Setlist

01	Message In A Bottle
01	Walking On The Moon
02	Demolition Man
03	Voices Inside My Head
04	When The World Is Running Down
05	Don't Stand So Close To Me
06	Driven To Tears
07	Hole In My Life
08	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
09	Wrapped Around Your Finger
10	De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
11	Invisible Sun
12	Can't Stand Losing You
13	Roxanne
14	King Of Pain
15	So Lonely
16	Every Breath You Take
17	Next To You

Caught live: The Police at Hyde Park...

The Police bade an emotional farewell to their UK fans last night with an arresting finale to London's Hyde Park Calling festival.

Sting and his supergroup - who reformed last year - belted out a long line of their classic hits to more than 35,000 revellers enjoying the summer sunshine.

Alongside Stewart Copeland on drums and Andy Summers on guitar, Sting opened the show by telling the fired-up crowd "It's nice to be back home."

The trio then closed the weekend-long festival, headlined on Saturday by Eric Clapton, with 90 minutes of pure rock nostalgia.

Kicking off with 'Message In A Bottle', they went on to deliver perfect performances of the trademarks that defined a glittering 30-year career.

Iconic tunes like 'Roxanne', 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', 'Walking On The Moon', 'Can't Stand Losing You' and 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' had the whole park on their feet singing along.

And a clearly emotional Sting admitted he'd come a long way during those three decades, working as a school teacher before shooting to stardom.

The show - part of the Ambassadors of Rock tour - also featured The Bangles who began the afternoon with their own trip back to the 80s, treating those who'd arrived early to favourites 'Manic Monday', 'Eternal Flame' and a superb version of 'Walk Like An Egyptian' mixed with Simon and Garfunkel's 'Mrs Robinson'.

They were followed by English rockers 'Starsailor', and the Lancashire lads didn't disappoint with a stonking set including 'Four To The Floor'.

But it was left to Sting and The Police to bring the curtain down on two days of superb music for those who don't own a pair of wellies and couldn't be bothered to make the trip to Somerset for Glastonbury.

A beautiful rendition of 'Every Breath You Take' was a highlight, though Sting surely missed a great opportunity to deliver some of his own material to the loyal crowd.

Sting said earlier this week that it was the end of an era, adding that during the 125-date tour the band had learned how "all of us had advanced from the young men that we were, but also stayed more or less the same."

Well, The Police might be hanging up their instruments, but their music certainly stands the test of time.

He finished yesterday with a simple "Goodnight London".

And those who were lucky enough to join three million other fans on this special farewell tour will have gone home happy having figured in their own piece of musical history - with a concert to savour in the memory for a long time to come.

© The Sun by Jonathan Weinberg

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