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Vancouver was the first night of a five-month tour
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Reunited rock group The Police began a five-month world tour in front of 20,000 fans in Vancouver on Monday, 21 years after their last major concert.
Singer Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers drifted apart in the mid-1980s but have been rehearsing together since March.
"I'd like to introduce the band. Andy, this is Stewart," Sting joked to the crowd, including actress Penelope Cruz.
They arrive in the UK on 4 September, playing in Birmingham.
The release of a 30-track greatest hits album - available globally in the week of 11 June - has also been confirmed.
Many of those classic singles - including Message in a Bottle, Roxanne and Spirits In The Material World - were aired at Monday's concert.
Fresh sounds
They were greeted with thunderous applause by the 20,000 fans who attended the gig in Vancouver's GM Place.
The stage was left simple and uncluttered, perhaps to counterpoint the complexity of the band's songs.
Earlier Summers had promised fans that a lot of consideration had gone into ensuring that their live sets would sound fresh.
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We play nicely for two or three days, and then we start to get on each others' nerves
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"We've got all these famous songs, but we look at them like new pieces of material," he told the Vancouver Sun.
"To a point, we've reworked them, but obviously all the famous riffs are still there - you can't play Every Breath You Take without me playing that guitar, obviously.
"We constantly fiddle with them, but because they're alive, they're living, they're not dead. We spent the last two months rearranging and fiddling around until we felt it was good."
He also predicted "some intensity in the songs that may transcend the original recorded versions".
Meanwhile Copeland has revealed that there was still tension between the band members at times, with their strong personalities leading to arguments as they developed their musical ideas.
"We play nicely for two or three days, and then we start to get on each others' nerves," he told Reuters.
Are you looking forward to The Police's world tour?
Yes - every little thing they do is magic  66.70%
No - de do do don't care  33.30%
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion
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"Then we have a screaming match, and then we hug and kiss, and then we play even better."
The group never officially split up in the 1980s but huge creative tensions meant that relations were difficult between the trio for many years.
"It's not the most comfortable place in the world being in The Police," Copeland conceded.
"It's a bed of roses, all right - including the thorns."
The world tour, which runs until 2008, will touch down in North America, Europe, Latin America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The string of concerts unofficially kicked off the night before when the band played a dress rehearsal for about 4,000 members of its fan club.
A selection of your reviews of the Police's comeback concert:
I was at the show in Vancouver and will be there again on Wednesday evening. I had last seen the band in Leeds on the 1983 Synchronicity Tour. The concert was simply stunning - hit after hit after hit, and the 20,000 audience loved every minute of it. Several songs such as Don't Stand So Close To Me and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic had been reworked, and some songs such as Truth Hits Everybody and Walking In Your Footsteps were surprise inclusions but the crowd loved them.
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I sang my voice away on Sunday, had to lip-sync along on Monday,
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As for the reception that the band received at the end of the evening - well, the noise and applause was simply deafening. If you haven't got a ticket yet for one of the UK shows this autumn, make sure you get one quickly!
David Dunn, Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom
A friend and I drove to Vancouver for this concert, and it was fantastic! It's as if the group never broke up. Well worth the trip.
Bec, Seattle, USA
I was at both shows - the fan club Sunday, and Monday night. They were definitely tighter on Monday, but it was great to see them making adjustments to things at the rehearsal. They would sometimes re-play a section of a song slightly differently - another key or more emphasis on a particular instrument. My personal favourite has always been Stewart Copeland - that guy works his butt off behind the drum kit.
How good was it? Well, I sang my voice away on Sunday, had to lip-sync along on Monday, and today at work everyone thinks I've got a raging cold & lost my voice (grin).
Denise, Vancouver, Canada, formerly Nottingham
The show at GM place last night was filled with the all the old favouites which The Police performed with enthusiasism and vigour, the whole band was in fine form.
Stewart, while an excellent drummer, made some incomprehensible scream at the end of the performace which was perhaps an ode to his incomprehensible style of dress - mixing a bicycle shirt with a headband and white gloves.
As a lukewarm-at-best Police fan I found the concert enjoyable and worth the money as a once in a lifetime event.
Derek Andrew, Vancouver, Canada
What an amazing show!!! Stewart Copeland is legendary; Sting is the epitome of cool; and Andy Summers was great. I feel very lucky to have been at such a wonderful event.
Gavy, Vancouver, BC
From the moment the lights dimmed, the audience was on its feet and didn't sit down - a rare event in Vancouver. Absolutely one of the best concerts I've attended in recent years. The were tight as a band and seemed to really enjoy being on the stage together. For that venue, the sound was quite good. Worth every dollar I spent on the ticket.
Joanne Shadbolt, Vancouver, Canada
I was at the dress rehearsal on Sunday, a day before the tour kicked off. It was incredible to see such an influential band take the stage after more than two decades and walk you through their back catalogue. In fact, it was a privilege to be there.
Yes, many songs have been re-arranged and some of the crowd will say that's not what they paid for. Well, if you want to listen to a Police CD, stay at home. If you want The Police Redux, check out the gigs.
You won't be disappointed.
Brian, Vancouver, Canada
I was there. They were rubbish.
Candian Pete, Vancouver,Canada
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Amazing energy from a bunch of guys whose songs have stood the test of time
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Great concert, they all seemed to enjoy themselves, even Andy Summers cracked a smile and danced a jig towards the end.
Andrew, Vancouver BC, Canada
I had the opportunity to sit very close to the stage and really enjoyed the incredible energy that they still had! The concert was excellent! Much of the crowd were on their feet the entire time!
Kam, Vancouver, BC, Canada
I was at the concert last night and it was fantastic. Amazing energy from a bunch of guys whose songs have stood the test of time - they updated some of them; many were in their original format and overall it was one of the best concerts I've been to.
Amanda, Vancouver, but originally from Fareham, England
It was really, really terrible. They're clearly doing it for the money. Time to let it go.
Nathan, London
The concert was amazing. They sounded thousand times time better than they did at the grammys. Lots of energy and great to see them back!!!
Kash, Vancouver, BC originally from New York
Great! Good energy, all the classic songs, a responsive crowd, a worthy length of a setlist, two encores. Despite their age they pulled it off as if they were still in the eighties. Only the sound mixing was a little suspect at times: Andy's guitar should have been clearer - instead Sting's voice was focused on. And Sting can't reach the high notes in the chorus of Roxanne anymore, but neither can I, so I'll let him off.
Chris, Vancouver