Description
This classic concert and documentary from the BBC Archives are featured here in very good quality not from VHS sources but from digital sources and presented in the original correct 4:3 visual format ratio. Probably the best quality will see if either one of these segments a real gem for a serious police fan.
1. BBC’s Rock Goes to College The Police Air Date 24th of February 1979: This series ran between 1978 and 1981 on BBC 2. A variety of up-coming rock oriented bands were showcased live from small venues and broadcast simultaneously on television and radio. The concert is famous for including The Police’s first ever live performance of future number one hit Message in a Bottle.
Message in a Bottle had yet to be released, but the group unleashed their new song in front of the BBC cameras in Hatfield. The crowd cheered loudly as The Police finished Truth Hits Everybody, with Sting pausing before introducing the band’s new track. “This is a tune, it’s the first time that it’s even been played in public,” he said. “This is a sort of baptism… This is called, ‘I Hope That Someone Gets My Message in a Bottle’.”
Other songs in The Police’s 1979 set list at Hatfield Poly include Roxanne, So Lonely and Can’t Stand Losing You. Sting even adapts the lyrics to sing “I feel So Lonely… here at Hatfield Polytechnic”. Message in a Bottle would later that year hit number one in the UK charts for three weeks – their first of five chart-topping singles – but the audience at Hatfield Poly got to hear it live first.
Hatfield Polytechnic (that is now University of Hertfordshire de Havilland Campus), 21 February 1979
Can’t Stand Losing You
So Lonely
Fall Out
Hole in My Life
Truth Hits Everybody
Message in a Bottle (first live performance and not released as a single)
Peanuts
Roxanne
Next to You
Running Time: 40 Minutes
2. BBC Old Grey Whistle Test “Police In The East” Documentary” Original Air Date 10/10/80: Documentary-style film of The Police’s tour of Japan, Hong Kong, India, Egypt and Greece in 1980. Anne Nightingale accompanies the band and interviews its members during the tour. Includes concert footage and behind-the-scenes sequences of the band. Police – All I want is to be next to you Police – Bring on the night Police – Message in a bottle Police – Walking on the moon Police – So lonely Police – Visions of the night Police – Can’t stand losing you Police – Roxanne Police – Truth hits everybody Police – Driven to tears Police – Born in the fifties. It’s interesting to know that many clips from this documentary would be later used in various documentaries including VH1’s Behind The Music on the police.
Running Time: 52 Minutes
Total Running Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
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