The Police at Hatfield Polytechnic on Rock Goes to College

Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland played the Hatfield Polytechnic - now the University of Hertfordshire - back in 1979 as part of music programme Rock Goes To College.

Recorded on February 21, 1979, TV viewers can relive that memorial gig on BBC Four on Friday, February 3 at 9pm.

The concert is famous for including The Police's first ever live performance of future number one hit Message in a Bottle.

The track had been written for the trio’s upcoming second album, Reggatta de Blanc.

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• The Police and their Hatfield debut of number one hit Message in a Bottle

Message in a Bottle had yet to be released, but the group unleashed their new song in front of the BBC cameras in Hatfield.

The crowd cheered loudly as The Police finished Truth Hits Everybody, with Sting pausing before introducing the band’s new track.

“This is a tune, it’s the first time that it’s even been played in public,” he said.

“This is a sort of baptism... This is called, ‘I Hope That Someone Gets My Message in a Bottle’.”

Other songs in The Police's 1979 set list at Hatfield Poly include Roxanne, So Lonely and Can't Stand Losing You.

Sting even adapts the lyrics to sing "I feel So Lonely... here at Hatfield Polytechnic". 

Message in a Bottle would later that year hit number one in the UK charts for three weeks – their first of five chart-topping singles – but the audience at Hatfield Poly got to hear it live first.