The Flag

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Revision as of 12:09, 23 November 2008 by DM-Kellie (talk | contribs) (→‎Background)
Stewart Copeland's Flag
The Flag when it was first created in May 2007.
The Flag when it was first created in May 2007. Photo courtesy of DM-Kellie.

The Flag (also known as Stewart's Flag, The Flag of Copelandia, The Traveling Flag of Copelandia, The Little Flag That Could, The Krypton Menace, etc.) is a small green flag with the Stewart Copeland horse logo painted on the front. Originally built by a fan to make it easy to find strangers in a crowd, The Flag became a symbol of support for Stewart Copeland from the forum members of his official website. From 2007-05-27 to 2008-08-07, these fans carried the Flag to 91 concerts and one television appearance of the 2007-2008 Reunion Tour of The Police, collecting fans' signatures on the back along the way.

Thanks to the support and interaction with the Flag of Stewart Copeland himself, the Flag's appearance in the audience at Police concerts became a kind of tradition of the Reunion tour, culminating with the Flag's appearance onstage at the final Police concert at Madison Square Garden.

The Flag now resides in Stewart Copeland's home.

History

Background

The Flag was built in May 2007 by Moeskido and DirtyMartini (a.k.a. User:DM-Kellie) in order to make it easier for DirtyMartini and other forum members of the Stewart Copeland Official Site to find each other in Vancouver, Canada for the opening nights of the 2007-2008 Reunion Tour of The Police. (DM-Kellie)

Made of white acrylic paint and the brightest kelly green cotton broadcloth that could be found at the time, the Flag was built to be easily recognizable by strangers in crowded locations. In addition, as it was meant to be used for only three days, the Flag was built quickly and cheaply with no eye toward durability or aesthetics. The finished flag folded too large to fit into DirtyMartini's purse, so three grommets were punched into the top edge so that the Flag could be carried on the outside of her purse by means of a large metal ring. During construction, DirtyMartini commented to Moeskido how funny it would be to see this flag pop up at Police concerts all over the world. (DM-Kellie)

The flag served its purpose well, first spotted and recognized by samburusunset at the Vancouver International Airport customs booths. Fans GinaSuperCat, Conroy, samburusunset, and DirtyMartini joked that perhaps they should get Stewart to autograph the flag -- or better yet, that they should sign the back of the flag and send it to Stewart as a memento of the beginning of the tour. Bad timing and other priorities, however, kept this idea from becoming reality. (DM-Kellie)

In the meantime DirtyMartini had posted a link to a photograph of the flag in her signature line at SC.net so that anyone traveling to Vancouver could recognize it.[1][2] Forum members Hannaha and Divemistress of the Dark saw this photo and requested instructions on how they might make their own flags to bring to their respective concerts. While discussing how DirtyMartini's one flag might be mailed to others, Hannaha posed the following idea[3]: 

I think we should make a concerted effort to get this flag to circumnavigate the world with Copeland fans.
Signing the back is a great idea too. See how many North American shows we can get it to and then send it
on over to us in europe for the next leg of the tour. Finally, after South America, Japan, Australia et al
it will return, battered and battle-worn, to Ms Martini's eager mitts!

Not only will it make hooking up with sc.netters easier it will also let STEWART know we're there cheering
him on, wherever in the world he may be!

Thus "The Traveling Flag of Copelandia" was born.

"The Traveling Flag of Copelandia"

The Finale at Madison Square Garden

This section needs more information.

Fast Flag Facts

  • Concerts attended: 91
  • Television appearances attended: 1
  • Continents visited: 5
  • Countries visited: 21
  • Cities visited: 66
  • Miles traveled: unknown
  • Flag-Bearers (official): 68
  • Flag-Bearers (unofficial, including assistants and rock stars): 75, plus unknown number in audience at 2008-08-07 finale
  • Flag Mules (total, including Flag-Bearers): x
  • First signature collected: Divemistress of the Dark (2007-06-16)
  • Last signature collected: BABA (2008-08-07)
  • # of signatures collected: unknown
  • Total cost of project: unknown

(DM-Kellie)

Timeline

Notable events in the Flag's history

2007

  • On 2007-05-13 the Flag is born.
  • On 2007-06-16 the Flag is first seen by Stewart Copeland backstage at Bonnaroo. He gives the Flag two thumbs up.[4]
  • On 2007-06-29 the Flag receives its first on-stage acknowledgment from Stewart.
  • On 2007-07-16 the first Flag Point photo is captured.
  • On 2007-07-18 Stewart mentions the Flag publicly for the first time.[5]
  • On 2007-08-30 the Flag enters official Police history, mentioned in an official news item and making a brief appearance in the band's European Tour Electronic Press Kit.[6][7]
  • On 2007-09-20 the Flag is immortalized in song, "The Flag of Copelandia Anthem" by BongoBoy. Stewart posts to express his approval, joking that "Andy and Sting are very exited (sic) about your song. Just the sort of new material that we've been looking for! We should have it worked into the set by Munich..." [8][9]
  • On 2007-11-21 "The Little Flag That Could" photo gallery -- a collection of photos of the Flag, of Stewart's fans with the Flag, and of Stewart's reactions to the Flag all over the world -- is announced. [10]
  • On 2007-11-28 the Flag meets Stewart Copeland for the first time. This unscheduled meeting is met with mixed reactions by forum members, and Stewart posts to express both his apologies and his appreciation.[11][12][13]
  • On 2007-11-30 JMRL drives two-and-a-half hours across Argentina to convince FedEx contractor Fast Track to release the Flag, and by doing so, makes it possible for the Flag to attend three concerts in South America.[14][15][16]
  • In December 2007 Stewart mentions the Flag in his holiday greeting on the home page of his official site.[17]

2008

  • On 2008-01-19 Stewart first references the Flag in public from the stage, shouting, "Hold that flag up right there! Right there!" [18] (bootleg)
  • On 2008-03-26 Stewart describes his Flag during a Q&A session.[19][20]
  • On 2008-05-14 an alternative, "freak out flailing version" of the Flag anthem, "The Flag of Copelandia 2008," is posted by BongoBoy. [21][22]
  • On 2008-05-20 the Flag inspires an eighth grade French lesson in the form of "Le Drapeau Vert." The semi-fictional story will also launch a classroom board game. [23][24]
  • On 2008-07-28 Stewart Copeland and Jeff Seitz have a small panic as, due to a miscommunication of information, they fear that the Flag may have been confiscated by security.
  • On 2008-07-31 Jeff Seitz signs the Flag.
  • On 2008-08-07, just before the first encore of the final Police concert at Madison Square Garden, Stewart Copeland hangs the Flag on stage next to his drumkit on a special rig created for the purpose. [25][26][27] The Flag appears on the live Best Buy broadcast of the encores a number of times, most notably during the altered So Lonely lyric "Welcome to the Stewart Copeland show." (cite)
  • On 2008-08-21 the Flag appears in the background of photos of the Police's reunion tour finale published online by Rolling Stone magazine. [28][29][30][31][32] A few days later the Flag appears in the print edition of Rolling Stone, issue #1060, publication date 2008-09-04.[33]
  • In November 2008, The Police release Certifiable. The Flag, Stewart's reactions to it, and Flag-Bearers JMRL and stingingintherain appear a number of times during the concert footage. In addition, the Flag appears in the audience at the end of the feature "Better Than Therapy."

Flag Schedule

The Flag appeared at the following Police performances:

Date Venue Location Flag-Bearer
2007-05-27 GM Place Vancouver, BC, Canada DirtyMartini
2007-05-28 GM Place Vancouver, BC, Canada DirtyMartini
2007-06-16 Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival Manchester, TN, United States Divemistress of the Dark
2007-06-23 Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA, United States bella
2007-06-29 Toyota Center Houston, TX, United States Spec A!
2007-06-30 New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA, United States Divemistress of the Dark
2007-07-02 Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO, United States Divemistress of the Dark*
2007-07-10 Dolphins Stadium Miami, FL, United States cpriddims
2007-07-16 Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH, United States DirtyMartini and nancyrose
2007-07-19 Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia, PA, United States conroy
2007-07-20 Hersheypark Stadium Hershey, PA, United States samburusunset
2007-07-22 Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON, Canada nancyrose
2007-07-23 Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON, Canada Copelandous D'Amour
2007-07-28 Fenway Park Boston, MA, United States Skip
2007-07-29 Fenway Park Boston, MA, United States sockii
2007-08-01 Madison Square Garden New York, NY, United States Donna
2007-08-03 Madison Square Garden New York, NY, United States nancyrose*
2007-08-05 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ, United States DirtyMartini
2007-08-29 Globe Arena Stockholm, Sweden copelandos_damour
2007-09-05 National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England, UK Larissa
2007-09-08 Twickenham Stadium London, England, UK dafttart
2007-09-09 Twickenham Stadium London, England, UK smudge
2007-09-11 AOL Arena Hamburg, Germany Dietmar
2007-09-13 Arena Amsterdam, Netherlands GinaSuperCat
2007-09-14 Arena Amsterdam, Netherlands GinaSuperCat
2007-09-16 Stade de La Praille Geneva, Switzerland Giovanni
2007-09-19 Stadthalle Vienna, Austria Dietmar
2007-09-22 Olympiastadion Munich, Germany phaty
2007-09-27 Olympic Stadium Barcelona, Spain Dietmar
2007-09-29 Stade de France Paris, France olivier
2007-09-30 Stade de France Paris, France Dietmar*
2007-10-02 Stadio Delle Alpi Turin, Italy Giovanni
2007-10-06 Croke Park Dublin, Ireland smudge (with assist from invisible)
2007-10-08 Sportpaleis Antwerp, Belgium Dietmar
2007-10-19 Millenium Stadium Cardiff, Wales, UK takeshi and plutonic
2007-10-20 Wembley Arena London, England, UK Hannaha
2007-10-31 Madison Square Garden New York, NY, United States Moeskido
2007-11-02 Madison Square Garden New York, NY, United States Susan
2007-11-03 Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, NJ, United States Bob from NJ
2007-11-05 Verizon Center Washington, DC, United States conroy
2007-11-08 Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON, Canada BongoBoy
2007-11-09 Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON, Canada kimmy
2007-11-11 TD BankNorth Garden Boston, MA Lynne
2007-11-17 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA, United States JSchoel483
2007-11-18 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA, United States IndyGirl
2007-11-27 Arena Monterrey Monterrey, Mexico georgygirl
2007-12-01 Estadio River Plate Buenos Aires, Argentina JMRL
2007-12-02 Estadio River Plate Buenos Aires, Argentina stingingintherain
2007-12-05 Estadio National Santiago, Chile Jose
2008-01-17 Westpac Stadium Wellington, New Zealand empty and plutonic (with assist from DrummerDaveF)
2008-01-19 Western Springs Auckland, New Zealand empty and plutonic
2008-01-26 Cricket Grounds Melbourne, Australia visions
2008-02-10 Kyocera Osaka Dome Osaka, Japan Midori
2008-02-13 Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan Uccellina
2008-02-14 Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan Midori
2008-02-16 Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI, United States OutlandoGirl
2008-02-17 Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI, United States D-A-O*
2008-05-01 Scotiabank Place Ottawa, ON, Canada Grace and sameoldbuttercup
2008-05-03 HSBC Arena Buffalo, NY, United States luddite lady
2008-05-04 Nationwide Arena Columbus, OH, United States AGroovie1
2008-05-10 Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL, United States IndyGirl
2008-05-16 Amway Center Orlando, FL, United States E (with assist from Lilrock and Jen)
2008-05-17 Cruzan Amphitheatre West Palm Beach, FL, United States mrs.adams
2008-05-23 MGM Grand Las Vegas, NV, United States TheEqualizer and irishrose1969
2008-05-26 Coors Amphitheatre Chula Vista, CA, United States musinggrai
2008-05-27 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA, United States empty (with assist from demolition gal)*
2008-05-28 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA, United States Laz
2008-06-05 SAP Arena Mannheim, Germany phaty
2008-06-07 TW Festival Werchter, Belgium rhoeckel
2008-06-08 LTU Arena Dusseldorf, Germany Maud138
2008-06-17 MEN Arena Manchester, England, UK Eugenio
2008-06-18 MEN Arena Manchester, England, UK Eugenio (with assist from stevel and gary1)
2008-06-20 Stormont Belfast, Northern Ireland takeshi, Eugenio, Giovanni, DirtyMartini
2008-06-22 Heineken Jammin' Festival Venice, Italy Giovanni and Eugenio
2008-06-29 Hard Rock Calling, Hyde Park London, England, UK smax
2008-07-05 Rock in Rio Festival Madrid, Spain Mary
2008-07-14 Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View, CA, United States OutlandoGirl
2008-07-16 Sleep Train Pavilion Concord, CA, United States charliearnold
2008-07-17 Sleep Train Amphitheatre Wheatland, CA, United States samburusunset
2008-07-19 USANA Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, UT, United States nancyrose, GinaSuperCat, and TheEqualizer
2008-07-21 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver, CO, United States policerule
2008-07-22 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver, CO, United States shyvixen
2008-07-25 Marcus Amphitheater Milwaukee, WI, United States Lynne
2008-07-28 Post Gazette Pavilion Burgettstown, PA, United States mairinphg
2008-07-29 Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA, United States Schmaffy
2008-07-31 Tweeter Center Mannsfield, MA, United States perryl
2008-08-01 Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga, NY, United States MadGrad
2008-08-03 PNC Bank Arts Center Holmsdel, NJ, United States MadGrad and OutlandoGirl*
2008-08-04 Nikon At Jones Beach Theater Wantagh, NY, United States Mimimph*
2008-08-05 Nikon At Jones Beach Theater Wantagh, NY, United States Tamadude
2008-08-06 Apollo Theater New York, NY, United States Dietmar*
2008-08-07 Madison Square Garden New York, NY, United States Stewart Copeland and SC.net


*Last-Minute Flag-Bearer Substitutions

Date Location Original Flag-Bearer Replacement Flag-Bearer Reason
2007-07-02 St. Louis, MO, United States mardee Divemistress of the Dark Seating location
2007-08-03 New York, NY, United States DirtyMartini nancyrose Seating location
2007-09-30 Paris, France ilbolchini Dietmar Physical injury
2008-02-17 Honolulu, HI, United States caligula D-A-O Family emergency
2008-05-27 Los Angeles, CA, United States demolition gal empty Seating location
2008-08-03 Holmdel, NJ, United States Bob from NJ MadGrad and OutlandoGirl Seating location
2008-08-06 New York, NY, United States DirtyMartini Dietmar Seating location

Controversies and kerfluffles

This section needs more information.

Leroy Coolbreeze Fund for Melanoma

On 2007-09-28 DirtyMartini posted on the SC.net forum, proposing the idea of "attaching" a charity to the forum's Flag project.[34] After much consideration, dialogue, and research, the Leroy Coolbreeze Fund for Melanoma to benefit the Melanoma International Foundation was created, organized and named in honor of Stewart's brother Ian Copeland who passed away from melanoma on 2006-05-23.[35][36].

Although originally conceived in association with the Flag, members of SC.net quickly took it upon themselves to raise money for the Fund through various means, encouraging fundraising in such large-scale capacities as melanoma walks and charity bike rides, as well as through small methods, such as bumping the relevant fundraising thread at the holidays, in association with the passing of loved ones or celebrities, and in appreciation of Stewart Copeland for his generous donation of concert tickets to forum members for the final Police concert.[37][38]

As of 2008-09-05, approximately $5500 had been raised for melanoma research through the Leroy Coolbreeze Fund.[39][40][41]

See also

This section needs more information.

External links


References

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