The combination of such “outside the box” marketing techniques with Ian’s many cost-cutting measures enabled Squeeze to turn a decent profit at the conclusion of the tour. Perhaps even more significantly for posterity, Copeland had single-handedly cobbled together a club circuit that could be utilized and adapted by subsequent under-the-radar bands. Ian himself reused this template when booking the first American tour for his brother Stewart’s band, the Police, in October-November 1978. This was an even more audacious endeavor, given that the band had decided to tour prior to the release of their debut album. But the Police’s incendiary live performances created a word-of-mouth buzz that preceded them wherever they went. Bill Berry was on hand throughout the planning and execution of this tour and, perhaps unknown to Ian, absorbed all its details and lessons.
Bill put in only two years at Paragon, though he might have remained in Macon had it not been for an eventful phone call between Mike Mills and his father in the fall of 1978, during which the elder Mills berated his son for squandering his excellent SAT score by hanging around Macon and working at Sears. This prompted Mike to talk with Bill about pulling up stakes and enrolling at the University of Georgia together. Bill didn’t need much of a push; he continued to nurse dreams of working on the management side of the entertainment industry, or as an agent or manager for professional athletes. In either case, he would need some type of higher degree, and MBA perhaps. His departure from Paragon turned out to be well time; the company, along with Capricorn Records, collapsed into bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
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