The Police for this weekend’s Brunch – recorded during the Mont de Marsan Festival on August 5, 1977.
Probably the first recording of a public performance by the newly formed Police, recorded during the Mont de Marsan Festival in France on August 5, 1977.
For people who listen to later incarnations of The Police, when they had already established themselves as proven hit-makers with a long and instantly recognizable list of hits, establishing them as one of the premier bands of the New Wave, many wonder why there associated with the Punk movement of the mid-1970s, you just have to listen to this performance to get an idea of what the initial buzz was all about. And listening to this gig makes perfect sense.
This is a really rough recording – it is, without any doubt, a soundboard tape made by engineers at the festival ,and the sheer energy the band projected brought with it a heavy curtain of distortion which only reeked havoc to the mixers trying to keep a lid on things and not blowing amps out. Further evidence early Punk recordings were endurance tests, but also prove that the period was explosive and The Police were smack in the middle of it.
The Police had only formed a few months earlier and at the time of this appearance the lead guitarist was Henry Padovani – the personnel hadn’t been fleshed out yet and the rawness of this new group probably added to the intensity or this performance.
In any event, this is an important document, giving ample proof of how some things evolve. There are numbers which didn’t become official releases and this tape opens with a demo before jumping into the concert.
It’s part of what history is about – even Pop Culture. Hearing how things got started and how they wound up – going back, listening and finding those missing pieces of the puzzle that complete the picture.
Press Play and jump in.
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