During the Police’s long reunion tour that will finish up on Thursday, they didn’t exactly resolve conflicts that almost 25 years ago blew up one of the most successful groups in rock music history.

The band members at least appear to understand the conflicts better.

Andy Summers, group guitarist said, people don’t ever really change. We are still those same three jerks that we always were. I am actually very proud of how long it has gone on.

Initially the Police had planned on ending the tour of their 30 year reunion a year ago at Giants Stadium, which would have brought their career full circle to where their first show in the U.S. was at the grungy CBGB night club in New York City. Everything was going so well, professionally as well as personally that they continued to add legs to the tour. The reunion tour once it ends will wind up being one of the all time five largest money making tours all time in rock music history.

However, the idea of a full circle stuck. The final tour show, the 96th, will be at Madison Square Garden in New York City to benefit two of the local PBS stations.

Summers said, at the most simplest of levels it has been very satisfying seeing the fans faces who grew up listening to the songs of the Police such as “Roxanne,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.”

I am right in front onstage and literally you see people breaking into sobs or kissing each other and jumping around to express joy, Summers said. In many ways this has been very emotional.

Copeland vs. Sting

There are some things that never change. Andy Summer got suck right in the middle of two kids who were scrapping on each side of him, the headstrong composer and singer Sting and the volatile Stewart Copeland, drummer and the band’s anchor of their mix of jazz, reggae and punk rock sound.

Copeland is an extremely visceral musician who see music being an exercise of spontaneous joy and also enjoys the creative process. Although Copeland sees Sting as very much the musical genius, he also sees hims as one who is very sure about his ideas and set in his ways and not too interested in collaborating. Copeland has spent the last several years composing music for film and hiring musicians to exactly play notes as he wrote them and can now understand why he has driven Sting nuts.

Copeland said, when he exercised the right of his to have things they way that he imagined them, there is a problem for him as well as me. I just can’t seem to do that. I can’t remember things that way. I have all of my own ideas. I am incorrigible.

When Copeland, who is now 56, was 25 years old he didn’t understand all of this.

After the band’s break up in 1984, Sting, Summers and Copeland would socialize occasionally, however not to an extent where they could clear up misconceptions they had about each other. Copeland said, for us it was really good figuring out what made our band work as well as what didn’t work. Then we were able to appreciate each other better and not confusing it with other issues.

Copeland said it was inspiring working with Sting, but that sometimes he needed to breathe.

He added that he didn’t want the conflicts to get overemphasized because they had been having a great time while out on the road.

Another hint of Copeland’s personality was given when he completely trashed their performance on his blog after their first few gigs. He wrote we’re the almighty Police now totally out to sea.

According to Copeland the best shows came on the tour’s last leg. As we get into it more and are less uptight about having to live the legend, it’s becoming more like the stuff that actually got us here.

When asked if was really the end, Copeland replied yes. That commitment from the very beginning was what made it possible. The commitment was finite. It’s actually made things lots of fun.

When Summers asked if it really was the end he replied yes, but…

It may be because he has seen bands such as the Eagles, who now are a fully functioning touring and recording unit once again after saying that hell would have to freeze over before reuniting.

Summers said, I am fully prepared for saying yes that was it. We are fine. We are done. Then again, I am also fully prepared that if someone were to come back in a few years and say we should give it one more go, that you’d have to consider that.

With bands such as the Eagles and many others everyone kind of matures and then realizes what a fantastic business this is, and all of the impetuosity from being very young when walking away from something very successful, well you kind of do get over that.

Summers said that he didn’t expect that to happen with the Police, but there was the model out there for him.