It's true, the Police are going out with a bit of philanthropy: The band added an extra and final show in New York City to raise money for Public Television. As The New York Times reports, the suggestion, broached by the band, arrived just as PBS was looking for ways to draw-in baby boomers. Synchronicity. And, really, this seems about as good a way as any to attract that valued age bracket unless -- hint, hint -- Public TV somehow got Eagles involved. For now, though, it's Sting, Andy, and Stewart stumping, fittingly, for Antiques Roadshow:
So on June 14 the corporation will kick off a special one-day pledge drive, including interviews with Sting, the group's frontman, and archival footage of the band in concert. But instead of tote bags, umbrellas or CDs and DVDs as gifts in exchange for donations, viewers will have the chance to get tickets to the band's finale, on Aug. 7 at Madison Square Garden.
A $5,000 donation will get the V.I.P. treatment -- dinner, a party, attendance at a sound check -- while $150 will secure a pair of tickets...
..."Our business manager and I were talking about the final show one day and how we could make it special," said Kathryn Schenker, Sting's longtime manager. "We talked about the environment, and then I think somehow, at that moment, public broadcasting came up."
Having been reared in England and grown up with the BBC, Sting and the band's guitarist, Andy Summers, both had an affinity for, in Ms. Schenker's words, "television that is untainted by commercialism."
"Sting doesn't watch much television, but when he sees BBC programs on public television he feels right at home," she said...
The last show was supposed to be Aug. 5 at Jones Beach on Long Island. "That seemed like it would be anticlimactic," Ms. Schenker said. "We felt it was important to do something significant for one last show."
For public television, the result of the discussions with the Police is a soon-to-be-unveiled marketing plan named Public Television Rocks, the centerpiece of which is the partnership with the group. Other events focused on classic rock and aimed at keeping the 50-year-olds tuning in are being planned, Mr. Shapiro said...
That's the crux, but you can read more at the NY Times. And, for all my Antiques joking, it's cool of them to go out like this.
