Despite the fact that this tour was declared the most profitable of 2007, not everyone thought the reformation of Messrs. Sting, Summers & Copeland was a great idea. Indeed, the band members themselves seemed to have resisted the inevitable for many years until their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 got tour promoters drooling all over again.

However, in terms of ticket sales, the MCG was not the most successful leg of the band’s Australasia tour. 40,000 tickets were sold; 25,000 shy of the promoter’s forecast and Fergie (of the Black Eyed Peas) was a late addition to the bill in a desperate bid to boost sales. It didn’t work, and the audience was instead subjected to two support acts (Fiction Plane, fronted by Sting’s son were the first support act) seemingly at odds with the revered headline act.

Nonetheless, anticipation was at fever pitch amongst the older crowd – some of whom witnessed the band’s last Australian gig at the Melbourne Showgrounds in 1984. As Sting pointed out mid set: “Last time we came to Melbourne we broke up. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

Stuart Copeland was the first band member on stage, rising from the depths of the MCG on a mechanical riser to toll the return of The Police on an enormous gong that sat behind his well accessorized Tama drum kit. Sting and Summers promptly joined him on stage and launched into a slower version of Message in a Bottle. Whereas the older Summers has aged considerably in the 24 years since The Police last toured, Sting appeared to have been cryogenically frozen and his tight leather pants undoubtedly caused many pacemakers to short circuit.

The set list too was taken straight from 1984, and it was refreshing to see a reformed band without a new record to push. Chat was kept to a minimum and the three piece cranked out hit after hit including:, Synchronicity II, Walking on the Moon, Don’t Stand So Close To Me, Hole In My Life, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Wrapped Around Your Finger, De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, Invisible Sun, Walking In Your Footsteps, Can’t Stand Losing You, Roxanne and King Of Pain. Two short encores followed that featured So Lonely, Every Breath You Take and Next To You, the final song being track 1 from the band’s 1978 debut album Outlandos d’Amour.

The criticisms have been predictable: overpriced tickets and three once great live performers unable to recreate the on stage magic that was once a nightly occurrence. Ostensibly, these criticisms are accurate. With the exception of Copeland’s drumming which hasn’t missed a beat, the three-piece was unable to create the kind of onstage dynamic for which they became famous. Some will disagree and point to Sting’s voice as a highlight of the gig. But any rock n roll fan worth their salt would tell you that it wasn’t just the backing vocals that were being mimed. Whilst some fans expressed disappointment in the decision not to tour with backup vocalists, it was in fact rewarding to see an old reformed band not rely on an augmented lineup to recreate their sound, particularly in the case of The Police whose charm was often the minimalist sound they showcased in hits like Can’t Stand Losing You.

$150 for a seat in which you rely on the big screens for visuals of the band hardly represents value. Although the musicianship still blew away your average garage band, there is an unavoidable sense of tragedy that undermines once great bands trying in vain to recapture past glories. In their struggle to hit the fans’ buttons The Police committed a cardinal sin; they took these fans for fools and hit the – œplay’ button on the CD player instead.