On April Fools' Day, Sting walked onstage at San Jose State University's Event Center in California and kicked off his Broken Music Tour by performing the Police classic "Message in a Bottle." In the next eighty minutes, he and his stripped-down backing trio shocked the crowd by dusting off eleven Police songs, including deep cuts like "Demolition Man" and "Invisible Sun," which Sting hasn't performed since he was in the band.

It wasn't an April Fools' joke aimed at music fans desperate for a Police reunion -- on each night of this twenty-eight-date tour, which mostly hits college campuses, Sting devotes roughly half of his set to the Police, the trio that broke up in 1984 when Sting went solo.

"It's fun to revisit the past, as long as you don't go back permanently," he says during a day off in New York. "I'd actually forgotten about some of those songs, but I'm very proud of them."

Regarding his decision to play campuses, he adds, "I thought it was an interesting idea, to play to general-admission houses and a younger demographic. It's been exciting -- it's brought out a side of me that's been buried for a while."

Sting -- who once taught English at St. Paul's First School in Newcastle, England -- has also paid surprise visits to classrooms. "I haven't stood in front of a blackboard in thirty-odd years," he says with a laugh. "If you're in my position and you're stuck in the spotlight, and all you see is a dark room with a lot of cheering, it's kind of alienating, ultimately. By being in a classroom with thirty composition students in broad daylight, you feel very vulnerable. I find it fulfilling."

In addition to the Police songs, the band throws in a cover of the Beatles classic "A Day in the Life." "People think that the Beatles broke up after that song because they couldn't play it live," he says. "So we get a lot of satisfaction showing that they could have, if they'd tried."

Is he surprised about the rave reviews on this tour? "No," he says, laughing. "I think they're right."

Sting tour dates:

5/5: Boston, Agganis Arena
5/6: Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun
5/7: Manchester, NH, Verizon Wireless Arena
5/10: Portland, ME, Cumberland County Civic Center
5/11: Providence, RI, Dunkin' Donuts Center
5/13: Wantagh, NY, Jones Beach
5/14: New York, Irving Plaza