The Calgary Philharmonic’s Pops concert series officially gets underway on September 19 + 20 with a celebration of the much-loved music of The Police and their erstwhile captain, Sting. Joining the Orchestra for this arresting array of tunes are conductor Eve Legault and the Jeans 'n Classic band with vocalists Ian Jutsun and David Blamires. Together they’ll explore all facets of one of the richest musical legacies in the realm of rock and pop — from The Police’s early 80s new wave classics (Walking on the Moon, Spirits in the Material World, etc.) to the stadium-filling hits of their Synchronicity-era commercial peak (Wrapped Around Your Finger, Every Breath You Take, etc.) and on through to Sting’s solo work, which drew on influences as diverse as contemporary jazz (Fortress Around Your Heart, etc.) and Algerian ‘rai’ (Desert Rose).
In anticipation of the concerts, here are a few fun facts about five of the tracks you can expect to hear at The Music of Sting + The Police!
- Ostensibly sung from the point of view of an island castaway, Message in a Bottle, according to Sting, is a song about “alienation and loneliness, and yet the realization that all of us are in this situation.” The song was the first of five number one U.K. hit singles for The Police.
- Sting credited his then toddler son for coining the phrase De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, the title (and chorus) of The Police’s 1980 hit (its first top ten single in the U.S.). However, he dismissed the notion that the track was mere baby talk, telling Rolling Stone magazine, “I was trying to make an intellectual point about how the simple can be so powerful.”
- Considered by many to be The Police’s signature song, Every Breath You Take, from the band’s fifth and final album, Synchronicity, was a massive hit, simultaneously charting at number one in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. In America, it became the best-selling single of 1983 and the fifth best-selling single of the entire decade.
- If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, the first single from Sting’s solo debut, Dream of the Blue Turtles, signalled a turn into much jazzier territory for the former Policeman. It also marked the beginning of frequent collaborations with esteemed saxophonist Branford Marsalis.
- Sting’s Fields of Gold was inspired by the acres of barley which surrounded his English estate. “In the summer it's fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface, like waves on an ocean of gold,” he said.
Ready to hear even more? Get your tickets now.