When Sting comes back to his hometown these days, it's not to the same place he left more than five decades ago.The city of Newcastle, tucked up in the northeast corner of England, now presents a tranquil vista where modern architecture spans calm waters.
But for centuries, Newcastle was a hard-scrabble, noisy, industrial powerhouse.It built ships.And Sting, a boy from a working-class family, was given some fatherly advice he didn't want to hear: "He'd say, 'Son, go to sea.
See the world, make something of yourself.' Of course, I disappointed him!"All Sting did was become one of the most successful songwriters and pop performers of his generation, starting with his 1970s band The Police, and through many variations since.His most popular songs – "Every Breath You Take," "Roxanne," "Message In A Bottle," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Fields of Gold," "Shape of My Heart" – have streamed in the billions.Asked if he keeps score of awards won and albums sold, Sting replied, "The answer is, enough.
I have had more than enough success and affirmation.I don't actually need any more.
It's lovely, but it's not something I particularly think about.I don't think of myself as a celebrity.
I don't like to.I like to think of myself as a working musician with a story to tell" – a story about his hometown.
"I just wanted a bigger life than the one I was being offered," he said, "and it was only later that I realized that where I'd been brought up was actually a gift."How so? "Because of these very profound symbols to wake up to every morning: A gigantic ship hanging over the street; an army of men walking to work; the ship being built, launched into the river, out to sea.Those are very powerful images for an artist.
I wanted to honor where I came from, because what they gave me was a sense of identity, a work ethic.So, I wanted to repay that."Sting's musical (which he's been working on for more than a decade) is called "The Last Ship," and it recounts the de...