The site adds that Kerr and Burchill, the only current original members of Simple Minds, are looking at the reunion as a "nice experiment. The week-long reformation is being viewed as one of many 'let's see what happens' ideas that they look forward to working on over the course of the next year."

Drummer McGee left the band in 1981, while bassist Forbes split in 1985, only to return briefly in 1997-1998. Keyboardist McNeil has been absent since 1989. The last time this group of musicians recorded as Simple Minds was for "Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call" in 1981.

"I had always believed that the day would come when we would get the opportunity" to work with the original lineup," Kerr says. "We have a lot to live up to, but we intend to have some fun attempting to do just that."

Meanwhile, the active lineup of Simple Minds, apparently excluding the original members, has a handful of U.K. shows lined up in the fall, while Kerr and Burchill are performing together during the Night of the Proms series in Europe beginning Oct. 24 in Antwerp.

This final concert -- for which ticket and venue information have yet to be announced -- will be a fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the production of arts programming for public television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York. Tickets will be available nationally online via the Thirteen/WNET and WLIW Web sites.

Additionally, Sting and the Police announced that they will contribute $1 million to Mayor Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC initiative -- a gift the city will match -- to plant trees all over New York City.

At the press conference, held in Times Square, Sting commented: "Some people may be surprised to know that the greatest single contribution to greenhouse gases is deforestation. We all want cleaner and cooler air, and planting trees is the best way to achieve that.

"We have a long history in New York," he added. "We came here first in 1978. We want to leave a gift that will last for decades."

The contribution by the Police to the MillionTreesNYC initiative -- which aims to plant 1 million trees by 2017 -- will fund the planting of 10,000 trees across all five of New York City’s boroughs.

Mayor Bloomberg commented: "We hope the donation by the Police will inspire many more people to get involved.... A lot of people make a lot of money, spend a little bit of it, and don’t give any of it away. So these guys are role models."

In response to a question about whether the final Police show would take place in Central Park, Bloomberg responded, "The venue will probably be indoors, but that’s all I’m going to say."

During the conference, the mayor presented each member of the Police with his own key to New York City, and Sting presented the mayor with an all-access backstage pass that he said could be used at "any Police concert."

The Police began the final leg of their reunion tour May 1 in Ottawa, the first of about 50 shows taking place this summer in amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums primarily in North America and Europe. Most stops are in markets not played in 2007, when the Police was the top tour of the year at more than $212 million gross and nearly 2 million in attendance, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Produced by Live Nation and RZO Productions, the Police reunion tour captured the Top Tour (gross) and Top Draw (attendance) awards at last November's Billboard Touring Conference in New York.

Joining the Police this time around in North America are Elvis Costello & the Imposters. In between the 33 North American dates, the Police return to Europe for a number of major festivals. The tour is expected to be one of the top five highest-grossing tours of all time, with revenues topping $340 million.

As of today, the last Police date on the books is Aug. 5 at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, N.Y.

The reissued set will add four bonus tracks, as well as a DVD featuring three music videos and a previously unreleased TV performance from the BBC's "Top Of The Pops." A booklet containing the original album photo session is also being included in the new package.

"Parallel Lines" peaked at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 in April 1979 and spawned Blondie’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, "Heart Of Glass."

Blondie takes to the road this summer for performances in the U.S. Europe, Russia and Israel on its "Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour." The U.S. leg includes dates at amusement parks and a zoo.

The collection is impressive and educational in its sheer depth and diversity. Punks (Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Bad Brains) share space with the Paisley Underground (Prefab Sprout, Dream Syndicate), electronic popsters of "Madchester" (New Order, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses), miserable romantics (the Smiths, the Cure), beautiful noisemakers (Pixies, Sonic Youth, Ministry, Mission Of Burma), jokers (Camper Van Beethoven, the Dead Milkmen) and a new generation of rock poets (the Replacements, X, Kate Bush).

But while the styles and genres are widely dissimilar, commonality is found in the impression each act made on the era's cutting-edge music fans. The success of "Left of the Dial" (named after a Replacements song about college radio) comes in identifying, in most cases, the precise song from which those careers sprouted and took root.

Many of the included acts went on to become familiar, even household names. Obviously falling into that category are R.E.M. ("Radio Free Europe"), the Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Hollywood (Africa)") and the Pretenders ("Message of Love").

Other examples are more nebulous, such as the Sugarcubes ("Birthday"), which featured pre-artisté Björk on vocals. Or Killing Joke ("Wardance"), whose Youth became an in-demand producer (Crowded House, the Verve, Dido).

Some songs found on "Left of the Dial" represent massive hits or artistic peaks the acts never again rivaled. Examples include the Church's "Under the Milky Way," a smash pop single that proved to be an unmatchable albatross for the Australian group; or Suicidal Tendencies' epic skate punk ode to the frustration of misunderstanding, "Institutionalized," which predated a chase of thrash metal glory that delivered the group to a different audience.

While a handful of cuts might seem obscure to any but the most knowledgeable, many -- Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart," Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says," Black Flag's "Rise Above," among them -- stand firm as the epoch of an influential musical revolution.

Augmenting the music on "Left of the Dial" -- which carries a suggested list price of $64.98 -- are liner notes by music critic Karen Schoemer (Newsweek, The New York Times), interviews with SST Records founder/Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn and Twin/Tone Records co-founder Peter Jesperson. Also featured are personal essays by Factory Records co-founder Tony Wilson and Dream Syndicate member/Down There Records founder Steve Wynn.

"The first thing I ever did when I got a new single was flip it over and play the other side," Smith says in a statement. "I always hoped the B-side would give me another version of the artist, something as good as the A-side but somehow different. I expected great B-sides from the artists I loved."

The 22-track first disc spans 1978-1987 and includes "Another Journey by Train" (the B-side to "A Forest") as well as a version of "Lament" which was only available in 1982 on a single inserted in copies of the magazine Flexipop. Disc two is highlighted by "Sugar Girl" (the B-side to "Just Like Heaven"), alternate mixes of "Icing Sugar" and "How Beautiful You Are" and three different versions of the Doors' "Hello I Love You."

The third disc, collecting 15 tracks from 1992-1996, sports tunes contributed to soundtracks for "The Crow" ("Burn") and "Judge Dredd" ("Dredd Song"), "Halo" (the B-side to "Friday I'm in Love") and covers of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and David Bowie's "Young Americans."

Disc four rounds up 15 cuts from 1996-2001, such as an acoustic version of "Just Say Yes," the import-only "Coming Up," a cover of Depeche Mode's "World in Your Eyes" and alternate mixes of "Wrong Number," "This Is a Lie" and "Strange Attraction."

Earlier this year, the Cure wrapped up its tenure with Fiction/Elektra and signed with producer Ross Robinson's I Am imprint, although it is unknown what progress has been made on a new studio album.