News: Stewart Copeland returns to Australia to reimagine The Police with a 28-piece orchestra

Stewart Copeland is heading back to Australia, and this time he’s giving The Police catalogue a full orchestral overhaul. The legendary drummer will tour his Police Deranged For Orchestra production across five Australian cities in August and September 2027, including a performance at the Sydney Opera House.

It’s been almost 20 years since Copeland last performed live in Australia with The Police on their 2007–2008 reunion tour. Now he’s returning with a 28-piece orchestra, a rock trio and three vocalists to rework some of the most recognisable songs in rock history.

‘Roxanne’, ‘Message in a Bottle’, ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’, ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘Walking on the Moon’ are all getting the symphonic treatment, with Copeland’s unmistakable rhythmic style driving the arrangements.

As one-third of The Police alongside Sting and Andy Summers, Copeland helped reshape rock music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, combining punk energy, reggae rhythms and pop songwriting into a sound that dominated charts around the world. Seven Grammy Awards and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction followed.

But Copeland’s career has stretched well beyond the drum kit. Since The Police, he’s built an extensive body of work as a composer, writing for film, television, opera and orchestras. His credits range from Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish to Wall Street, alongside classical commissions for major international orchestras.

That experience sits at the heart of Police Deranged For Orchestra, which sees Copeland dismantle and reconstruct the band’s familiar arrangements for a much larger ensemble. Rather than simply adding strings to the original recordings, the production puts his compositional instincts to work on songs that have already survived decades of radio play.

For the Australian dates, Copeland will collaborate with local orchestras including the Adelaide Symphony, Perth Symphony, Brisbane Symphony, The Met Orchestra and Australian Pops Orchestra. Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams will lead all five performances, with a touring rock band featuring Mike Mills of Toehider and Nick Delaney.

The tour opens at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on August 28 before heading to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. For fans of The Police, it’s a rare chance to hear the band’s catalogue reimagined by one of the musicians who created it.