Copeland wants Police to break rules at Bonnaroo

NEW YORK (Billboard) - He may not be able to convince his bandmates, but Police drummer

Stewart Copeland wants "the rules to be completely different" for the reunited trio at its upcoming Bonnaroo performance, including possible guest appearances from other artists.

The group's first reunion show is Sunday (May 27) in Vancouver; it will headline Bonnaroo on June 16 in Manchester, Tenn.

"When the stakes are really high, we always come out of the box swinging," Copeland said of high-profile gigs like Bonnaroo during a conference call with journalists on Tuesday. "Sting and (guitarist) Andy (Summers) are two guys who just don't back down. The bigger the prize, the harder they fight."

That said, Copeland is trying to help Sting and Summers understand that the hardcore Police fans will be coming to more than one show on the reunion tour, and, as such, will be expecting the set list to change regularly.

"We've got a fairly rehearsed set," he said. "(But) those people who bought most of the tickets for most of the shows are not normal people. They're like the people who bought all the Oysterhead tickets because of Trey (Anastasio). Those type of people, I think, buy more than one show. I'm trying to get that through to my buddies so that we change it up a little bit."

Copeland admits that it will take him awhile to get used to playing in front of such large crowds. "The kinetic ritual of it is really startling," he said. "If you're at the focal point of all that return energy, that kind of makes your heart pump a little faster. It takes about two hours after the show for your heart rate to return to normal. I have to stand under a cold shower for 20 minutes before returning to a normal humanity."

Reuters/Billboard