Review: Sting, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, 25 June, 2023

A MERE 46 years after last performing in the town, Sting, one of the world’s most successful recording artists, arrived in Scarborough on Sunday evening to perform a sell-out show at the North Bay’s Open Air Theatre.

Back in 1977, when punk rock reigned, The Police performed at the Penthouse, a long closed but infamous club located above a high street bank in the town centre.

Much has happened since that September evening. Of course, The Police weren’t punks - all the members were experienced musicians – but the do-it-yourself attitude of the genre, coupled with hard gigging and Sting’s songwriting brought them success that saw them selling out baseball arenas less than six years later.

The singer’s My Songs tour has garnered rave reviews as it has travelled around the world - including a residency in Las Vegas - and in Scarborough it was easy to see why.

The songs, the stagecraft and the musicianship on display meant a polished performance was never in doubt, and not even a pre-show torrential downpour could dampen the audience’s spirits despite most having to endure soaking wet clothes for a couple of hours.

Sting played his classics at Scarborough gig

Opening number Message In A Bottle got the show off to a great start, the instantly recognisable guitar riff note perfectly played by the singer’s long-time guitarist Dominic Miller. Two further classic tunes followed, Englishman In New York and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic both of which had the crowd excitedly singing along.

Sting, the fittest looking septuagenarian I’ve probably ever seen, smiled broadly as he commanded the stage throughout aided by the mobility provided by his headset microphone.

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It is 30 years since Sting’s album Ten Summoner’s Tales was released and it contributed extensively with If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Shape Of My Heart, Heavy Cloud, No Rain and the gorgeous ballad Fields Of Gold all included in the set. The latter featured a wonderful melodic nylon string guitar solo by Miller.

The inclusion of All This Time and the rarely played Why Should I Cry For You? from the introspective 1991 album The Soul Cages further delighted the hard core fans in the audience.

The second half of the show consisted mainly of songs from the singer’s days as frontman of The Police, in other words stone-cold classics. The familiar bassline of Walking On The Moon was a joy to hear, especially under the actual waning crescent moon shining through the clouds above the theatre, before it segued straight into a killer version of So Lonely.

A suitably exotic and arabesque version of Desert Rose was another highlight before the singer dipped into the band’s Synchronicity album - now 40 years old - for King of Pain and Every Breath You Take now, incidentally, the most played song in radio history.

Fans enjoyed Sting's gig at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Photos by Dave Lawrence

The band returned for an encore of Roxanne, extended and mashed with Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry and with plenty of audience participation to a wash of brilliant red lighting, and the final number Fragile, with Sting playing guitar.

As he said his farewells, he said: “Thank you Scarborough, please invite us back again.”

Let’s hope that happens because shows of this sheer quality in terms of songs, musicianship, sound and lighting deserve to be in our region regularly.