De Do Do Do

The Police were probably the first band I fell in love with in the early 80s, but I never got to see them in person, as I was too young to attend concerts when they last played live.

So you can imagine my envy last summer when I heard the Police were touring again, playing concerts in both Edmonton and Toronto. You can also imagine my delight in March when I drove past a huge billboard advertising the Police in Poland.

Thursday night found me and two friends, one German, one Polish, in an old football stadium in Chorzow waiting for the Police to play. As the concert began, I realized that most of the 50 000 plus fans would have never seen the Police before, as western bands couldn't get into eastern Europe in the 70s and 80s.

The size of the audience seemed even more incredible when I found out that fans wouldn't have been able to purchase any of the band's albums in Poland when they were first released.

But the crowd, largely made up of people in their 40s and 50s, obviously knew and loved the Police, cheering wildly with each song, and dancing enthusiastically in their seats and on the field.

At the end of the night when all 50 000 of us were standing and singing along with Sting, it struck me that most of the audience didn't speak English, yet knew every word of every song.

Fantastic concert. Even better memories.

I should have bought the t-shirt.