Sting to play here next May

SINGAPORE'S "live" concert calendar just got busier with Thursday's announcement of Sting's return to the city next year. The iconic English rocker, who was the frontman of seminal punk-pop band The Police, will play the Singapore Indoor Stadium next May.

Sting last performed here in 2012 and the upcoming show is in support of his latest album, 57th & 9th. The title refers to the intersection in Manhattan which he would cross every day to reach the Hell's Kitchen studio where the record was made in.

The album was released in November to critical acclaim and the 10-song collection finds the musician returning to his rock-pop roots for the first time in 13 years as he ditches the pan flute and other traditional instruments to strap on his signature bass guitar once again.

It was recorded over the span of three months, and as he told USA Today: "Artificially reintroducing that pressure gave the album a kind of urgency it won't have had otherwise."

Sting will be joined by a three-piece band including his long-time guitarist Dominic Miller, plus Josh Freese (drums) and Rufus Miller (guitar). The group recently played an intimate show in Paris at the Bataclan last month to mark the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack at the site, as well as to officially re-open it.

The upcoming Singapore gig will feature Sting's son, Joe Sumner, as a special guest.