | $1,309,651 |
| 26 June 2008 | Chorzów | Poland | Silesian Stadium | 47,693 / 47,693 | $3,137,631 | |
| 28 June 2008 | Leipzig | Germany | Messehalle | Arno Carstens | 17,544 / 17,544 | $1,531,333 |
| 29 June 2008 | London | England | 30,000 / 30,000 | $3,239,956 | ||
| 2 July 2008 | Valencia | Spain | Estadio Ciudad de Valencia | Starsailor | 17,352 / 17,352 | $2,193,508 |
| 4 July 2008 | Bilbao | Bilbao BBK Live | 31,500 / 31,500 | $4,392,327 | ||
| 5 July 2008 | Madrid | 43,843 / 43,843 | $3,881,852 | |||
| Leg 9 — North America[24] | ||||||
| 11 July 2008 | Ridgefield | United States | Amphitheater at Clark County | Elvis Costello & The Imposters | 14,253 / 14,253 | $1,195,200 |
| 12 July 2008 | George | The Gorge Amphitheatre | 10,255 / 10,255 | $1,150,923 | ||
| 14 July 2008 | Mountain View | Shoreline Amphitheatre | 16,084 / 16,084 | $1,301,091 | ||
| 16 July 2008 | Concord | Sleep Train Pavilion | 11,673 / 11,673 | $951,206 | ||
| 17 July 2008 | Wheatland | Sleep Train Amphitheatre | 10,519 / 10,519 | $810,149 | ||
| 19 July 2008 | West Valley City | USANA Amphitheatre | 15,655 / 15,655 | $1,142,350 | ||
| 21 July 2008 | Morrison | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | 17,313 / 17,313 | $2,520,256 | ||
| 22 July 2008 | ||||||
| 25 July 2008 | Milwaukee | Marcus Amphitheater | 15,042 / 23,000 | $1,349,740 | ||
| 26 July 2008 | Clarkston | DTE Energy Music Theatre | 14,696 / 14,696 | $1,324,029 | ||
| 28 July 2008 | Burgettstown | Post-Gazette Pavilion | 13,431 / 13,431 | $867,200 | ||
| 29 July 2008 | Philadelphia | Wachovia Center | 11,133 / 12,415 | $1,270,215 | ||
| 31 July 2008 | Mansfield | Comcast Center | 13,523 / 13,523 | $1,352,730 | ||
| 1 August 2008 | Saratoga Springs | Saratoga Performing Arts Center | 19,010 / 19,010 | $1,504,138 | ||
| 3 August 2008 | Holmdel | PNC Bank Arts Center | 16,857 / 16,857 | $1,537,688 | ||
| 4 August 2008 | Wantagh | Nikon at Jones Beach Theater | 27,089 / 27,089 | $3,655,783 | ||
| 5 August 2008 | ||||||
| 7 August 2008 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | The B-52's | 18,348 / 18,348 | $2,754,050 | |
| Total | 3,361,794 / 3,403,419 (98%) | $361,956,184 | ||||