Sting loving you!

Annoying! Sharp as if he were still 30, with tons of hits under his arm, Sting, aka Gordon Sumner, arrived yesterday at 10:20 p.m. on the Glenmor stage, accompanied by a general cheer. Delighted to be playing "in the land of Asterix." Yes, he speaks French, too. Annoying.

Physically speaking, being a bassist and lead singer isn't for everyone. Physically, being over sixty and wearing tight-fitting T-shirts can quickly become embarrassing. Artistically, holding a show for an hour and a half without performing a song unknown to the 53,000 spectators present, except perhaps to a handful of distracted ones, isn't within everyone's reach. Usually. Except when your name is Gordon in town and Sting on stage. Of course, to reassure us, we'll point out, for the record, that the former Police frontman's hair is starting to thin. It would be a shame if he weren't even spared the alopecia of ordinary mortals. First up: 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You', followed by 'Everything She Does Is Magic'. Magical, that's the word. And then? Come on, while we're at it, a little 'Englishman in New York'. Just to confirm. Wo-hoo-haaa.

And it goes on like this, for 90 minutes. When a track of the calibre of 'Demolition Man' seems like a secondary track, sorry, but it sorts the guy out a bit. A glittery Sting, we tell you! On stage, nothing but bottles of orange juice. The man is also a fan of soy, they say, and ginger juice. We better understand the guy's health. We'll get started tomorrow, I promise. Well, Tuesday. Maybe. In the meantime, let's savour it. Honestly: how many people, in twenty years of Charrues, have delivered a concert of this richness, of this quality? 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da', 'King of Pain'... The best-of continues to roll out... From one end of the concert to the other, only hits, standards, pure gold! So why wait for the encore to belt out 'Roxanne'? The guy isn't mean-spirited. Generous even, also savouring the pleasure of a precious moment. A truly general feeling. He will get what he deserves: a huge, sincere ovation. Grand!

(c) Le Télégramme by Pierre Chapin et Patrice Le Berre