The Police News

(11/12/02, 5 p.m. ET) -- Reports of a Police reunion for a concert honoring former South African President Nelson Mandela are incorrect.

Following last week's announcement that the Police have been named to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, stories surfaced that the band had been asked to convene for a show in tribute to Mandela. However, LAUNCH has learned that this isn't a new request--singer-bassist Sting was contacted earlier this year regarding the prospects of reuniting for the event with guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, but at that time he told the organizers that he would be unable to play due to scheduling concerns, as he's writing and recording music for a new studio album.

Adding to the coverage about the show was Copeland's tongue-in-cheek comment at a weekend press conference in Milan, Italy, that he and Summers would recruit another politically-active frontman if Sting declined--U2's Bono.

Mandela spent decades in South African jails as a political prisoner for his work against the country's system of apartheid, which kept a white minority in power at the expense of the black majority's basic human rights. He was freed on February 11, 1990, and went on to become South Africa's first democratically elected leader.

While there won't be a reunion for Mandela, the Police likely will take the stage on March 10 at the Rock Hall induction ceremony. Both Summers and Copeland have told LAUNCH they expect to perform at the event, and Sting released a statement saying, "I've been to one of the induction ceremonies and it was great fun, (and) I'm really looking forward to the evening."

Sting's manager, Kathy Schenker, told The New York Times, "It's a definite possibility. If Sting can get out of the studio and there's time to rehearse and the equipment is right, I'm sure he'll do it."

-- Bruce Simon, New York

For more news at LAUNCH, click here.

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to launchnews@yahoo.com.