POLICE – SYDNEY 1980 1ST NIGHT FM BROADCAST (CD-R)

Description

Hordern Pavillion, Sydney, Australia 21st March 1980

　THE POLICE in 1980, which was ravaging the world with a succession of historic masterpieces. A new masterpiece has been released to enrich the soundboard collection.

　This work records the “Sydney Performance on March 21, 1980.” It is a stereo soundboard recording. Speaking of 1980, it was the time when the “REGGATTA DE BLANC Tour” and “ZENYATTA MONDATTA Tour” switched depending on the timing. First, let’s take a look at the position of this work while taking a bird’s-eye view of the activities at that time.

●1979
“REGGATTA DE BLANC Tour”
・August 17th – September 23rd: Europe #4 (17 performances) ←※VOORBURG 1979
・September 27th – December 1st: North America #3 (45 performances) ←※PALLADIUM 1979, etc.
・December 3rd – 22nd: Europe #5 (16 performances) ←※HAMMERSMITH PALAIS 1979
●1980
・January 11th: Hamburg performance
・January 20th – February 8th: North America #1 (14 performances) ←※AGORA BALLROOM 1980
・February 14th – 20th: First visit to Japan (6 performances) ←※NAKANO SUNPLAZA 1980
・February 26th-27th: Hong Kong (2 shows)
・February 29th-March 23rd: Oceania (10 shows) ←★Here★
・March 26th + 28th: ​​India/Egypt (2 shows)
・March 30th-April 28th: ​​Europe #2 (14 shows)
“ZENYATTA MONDATTA Tour”
・July 26th-September 2nd: Europe #3 (16 shows) ←※BEZIERS 1980
{ZENYATTA MONDATTA released on October 3rd}
・October 15th-18th: West Germany (2 shows) ←※ROCKPALAST appearance
・October 21st-December 8th: North America #1 (31 shows)) ←※TORONTO 1980, etc.
・December 14th-16th: South America (3 shows)
・December 21st-23rd: UK (3 shows)

　THE POLICE in 1979/1980. In February 1980, they made their legendary first visit to Japan, but they also took advantage of that momentum and expanded into the Southern Hemisphere. The Sydney performance of this work was the eighth performance of the “Oceania” leg.

　This was their first Oceania tour, but it was also the largest Australian tour in THE POLICE’s career. Due to its popularity, it has also been broadcast on radio, resulting in numerous pre-releases. This work is a CD version of this classic FM soundboard from the best master.

　The sound is truly “unearthed official quality.” While the term “official quality” is used to describe it, the actual official releases vary in their individuality. Live albums, which are regularly released alongside studio works, are meticulously tuned down to the smallest detail, sometimes so elaborately crafted that they lose their live feel. Meanwhile, recent unearthed live albums and box sets released as the centerpieces of these sets tend to prioritize authenticity, as their purpose is archival recording.

　The worldview of this work is the latter. The opening program DJ and interviews give it a sense of the era, and the essential live performance is unedited and the sound is very radio-like. Judging from the approximately 54-minute broadcast, I don’t think it’s a live broadcast, but the scent of “1980” is so strong that it seems like it was probably recorded and then released.

　And the energy of the performance is amazing, as if it could even break through the broadcast slot. Naturally, the repertoire is only the killer songs from the first two albums, and the concentrated feeling of squeezing them into the frame is irresistible. To be honest, the volume of six songs (plus α) is far from the full show, but it is a more than sufficient musical work as a single LP live album.

　Judging from its length, it cannot be considered a masterpiece of the time, and the band’s first visit to Japan was preceded by the legendary “NAKANO SUNPLAZA 1980: DEFINITIVE MASTER (Wardour-525).” This fact remains unshakable. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no option but to experience the soundboard that will infuse the intense live performance of the ambitious “REGGATTA DE BLANC Tour” into your brain. While aimed solely at collectors, the content and quality are undeniably superb. This FM radio album stands on such a high level. Please enjoy it to the fullest with this best master release.

★ Stereo soundboard recording of the “March 21, 1980 Sydney Performance.” This classic FM soundboard has been converted to CD from the best master, and the sound is truly “official excavation grade.” The opening program DJ and interviews give it a sense of the era, and the essential live performance is unedited and sounds truly radio-like. Although it is only about 54 minutes long, the content and quality of this FM radio album are of the highest quality.

(53:55)
1. Interview by the DJ with a fan
2. DJ Introduction
3. Walking On The Moon
4. So Lonely
5. Bring On The Night
6. The Bed’s Too Big Without You
7. Message In A Bottle
8. Roxanne
9. Can’t Stand Losing You – Reggatta de Blanc
10. DJ Outro

STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING