Live Report: Sting – eventim Apollo, London...

Sting and Hammersmith go a long way back, the critically-acclaimed singer used to play gigs at local venues like the Red Cow with his band The Police and last night marked his rousing return to the Eventim Apollo since 2017.

This was a masterclass in performance, passion and storytelling from Sting who at 74 years old, has the energy and physique of a man half his age. With a commanding, almost hypnotic like presence coupled with a serenity of a Buddhist monk, he along with his exceptionally talented bandmates guitarist Dominic Miller and Chris Maas on drums, created an impressive and intoxicating wall of sound as the Sting 3.0 tour roared into Hammersmith.

The number three has always had significance, it’s the innate expression of nature and is often associated with harmony, wisdom and understanding, something that Sting’s songwriting has always incorporated. The set list incorporated an abundance of songs from The Police with the trio kicking off proceedings with the brilliant ‘Message in a Bottle’ from ‘Reggatta de Blanc’ had the crowd on their feet within the first note, followed by his bluesy latest track ‘I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)’ and an impassioned rendition of ‘If I Ever Lose My Faith in You’.

From the assured elegance of ‘Englishman in New York’ to the ever-emotive ‘Fields of Gold’, Sting’s solo classics are the epitome of power and grace and sit alongside the more high octane Police tracks like ‘So Lonely’ effortlessly.

The show and set was stripped back and intimate, with the music taking centre stage. Sting (and The Police’s) expertly crafted reggae influenced pop-rock songs are timeless, much like the man himself. Sting and the band delivered a spellbinding rendition of ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ which had the sold-out crowd dancing in the aisles of the Eventim Apollo.

Clearly in a reflective mood, Sting regaled the enraptured audience with a tale of when he played the Apollo in 1979 then travelled by what he described as a tank to the Palais and how he used to live in London before he moved to the countryside to a ‘little cottage’ that was ‘more of a castle really!’ that was surrounded by barley fields that inspired him to write the beautiful ‘Fields of Gold’ which he delivered as magnificently and movingly as ever.

With ‘Shape Of My Heart’ and ‘A Thousand Years’, Sting and his band were mesmerising and held the crowds attention with their stirring yet dynamic performances and elevated the energy on tracks like ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’ and ‘King of Pain’ from ‘Synchronicity’.

‘Desert Rose’ was a surprise addition, but was entirely compelling, and the closing encore track ‘Fragile’ was a lovely way to end Sting’s career-spanning show. As a huge fan of The Police, it was almost an emotional and spiritual experience to watch Sting perform tracks like ‘Walking On The Moon’, a vigorous version of ‘Roxanne’ which was tremendous and of course, a haunting and hypnotic version of ‘Every Breath You Take’ which was immediate and visceral.

From start to finish, this was a meticulous masterclass in performance from the power-trio lineup which was the perfect showcase of timeless classics from his illustrious songbook.

(c) Clash magazine by Emma Harrison