Police Deranged for Orchestra June 23
The Police's iconic drummer/founder and renowned cinema, opera, and orchestral composer Stewart Copeland continues his creative career with Police Deranged for Orchestra, a new album that will be available on June 23 (Shelter/BMG). On this upcoming release, Copeland takes a fresh look at the band's most well-known songs, drawing on his lifelong explorations with various musical styles and instrumentation.
Stewart Copeland: The Police Deranged for Orchestra, his most recent creation, was first released in 2021 and focuses on the meteoric rise of Copeland's career. Concerts of the project featured hand-selected highlights from Copeland's works as well as The Police's biggest singles, including "Roxanne," "Don't Stand Too Close To Me," and "Message in a Bottle," arranged for a full symphony orchestra. Through the summer, the project will continue its sold-out tour of the US and Europe.
The resulting album features vocalists Amy Keys, Carmel Helene, and Ashley Támar as well as bassist Armand Sabal Lecco (Paul Simon), guitarist Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney), and new arrangements of classic Police songs for a full orchestra. Copeland coordinated, orchestrated, and co-produced the drums and percussion, as well. Edwin Outwater conducted and co-produced the music, and Craig Stuart Garfinkle produced and mixed the record.
Today's Police Deranged for Orchestra premiere features a brand-new arrangement of the Grammy-winning song "Every Breath You Take," which won Record of the Year. Hear their version of "Every Breath You Take" here.
Copeland states that The Police's music's "derangement" started as a soundtrack for a film he made using Super8 video of the group that he had captured during their ascent to fame. He states,
“Film puts capricious demands on music, so I had to carve up the songs to serve the scenes in the movie, and once the scalpel was out, a whole new frenzy of inspiration from Police music began.”
Also this year, Rocket 88 Books will issue Stewart Copeland's Police Diaries in the fall. The book is based on and contains entries from Copeland's own pocket diaries from 1976 to 1979. Its pages are illustrated with vintage and never-before-seen images from the early "starving years" of a band destined for international triumph, along with scans of the original pages and Copeland's fresh background commentary. Find out more about Police Diaries here.
Of interest to vinyl lovers is an upcoming Record Store Day reissue of Stewart's 1980 solo album under the pseudonym, Klark Kent on which he played every instrument and sang vocals. BMG plans to reissue the cult album - Klark Kent - on April 14 (Record Store Day). The album is acknowledged with inspiring Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters.
Deranged Police for Orchestra together with the core six-member band/vocal group, the live tour includes performances by locally based symphony orchestras on both domestic and international dates. The tour, which is currently in progress, will shortly release more dates. For the most recent details, click here. Tour dates are below.
POLICE DERANGED TRACKLIST
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
King of Pain
Demolition Man
Murder by Numbers
Roxanne
Tea in the Sahara
Can’t Stand Losing You / Regatta de Blanc
Every Breath You Take
POLICE DERANGED WITH ORCHESTRA LIVE
April 28: London, England – London Coliseum
May 19: Waukegan, IL – Genesee Theatre
July 12: Udine, Italy – Piazzale del Castello
July 14: Umbria, Italy – Umbria Jazz Festival, Arena S. Guilana
July 16: Trento, Italy – Parco dei Tre Castagni
July 24: Gardone Riviera, Italy – Vittoriale
July 25: Florence, Italy – Piazza S. Annunziata
July 27: Taormina (Sicily), Italy – Teatro Antico