The Police - 1979-09-29 - New York (FM)

The Police
1979-09-29
Hotel Diplomat
New York, NY
WPIX-FM broadcast
320 kbps
Artwork Included

01. DJ Introduction
02. So Lonely
03. Truth Hurts Everybody
04. Walking On The Moon
05. Hole In My Life
06. Bring On The Night
07. Fallout
08. Message In A Bottle
09. The Bed's Too Big Without You
10. Peanuts
11. Roxanne
12. Can't Stand Losing You
13. Landlord
14. Born In The Fifties
15. Be My Girl
16. DJ Comments

The Police - 1979-09-29 - New York (FM)

As mentioned in our Sting post earlier this month, The Police entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with AC/DC, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Clash and the Righteous Brothers. Gwen Stefani made the induction speech. The trio put aside any disagreements, playing a blistering version of Roxanne. A few years later, they would reunite for a world tour!

Our post commemorating the Police's induction into the Hall of Fame goes back to band's begiinings. In 1978, at a time when other rock stations in New York were sticking with traditional AOR formats (WPLJ-FM and WNEW-FM), WPIX-FM staked out a groundbreaking format. The station focused on new wave and punk but also included classic rock as well, hence its advertising slogan: "From Elvis to Elvis." WPIX was among the first in the country to play early records by Squeeze, Nick Lowe, The Clash, The Cars, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Tom Verlaine and The Police, just to name just a few. The station was even featured in lyrics from the Squeeze song, I Think I'm Go Go, in the line “liquor store and rodeos, P I X and rock and roll.” The station also featured exclusive concerts from these emerging new wave and punk artists, such as this FM broadcast of The Police from September 29, 1979, 3 dozen years ago today, from the Hotel Diplomat in New York. Soon afterward, however, the station changed format, ironically becoming yet another AOR rock station, in an effort to improve ratings and make the station more mass market friendly. Download this one, therefore to capture one last moment from WPIX-FM’s revolutionary approach to radio.