The Police | Bryan Adams | Australian Crawl | Sunnyboys | Kids in the Kitchen
I went to this gig with my mate Jimmy. The venue was the Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale, a sprawling outdoor space that was perfect for a massive concert like this one. The lineup was stacked: Kids in the Kitchen, Sunnyboys, Australian Crawl, Bryan Adams, and finally, The Police.
To be honest, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the early acts at the time. Kids in the Kitchen and Sunnyboys were both doing their thing, Australian Crawl had the crowd fired up, but I remember being almost annoyed when Bryan Adams appeared on the bill. Back then he was completely unknown to me, and I thought, “Who’s this guy?” By the end of his set, though, I had to admit he was good — tight band, great voice, and plenty of presence.
And then The Police came on.
This was peak Synchronicity era, and they were massive. They sounded incredible — sharp, powerful, and totally in sync. Sting’s voice, Stewart Copeland’s drumming, Andy Summers’ guitar… everything felt perfectly balanced. Looking back, it’s wild to think this ended up being the last full concert they played before splitting.
The setlist was one for the ages:
The Police — Synchronicity World Tour Setlist
- Voices Inside My Head
- Synchronicity I
- Synchronicity II
- Walking in Your Footsteps
- Message in a Bottle
- Walking on the Moon
- O My God
- De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
- Wrapped Around Your Finger
- Tea in the Sahara
- Hole in My Life
- Spirits in the Material World
- Invisible Sun
- One World (Not Three)
- King of Pain
- Don’t Stand So Close to Me
- Every Breath You Take
- Murder by Numbers
- Roxanne
- Can’t Stand Losing You / Reggatta de Blanc
- So Lonely
I don’t remember every detail of the day — it was 1984, after all — but what I do remember is the sheer scale of it. All those bands, the massive crowd, and The Police at the absolute height of their powers. One of those “you had to be there” kind of nights.
