24-08-1979 / Reading / Pop festival / UK
• Deathwish - Next To You - So Lonely - Truth Hits Everybody - Walking On The Moon - Hole In My Life - Fall Out - Message In A Bottle - The Bed's Too Big Without You - Peanuts - Roxanne - Can't Stand Losing You ** Landlord - Born In The 50's ** Next To You
• Festival line-up: Bite The Pillow, The Jags, Punishment Of Luxury, Punilux, Doll By Doll, The Cure, Wilko Johnson, Motorhead, The Police.
• Attendance: 20,000.
The Police topped the first night of the annual three-day festival.
After Roxanne Sting said: "All I wanna be. Wrong again". Instead of playing Next To You The Police performed Can't Stand Losng You first.
"Yes, you could say The Police left their mark on Reading. It was hard to escape the conclusion that the festival had reached its climax two days too early" (Harry Doherty; Melody Maker; 01-09-1979).
Derek Green, Managing Director of A&M, gave The Police their first gold disc. Stewart: "Mark P [of Sniffin' Glue fanzine] got up, drunk off his ass, and made a vitriolic speech about us, then trod on Sting's young son Joe. I remember that." (Encore - 06-1995).