Strontium 90 is the band formed by former Gong bassist and producer Mike Howlett. The band were formed in early 1977 and played at the Gong reunion concert in Paris France in late May 1977. The band, however, is important due to the fact that the other three members of the band (Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers) would go on to work together in the Police.
The band recorded some live tracks at the Gong Reunion Concert in May 1977 and just prior to that concert, recorded a number of tracks in a studio in London. The resulting album, which was released twenty years later, was titled Police Academy and obviously plays on the fact that the three members of the Police were involved in the band, although at the time of these recordings Strontium 90 was probably considered nothing more than a side project than a long-term venture and at the time of the recordings Andy Summers had yet to join.
Two of the tracks featured on this album would go on to be recorded by the Police: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic and also Visions of The Night. Another song (Three O'clock Shot) also contains references to two further Police songs (Be My Girl-Sally a track on Outlandos d'Amour, and O My God from Synchronicity).
As a historical document of one of the biggest bands of the late seventies and early eighties, this is an important release of immense interest to fans of Sting and more specifically The Police. It also represents the first time that the three main protagonists of the Police recorded together.
The album was first released under the title Police Academy in 1997 some twenty years after the original recordings were made and while the recordings were, as previously stated, considered nothing more than a side project, the subsequent success of the Police means that the project now has an important historical aspect to it.
This re-issue, as stated, will be of interest to fans of both Mike Howlett, who has a fan base through his production work and work with Gong, but more importantly the large and dedicated fan base held by the Police. It also includes two bonus live tracks (New World Blues and Towers Tumble) previously only available on the Japanese release of the album.
