In support of their iconic 1983 album 'Synchronicity', the Police finally embraced the bombast of arena rock, expanding their lineup with backing vocalists, hiring a designer to provide their stage outfits and utilizing intricate lighting schemes.
For years, the only available visual document of this tour was the aptly named home video 'Synchronicity Concert', taped in November 1983 in Atlanta. But with its Sept. 5 U.K. re-release via Universal, fans will be treated to the first DVD of the project, comprising a host of previously unreleased features. A North American release date for the DVD has not yet been finalized but is expected to follow shortly on the heels of the U.K. edition.
The DVD will boast remixed 5.1 Surround Sound, multi-angle performances of 'Synchronicity II', 'Roxanne', 'Invisible Sun' and 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' from the Atlanta show and a rare 1984 band interview taped in Melbourne.
Early on the 1983 tour, the Police taped performances in Montreal with an eye on releasing them as a home video. "However, the band was ambivalent in its reaction to the Montreal shows, and wanted to have other versions of various songs done with in front of a large stadium audience," the video's original executive producer, Derek Power tells Billboard.com.
"At their own expense they re-shot it in Atlanta," he continues. "The Atlanta recording and filming was done on an expanded and more lavish basis than the Montreal shoot, with the band [in] top form and much happier with [its] performances there."
Although the Police were nearing the end of the line, Power recalls Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland were getting along "fine, with no obvious clashes, although there were the accumulated tensions that had come with touring and filming. Always a demanding, fatiguing and occasionally painful process."
Review from Billboard by Greg Prato