The Police - 1983-08-15 - Norfolk, VA (SBD)

The Police

1983-08-15

The Scope

Norfolk, VA
Soundboard Recording    

320 kbps

Artwork Included

 

01. Synchronicity I

02. Synchronicity II

03. Walking in Your Footsteps

04. Message In A Bottle

05. Walking On The Moon

06. Oh My God

07. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

08. Wrapped Around Your Finger

09. Tea In The Sahara

10. Spirits in the Material World

11. Hole In My Life

12. Invisible Sun

13. One World

14. King of Pain

15. Every Breath You Take

16. Murder By Numbers

17. Don't Stand So Close To Me

18. Roxanne

19. Can't Stand Losing You

The Police - 1983-08-15 - Norfolk, VA (SBD)

By 1983, many of the punk/new wave bands from the late 1970s were gaining mainstream acceptance. For example,  Joe Jackson headlined the Rockpalst in June 1983, on the heels of the success of the single, Stepping Out. Also in 1983, U2 released their 3rd album War, which took them from new wave dance phenomenon to politically charged rockers. The disc went to #12 on the charts in the US, and became the band’s first #1 album in the UK. No new wave band, however, climbed as high as The Police. The band had scored a #2 album with Ghost In The Machine in 1981, and the subsequent tour in support of that disc saw them become the first new wavers to headline arenas such as Madison Square Garden.  Then in June 1983, The Police released Synchronicity, The album went to #1 on the Billboard charts, selling 8 million copies.  The disc yielded 4 top 20 singles -  Synchronicity II at #16, Wrapped Around Your Finger at #8, King of Pain at #3 and Every Breath You Take, which like the album, climbed all the way to #1.  When the band toured in 1983/84 in support of Synchronicity, they found they could fill 50,000 seat stadiums such as Shea in New York, the same venue the Beatles had filled some 2 decades prior.  As a result, perhaps the band felt they had no more mountains to climb, as soon after, they would disband, spurred on in part by Sting's decision to release a solo disc. This soundboard recording captures the band on their final tour until the 21st century, on August 15, 1983, 35 years ago today, in Virginia.